A Simple Technique for Direct Immobilization of Target Enzymes from Cell Lysates Based on the SpyTag/SpyCatcher Spontaneous Reaction.

Many of the current methods for enzyme purification and immobilization suffer from several drawbacks, such as requiring tedious multistep procedures or long preparation, and being environmentally unfriendly, due to the chemicals and conditions involved. Thus, a simple technique for direct purification and immobilization of target enzymes from cell lysates was proposed. The elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs)-SpyCatcher chimera could mediate the formation of silica carriers within seconds and the target enzymes were then covalently immobilized on silica carriers via SpyCatcher/SpyTag spontaneous reaction. These tailor-made carriers were easily prepared, with precisely controlled morphology and size, as well as none-consuming surface modification needed, which could specifically immobilize the SpyTag-fused target enzymes from the cell lysate without pre-purification.

[Effect of weight growth velocity in the early stage after birth on neurodevelopment of preterm infants at the corrected age of 12 months].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of weight growth velocity in the early stage after birth on the neurodevelopment of preterm infants at the corrected age of 12 months. METHODS: Related data were collected from the preterm infants who were discharged from the Department of Neonatology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, from July 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019 and were followed up at the outpatient service of high-risk infants. According to the weight growth velocity from birth to the corrected gestational age of 40 weeks, the infants were divided into two groups: low velocity [< 10 g/(kg·d); n=21] and high velocity [≥10 g/(kg·d); n=87]. At the corrected ages of 3, 6, and 12 months, Gesell Developmental Schedules were used to evaluate and compare neurodevelopment between the two groups. RESULTS: At the corrected age of 12 months, the low velocity group had a significantly lower score of fine motor (P < 0.05) and a significantly higher abnormal rate of language ability score compared with high velocity (P < 0.05). For the preterm infants with a birth weight of < 1 500 g or ≥1 500 g, the low velocity group had a significantly lower score of fine motor than the high velocity group (P < 0.05); for the preterm infants with a birth weight of ≥1 500 g, the low velocity group had a significantly higher abnormal rate of language ability score than the high velocity group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The weight growth velocity from birth to the corrected age of 40 weeks affects the development of fine motor and language in preterm infants at the corrected age of 12 months; however it needs to be further verified by large-sample studies.

Molecular detection of Anaplasma infections in ixodid ticks from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Anaplasma species are tick-transmitted obligate intracellular bacteria that infect many wild and domestic animals and humans. The prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in ixodid ticks of Qinghai Province is poorly understood. In this study, a total of 1104 questing adult ticks were investigated for the infection of Anaplasma species. As a result, we demonstrated the total infection rates of 3.1, 11.1, 5.6, and 4.5% for A. phagocytophilum, A. bovis, A. ovis and A. capra, respectively. All of the tick samples were negative for A. marginale. The positive rates of A. phagocytophilum, A. ovis and A. capra in different tick species were significantly different. The positive rates of A. capra and A. bovis in the male ticks were significantly higher than that in the female ticks. Sequence analysis of A. ovis showed 99.5-100% identity to the previous reported isolates. The sequences of A. phagocytophilum had 100% identity to strains Ap-SHX21, JC3-3 and ZAM dog-181 from sheep, Mongolian gazelles, and dogs. Two genotypes of A. capra were found based on 16S rRNA, citrate synthase (gltA) gene and heat shock protein (groEL) gene analysis. In conclusion, A. bovis, A. ovis, A. phagocytophilum, and A. capra were present in the ticks in Qinghai Province. Anaplasma infection is associated with tick species, gender and distribution. These data will be helpful for understanding prevalence status of Anaplasma infections in ticks in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.