Toxicity and horizontal transfer of bifenthrin and dimefluthrin against the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the efficacy of their dust applications in the field

The red imported fire ant,Solenopsis invicta Buren,poses a significant threat to biodiversity,agriculture,and public health in its introduced ranges.While chemicals such as toxic baits and dust are the main methods for S.invicta control,toxic baits are slow,requiring approximately one or two weeks,but dust can eliminate the colony of fire ants rapidly in just three to five days.To explore more active ingredients for fire ant control using dusts,the toxicity of bifenthrin and dimefluthrin,the horizontal transfer of bifenthrin and dimefluthrin dust and their efficacy in the field were tested.The results showed that the LD50(lethal dose) values of bifenthrin and dimefluthrin were 3.40 and 1.57 ng/ant,respectively.The KT50(median knockdown time) and KT95(95%knockdown time) values of a 20μg mL^(–1)bifenthrin dose were 7.179and 16.611 min,respectively.The KT50and KT95of a 5μg mL^(–1)dimefluthrin dose were 1.538 and 2.825 min,respectively.The horizontal transfers of bifenthrin and dimefluthrin among workers were effective.The mortality of recipients (secondary mortality) and secondary recipients (tertiary mortality) were both over 80%at 48 h after 0.25,0.50 and 1.00%bifenthrin dust treatments.The secondary mortality of recipients was over 99%at 48 h after 0.25,0.50 and 1.00% dimefluthrin dust treatments,but the tertiary mortality was below 20%.The field trial results showed that both bifenthrin and dimefluthrin exhibited excellent fire ant control effects,and the comprehensive control effects of 1.00%bifenthrin and dimefluthrin dusts at 14 d post-treatment were 95.87 and 85.70%,respectively.

Maculopapular Rash with Fever: Reporting of a Case with Imported Measles and Diagnostic Difficulties in Non-Epidemic Times

Background: Measles is a highly contagious infection caused by the measles virus with a worldwide distribution. Measles is one of the diseases that have been reported in our country since 1945. It is known that international travelers are an important source of infectious pathologies. Our goal is to document a case of imported Measles and the difficulty of diagnosing it, especially in non-epidemic times. Cases Presentation: We presently report a 20-year-old woman who was hospitalized at the Infectious Disease Service for fever and maculopapular rash. She had traveled outside of Albania. Measles ELISA IgM (blood) resulted positive while other serological examinations resulted negative. Our case was treated with antibiotics, multivitamins and intravenous fluids. She was subsequently discharged home in good clinical condition. Conclusions: Measles should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with symptoms of fever and rash, in particular when they have traveled abroad. Patients who have received the Measles vaccine should not be excluded from clinical suspicion and further diagnostic tests for this disease as it can affect this group of patients as well.

Evaluation of the Microbiological Quality of Poultry Imported into Togo and the Antibiotic Resistance of Salmonella spp. Isolated

In Togo, despite the government’s efforts, food requirements in terms of animal proteins are not covered by national production and are subject to huge imports of meat products. However, the hygienic quality of these imports is not guaranteed for the consumer. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of unhygienically unsatisfactory imported poultry and to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of Salmonella spp. strains. A total of 285 samples of imported poultry, including 55 chicken thighs, 10 chicken backbones, 25 chicken wings, 5 whole chickens, 30 sausages, 35 chicken forequarters, 95 chicken drumsticks and 30 guinea fowl wings, were analyzed using standard AFNOR routine methods. The following germs were tested: Total Aerobic Mesophilic Flora (TAMF), Anaerobic-Sulfite-Reducing (ASR), Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out on Salmonella spp. strains isolated using the agar disk diffusion method (CA-SFM). Results showed 100% compliance for TAMF, coagulase-positive Staphylococci and Escherichia coli. On the other hand, 3.84% and 2.46% non-compliance were recorded for ASR and Salmonella respectively. Non-compliance with hygiene rules is generally thought to be the cause of meat contamination. Seven 7 strains of Salmonella were isolated, 5 of which were of the OMA serogroup, and the other two of the OMB and HMB groups. Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed resistance to certain beta-lactam antibiotics and quinolones, in particular: cefalexin (28.57%), cefoxitin (14.28%), cefuroxime (28.57%), ceftazidime (28.57%), ceftriaxone (28.57%) and nalidixic acid (28.57%). This result may be explained by the uncontrolled use of B-lactam and quinolone antibiotics in poultry farming. As Salmonella spp. is a pathogenic enteric bacterium that causes food-borne illness in humans, resistance to third-generation cephalosporins remains a major public health problem.

Analysis on the Epidemic Situation of Intercepted Alien Pests from Imported Hides in Hebei and the Countermeasures during 2013-2014

The situation of intercepted alien pests from imported hides in Hebei during 2013-2014 was systematically analyzed. The results showed that 163 batches of alien pests were intercepted, including 2 batches of quarantine weeds and they both were Italian cocklebur. According to the statistics of original countries, the intercepted hides from 21 countries all had alien pests, in which Australia was the largest number of batches and species of alien pests. The analysis results showed that there was severe risk in the imported hides carrying alien pests, thus to effectively prevent the invasion of alien pests to our country, several quarantine measures should be taken in the future, such as enhancing the quarantine inspection in ports, and promoting the personnel ability of interception and species identification of alien pests.

Isolation and Identification of a Subgroup A Avian Leukosis Virus from Imported Meat-type Grand-parent Chickens

An exogenous avian leukosis virus (ALV) strain SDAU09C1 was isolated in DF-1 cells from one of 240 imported 1-day-old white meat-type grand parent breeder chicks. Inoculation of SDAU09C1 in ALV-free chickens induced antibody reactions specific to subgroup A or B. But gp85 amino acid sequence comparisons indicated that SDAU09C1 fell into subgroup A; it had homology of 88.8%-90.3% to 6 reference strains of subgroup A, much higher compared to other subgroups including subgroup B. This is the first report for ALV of subgroup A isolated from imported breeders.

Imported cases of 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infections in Thailand: Mathematical modelling of the outbreak

Outbreak of a new emerging disease is usually an important consideration in medicine and public health. In December 2019, a new emerging disease started in China and becomes the global concern in early January 2020[1,2]. The disease, 2019-novel coronavirus(2019-nCoV) infection, already existed outside China and the importation of disease is the cause of emerging 2019-nCoV infections in new settings.

Market Disease Pathogens Detection of Imported Fruits in Shanghai

A tremendous amount of imported fresh fruits has been delivered to Shanghai markets, increasing the risk of invasion by harmful plant pathogens. Therefore, it is important to establish an effective detection and supervision system to survey the outbreak of the market diseases of the imported fruits during marketing. The samples were regularly surveyed in different markets to examine varieties, prices, localities, selling conditions, and diseases of the imported fruits from 2004 to 2008. The survey showed that 58 species of 30 different fruits were imported to Shanghai from 16 countries with more expensive price. The larger products were bananas, grapes, apples, and oranges. During the investigation, we found that the imported fruits frequently brought about the relatively serious market diseases. On the basis of morphology and the nuclear internal transcribed spacer （ITS） of ribosomal DNA （rDNA） analysis, 151 isolates of 15 fungi genera, which shown to be pathogenic after the inoculation assay, were finally identified. Among the identified fungi, Alternaria was the most frequent one with the highest detection rate （47.68%）, followed by Penicillium （14.57%） and Fusarium （11.92%）, respectively. Additionally, Pestalotiopsis microspora （detected in grapes Red-Globe coming from the USA） and Botrytis sp. （detected in black-plums coming from the USA） were first reported in China market. The present study summarized the selling situation of the imported fruits in Shanghai markets and constructed a library of the pathogens detected in the imported fruits during the selling period. The results obtained are useful to offer technical parameters for Chinese quarantine in order to prevent an invasion of the foreign harmful micro-organisms.

A Case Series of Olfactory Dysfunction in Imported COVID-19 Patients:A 12-Month Follow-Up Study

Objective The scientific community knows little about the long-term influence of coronavirus disease2019(COVID-19) on olfactory dysfunction(OD). With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing worldwide, the risk of imported cases remains high. In China, it is necessary to understand OD in imported cases.Methods A prospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 11 self-reported patients with COVID-19 and OD from Xi’an No. 8 Hospital were followed between August 19, 2021, and December 12, 2021.Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatment outcomes were analyzed at admission. We surveyed the patients via telephone for recurrence and sequelae at the1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up.Results Eleven patients with OD were enrolled;of these, 54.5%(6/11) had hyposmia and 45.5%(5/11)had anosmia. 63.6%(7/11) reported OD before or on the day of admission as their initial symptom;of these, 42.9%(3/7) described OD as the only symptom. All patients in the study received combined treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and 72.7%(8/11) had partially or fully recovered at discharge. In terms of OD recovery at the 12-month follow-up, 45.5%(5/11) reported at least one sequela, 81.8%(9/11) had recovered completely, 18.2%(2/11) had recovered partially, and there were no recurrent cases.Conclusions Our data revealed that OD frequently presented as the initial or even the only symptom among imported cases. Most OD improvements occurred in the first 2 weeks after onset, and patients with COVID-19 and OD had favorable treatment outcomes during long-term follow-up. A better understanding of the pathogenesis and appropriate treatment of OD is needed to guide clinicians in the care of these patients.

Serological Study of An Imported Case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and His Close Contacts in China, 2015

The first imported Middle East respiratory syndrome （MERS） case in China was identified in May 2015. We determined the kinetics of antibody （IgG and IgM） and neutralizing antibodies against MERS-coronavirus （MERS-CoV） in this case before discharge. Moreover, no seroconversion was found among 53 close contacts by anti-MERS IgG antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） of paired serum samples. These findings suggest that neither community nor nosocomial transmission of MERS-CoV occurred in China.

Assimilation and Modernity——A Case Study of Abraham Cahan's “The Imported Bridegroom”

In the modern era, the Jewish-Americans were faced with challenges because of the assimilation and modernity environment in the US, and as a result, many of them were in a double bind—to be an assimilated American citizen or to be a traditional Jew. With his work"The Imported Bridegroom", Abraham Cahan contemplated on the subject of Jewish immigration and assimilation and he made a ground-breaking contribution to the establishment of American modernity. This paper intends to analyze Cahan's attitudes towards assimilation and modernity and how he builds up modernity for all of the Americans. Three characters in"The Imported Bridegroom", who stand for three prototypes of modern Jewish-Americans confronting the overwhelming flood of assimilation and the duty for retaining their traditions, will be analyzed. Through the composition of this work, Cahan tried to spread the Jewish culture on the one hand, and on the other, he warned the peripheral that it was difficult to be assimilated without disasters even if they had made contribution to the formation of modernity.

An Insight of the First Community Infected COVID-19 Patient in Beijing by Imported Case: Role of Deep Learning-Assisted CT Diagnosis

In the era of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,imported COVID-19 cases pose great challenges to many countries.Chest CT examination is considered to be complementary to nucleic acid test for COVID-19 detection and diagnosis.Wie report the first community infected COVID-19 patient by an imported case in Beijing,which manifested as nodular lesions on chest CT imaging at the early stage.Deep Learning(DL)-based diagnostic systems quantitatively monitored the progress of pulmonary lesions in 6 days and timely made alert for suspected pneumonia,so that prompt medical isolation was taken.The patient was confirmed as COVID-19 case after nucleic acid test,for which the community transmission was prevented timely.The roles of DL-assisted diagnosis in helping radiologists screening suspected COVID cases were discussed.

First imported Plasmodium ovale malaria in Central America: Case report of a Guatemalan soldier and a call to improve its accurate diagnosis

The Mesoamerican Ministers of Health have set 2020 as the target for malaria elimination to be achieved in the region. Imported malaria cases are a potential threat to countries attempting elimination or working to prevent resurgence. We report the first imported Plasmodium ovale infection with molecular confirmation in Central America, which occurred in a Guatemalan soldier that had been deployed in Africa. The obstacles for its diagnosis using the standard microscopy technique and the need to improve its detection are discussed.

The Impact of Multilateral Imported Cases of COVID-19 on the Epidemic Control in China

While the spread of COVID-19 in China is under control,the pandemic is developing rapidly around the world.Due to the normal migration of population,China is facing the high risk from imported cases.The potential specific medicine and vaccine are still in the process of clinical trials.Currently,controlling the impact of imported cases is the key to prevent new outbreak of COVID-19 in China.In this paper,we propose two impulsive systems to describe the impact of multilateral imported cases of COVID-19.Based on the published data,we simulate and analyze the epidemic trends under different control strategies.In particular,we compare four different scenarios and show the corresponding medical burden.The results can be useful in designing appropriate control strategy for imported cases in practice.

Clinical characteristics of 290 foreign-imported cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Chengdu, China

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of foreign-imported patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Chengdu City.Methods:A total of 290 foreign-imported patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and discharged from Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu were included in our study,they were divided into asymptomatic infection group(131 cases)and confirmed cases group(159 cases)in order to compare the epidemiology,clinical characteristics and laboratory tests between two groups.Multi-factor logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the influence factors of becoming a dominant infection after infected with SARS-CoV-2.Results:Among the 290 cases aged from 2 months to 68 years old,83.4%were males,62.1%came from Asia,and 43.8%were complicated with fatty liver disease,the age group of 14-49 years old had the largest number(247 cases).80.5%confirmed case group cases were general type,there was only 1 severe patient.Hospital stays in asymptomatic infection group was shorter than that in confirmed cases group,lymphocyte count,CD4+T count,CD8+T count,CD4+T/CD8+T creatine kinase in two groups half a month after discharge were relatively lower than those on admission,and alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,albumin,lactate dehydrogenase,creatine kinase isoenzyme were relatively higher than those on admission(P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that increased age,decreased lymphocyte count on admission and increased lactate dehydrogenase on admission were associated with dominant infection.Chest CT of 13 general type cases indicated an increase in lesions compared with that at discharge and 3 of them had re-detectable positive RNA test.Conclusion:The majority of foreign-imported cases in Chengdu are mainly from Asia,fewer of them are severe patients.In the early stage of recovery,some SARS-CoV-2 infected patients still have intermittent viral replication.Early isolation and early treatment of imported patients is not only conducive to epidemic prevention and control,but also may change the natural course of the disease.

Unsuspected imported malaria in a case of sudden infant death

Here we describe the case of a 4-mo-old female who died suddenly without any apparent cause that was initially mistaken as a case of sudden infant death syndrome. Histologic observation of brain sections revealed blue-black bodies in erythrocytes of the blood vessels, suggestive of specific stages of the hematic schizogonic cycle. Further examinations revealed hemozoin and hemosiderin deposits in the parenchyma of all organs, leading to the diagnosis of malaria by Plasmodium falciparum(P. falciparum). The death occurred in Italy, the native country of the infant, two weeks after a Christmas holiday spent in Pakistan, the parents' birthplace, which has a high malarial endemicity. As this case demonstrates, the diagnosis of malaria should always be considered as a differential diagnosis in subjects, including infants, that die unexpectedly after returning from P. falciparum endemic areas.

To What Extent Does the Market Price of Imported Fishmeal Affect the Market Price of Pisciculture Products in Japan？ The Case of Yellowtail and Sea Bream

This study investigates the extent of the influence of imported fishmeal price changes on the market price of pisciculture products. To date, there have been only a few insufficient researches on this topic in Japan. This paper aims to reveal the causality relationship between the market price of imported fishmeal and the market price of pisciculture products using the granger causality test, and to simulate the market price of pisciculture products using impulse response functions as the price of imported fishmeal increases. The results of the granger causality test and impulse response function analyses were as follows： （1） there is a market linkage from the price of imported fishmeal to the market price of sea bream, but no causality with the market price yellowtail; and （2） this has a positive impact on the market price of sea bream when the price of imported fishmeal changes. Moreover, spillover effects were noticed in this simple scenario （at a market price of 800 yen/kg and one unit shock of 1 yen） of about 3 yen/kg.

Gurrent Status, Challenges and Prospects of Imported LNG in China

In 2017,due to the intensified implementation of the ‘changing coal into gas' policy in the northern area and the gas supply shortage in Central Asia,China's LNG imports greatly increased,leading to our country overtaking South Korea as the world's second largest LNG importer.In this process,the demand for LNG in the northern area of our country increased substantially,leading to relatively large differentiation development in the LNG imports of ‘three barrels of oil(CNPC,SINOPEC and CNOOC)',exposing the insufficiency of supporting infrastructure construction for the development of the LNG business in our country,and triggering the government,enterprises and academic circles to pay great attention to ensuring the safety of the domestic natural gas consumption market.Nevertheless,according to a comprehensive analysis of the external environment,internal market,business entities and policy orientation,China's LNG import business is still on the rise,and extensive room remains for progress in the future.

Shiheng Coal-fired Power Plant An example plant for digesting & assimilating imported technology Warmly welcome cooperation from abroad for its expansion project

Shiheng Coal-fired Power Plant,situated at the foot of thefamous Taishan Mountain and about 100 km southwestof Jinan,the capital of Shandong Province,is a major power plant inShandong Provincial Grid,with a total installed capacity of 735 MW,of which:Plant A 4 medium size generating units with a total capacityof 135 MW;Plant B two subcritical pressure 300 MW generating units.

China Top Oil Importer Status Overrated

Media reports of China surpassing the United States as the world’s biggest oil importer as shown by data from a U.S.government agency were somewhat overrated.Recently published data by the U.S.Energy Information Administration(EIA)showed that net imports of the United States and China stood at 6.24 million and 6.3million barrels per day in September of 2013,respectively.The EIA further forecast that China will start overtaking the United States by October 2013 on a monthly basis and by 2014 on an annual basis in terms of net oil imports.

A Research of the Imported Wine Purchasing Strategy for the Medium and Small Size Enterprise

An imported wine purchasing model for medium and small size enterprises is presented based on analytic hierarchy process after analyzing the current purchasing condition of medium and small size enterprise for wine importing. This model is feasible and practical. It will support and assist the purchasing strategy for the enterprise when importing wine within a certain scope and provide the reference to the enterprise for decision-making.