Dry eye disease (DED) has become a common eye disease in recent years and appears to be influenced by environmental factors. This study aimed to examine the association between the first occurrence of DED, air pollution and weather changes in Taiwan. We used the systematic sampling cohort database containing 1,000,000 insureds of the National Health Insurance of Taiwan from 2004 to 2013, and identified a total of 25,818 eligible DED subjects. Environmental data, including those of air pollutants, temperature and relative humidity, were retrieved from the environmental monitoring stations adjacent to subjects’ locations of clinics as exposure information. We applied the case-crossover design, which used the same subjects experiencing exposures on diagnosis days as cases and those on other days as controls. The descriptive statistics showed that the first occurrences of DED were the most for the elderly by age (53.6%), women by gender (68.9%), and spring by season (25.9%). Multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses indicated that carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and temperature were positively associated with DED (p < 0.05), while relative humidity was negatively related (p < 0.001). Because CO and NO₂ together are considered a surrogate of traffic emission, which is easier to control than the uprising temperature, it is suggested that efficient management and control of traffic emission may lower the probability of DED occurrence.

Antibiotic-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii is associated with nosocomial infections worldwide. Here, we used clinically isolated A. baumannii strains as models to demonstrate whether antibiotic resistance is correlated with an increased susceptibility to bacteriophages. In this study, 24 active phages capable of infecting A. baumannii were isolated from various environments, and the susceptibilities of both antibiotic-sensitive and antibiotic-resistant strains of A. baumannii to different phages were compared. In our study, a total of 403 clinically isolated A. baumannii strains were identified. On average, the phage infection percentage of the antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii strains was 84% (from 81–86%), whereas the infection percentage in the antibiotic-sensitive A. baumannii strains was only 56.5% (from 49–64%). In addition, the risk of phage infection for A. baumannii was significantly increased in the strains that were resistant to at least four antibiotics and exhibited a dose-dependent response (p-trend < 0.0001). Among all of the A. baumannii isolates, 75.6% were phage typeable. The results of phage typing might also reveal the antibiotic-resistant profiles of clinical A. baumannii strains. In conclusion, phage susceptibility represents an evolutionary trade-off in A. baumannii strains that show adaptations for antibiotic resistance, particularly in medical environments that have high antibiotic use.

Background: Multidrug-resistantAcinetobacter baumannii(MDRAB) is associated with nosocomial infections worldwide. To date, the use of a phage to prevent infections caused by MDRAB has not been demonstrated.Results: The MDRAB-specific phage ϕAB2 was stable at 4°C and pH 7 in 0.5% chloroform solution, and showed a slight decrease in plaque-forming units (PFU)/ml of 0.3–0.9 log after 330 days of storage. The addition of ϕAB2 at a concentration of at least 10⁵PFU/ml to anA. baumanniiM3237 suspension killed >99.9% ofA. baumanniiM3237 after 5 min, regardless ofA. baumanniiM3237 concentration (10⁴, 10⁵, or 10⁶colony-forming units (CFU)/ml). The addition of ϕAB2 at a concentration of 10⁸PFU/slide (>10⁷PFU/cm²) to glass slides containingA. baumanniiM3237 at 10⁴, 10⁵, or 10⁶CFU/slide, significantly reduced bacterial numbers by 93%, 97%, and 99%, respectively. Thus, this concentration is recommended for decontamination of glass surfaces. Moreover, infusion of ϕAB2 into 10% glycerol exhibited strong anti-MDRAB activity (99.9% reduction), even after 90 days of storage. Treatment of a 10% paraffin oil-based lotion with ϕAB2 significantly reduced (99%)A. baumanniiM3237 after 1 day of storage. However, ϕAB2 had no activity in the lotion after 1 month of storage.Conclusions: Phages may be useful for reducing MDRAB contamination in liquid suspensions or on hard surfaces. Phages may also be inoculated into a solution to produce an antiseptic hand wash. However, the phage concentration and incubation time (the duration of phage contact with bacteria) should be carefully considered to reduce the risk of MDRAB contamination.

Green spaces have benefits but may also increase the risk of allergic disease. This study examined the association between the first occurrence of asthma and greenness exposure in children and teenagers. We conducted a 1:1 matched case-control study matched by sex, age, and the first diagnosis year with 7040 eligible subjects from a systematic sampling cohort database in Taiwan from 2001 to 2013. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) value ≥0.4 was used as the criterion to determine the green space. The green cover images were then transformed to the green coverage rate in the township surrounding the residential areas of the asthma and control subjects. Conditional logistic regression analyses demonstrated that a significantly increased risk of asthma in preschool children was associated with the surrounding greenness after adjusting for urbanization level, frequency of healthcare provider visits, mean township family income, CO, NO_x, and PM_2.5. The risk of asthma occurrence increased significantly with increasing greenness exposure (p-trend < 0.05). Nevertheless, exposure to the highest greenness levels (81–100%) was not associated with a significantly higher risk of asthma occurrence than was exposure to the lowest values (0–20%) of greenness. This study suggests that green space design should consider more effective methods of reducing the allergy impact.

Surgical face masks are commonly used by the general public in indoor environments. However, masks could be contaminated, resulting in secondary microbial infections when they act as touchable fomites. Therefore, we evaluated the ability and durability of a covalently bound antimicrobial surfactant coated onto mask surfaces before use to reduce the bacterial burden upon exposure to aerosols. With regard to bacteria that settled onto the mask surface, this antimicrobial product provided >99.3% efficiency for all three tested bacterial species. In addition, the antimicrobial ability of the coated mask maintained efficacy at least one week after coating. For bioaerosols that came into contact with the mask (10³ CFU/m³), the antimicrobial agent reduced the average colony rates by 91.8%, but the rates decreased with increased bioaerosol concentrations. Moreover, regardless of whether the coated mask was processed with the bioaerosol penetration test or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified sodium chloride aerosol test, the filtration performance of the surgical mask was not significantly altered. These results demonstrate that this antimicrobial product has a durable inhibitory activity for the reduction of bacterial burdens on masks. Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research