[Epidemiological characteristics and influencing factors of Blastocystis hominis infection among children with diarrhea under five years of age in Guangzhou City].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of Blastocystis hominis infection among children with diarrhea under five years of age in Guangzhou City. METHODS: Children with diarrhea under 5 years of age admitted to Guangzhou Children's hospital, Guangzhou Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital and Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center during the period between January 1 and December 31, 2020, were enrolled. Participants' demographics, living environments and health status were collected using questionnaire surveys. Stool samples were collected from participants and nucleic acid was extracted. B. hominis infection was identified using PCR assay and sequence alignment, and the factors affecting B. hominis infection among children with diarrhea under 5 years of age were identified using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: A total of 684 children with diarrhea under 5 years of age were enrolled, including 468 male children and 216 female children, with a mean age of (1.79 ± 1.12) years. The overall prevalence of B. hominis infection was 4.97% [34/684, 95% confidential interval (CI): (3.59%, 6.86%)] among participants, and there was no significant difference in the prevalence of B. hominis infection between children with chronic [7.52% (20/266), 95% CI: (4.92%, 11.33%)] and acute diarrhea [3.35% (14/418), 95% CI: (2.01%, 5.54%)] (χ2 = 5.983, P = 0.014). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified keeping pet [odds ratio (OR) = 6.298, 95% CI: (2.711, 14.633)], drinking non-tap water [OR = 4.522, 95% CI: (1.769, 11.561)], lactose intolerance [OR = 4.221, 95% CI: (1.043, 17.087)], antibiotic use [OR = 0.125, 95% CI: (0.017, 0.944)] and chronic diarrhea [OR = 2.172, 95% CI: (1.018, 4.637)] as factors affecting B. hominis infection among children with diarrhea under 5 years of age in Guangzhou City. CONCLUSIONS: B. hominis infections is detected in children with diarrhea under five years of age in Guangzhou City. Improving home environments and pet-keeping hygiene is recommended to reduce the likelihood of B. hominis infection among children.

[Immunoprotective effect of recombinant peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase from Babesia microti against B. microti infection in mice].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the immunoprotective effect of active immunization with recombinant peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase from Babesia microti against B. microti infection in mice. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice at 6 weeks of age, each weighing approximately 20 g, were divided into the recombinant protein immunization group, the infection control group and the normal control group, of 25, 18, 15 mice in each group, respectively. Mice in the recombinant protein immunization group were given active immunization with recombinant BmPPIase protein, and 18 mice with the highest antibody titers were intraperitoneally injected with 100 µL of B. microti-infected whole blood 2 weeks after the last immunization. Mice in the infection control group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 µL of B. microti-infected whole blood, while 15 mice in the normal control group received no treatment. Blood samples were collected from mice in the recombinant protein immunization group and the infection control group on days 0 to 30 post-immunization for detection of B. microti infection, and blood samples were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 post-immunization for routine blood tests with a blood cell analyzer and for detection of serum cytokines using cytometric bead array. RESULTS: Anti-BmPPIase antibodies were detected in 25 mice in the recombinant protein immunization group 2 weeks after the last immunization, with titers of 5 × 103 to 8 × 104. B. microti infection rate peaked in mice in both the recombinant protein immunization and the infection control group on day 7 post-immunization, with positive infection rates of 13.3% and 50.0%, and there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of B. microti infection rate on days 3 (χ2= 113.18, P < 0.01), 5 (χ2 = 475.22, P < 0.01), 7 (χ2 = 465.98, P < 0.01) and 9 post-infection (χ2= 18.71, P < 0.01), while the B. microti infection rate tended to be 0 in both groups on day 11 post-immunization. Routine blood tests showed higher red blood cell counts [(5.30 ± 0.50) × 1012 to (9.87 ± 0.24) × 1012 counts/L)] and hemoglobin levels [(89.67 ± 22.80) to (148.60 ± 3.05) g/L)] in the recombinant protein immunization group than in the infection control group on days 0 to 28 post-immunization. Cytometric bead array detected higher serum interferon-γ [(748.59 ± 17.56) to (3 858.28 ± 1 049.10) fg/mL], tumor necrosis factor-α [(6 687.34 ± 1 016.64) to (12 708.13 ± 1 629.79) fg/mL], interleukin (IL)-6 [(611.05 ± 75.60) to (6 852.68 ± 1 554.00) fg/mL] and IL-17a [(167.68 ± 185.00) to (10 849.27 ± 355.40) fg/mL] and lower IL-10 levels [(247.65 ± 138.00) to (18 787.20 ± 2 830.22) fg/mL] in the recombinant protein immunization group than in the infection control group during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Recombinant BmPPIase protein induces up-regulation of interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α and presents a high immunoprotective activity against B. microti infection in mice, which is a potential vaccine candidate protein.

Reference intervals of C2-C7 lateral spinous process deviation in Chinese adults.

BACKGROUND: Lateral spinous process deviation (LSPD) is a commonly used morphological parameter in the anatomical study of the cervical spinous process. However, quantitative studies on this issue are still lacking. In this study we aimed to establish reference intervals of C2-C7 LSPD in the adult Chinese population and provide decision-making information for clinical practitioners. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 92 adult patients who received neck computed tomography scans, including 42 females and 50 males meeting the inclusion criteria. Three-dimensional reconstruction and anatomical measurements were performed using Mimics Research 19.0 and 3-Matic Research 11.0. RESULTS: The inter-observer reliability of LSPD measurement in this study was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient value > 0.93). Only 2 cases of LSPD angles of 90 degrees were found, which means most cervical spinous process exist deviation. The reference interval for the C2-C7 LSPD angle was (85.11, 94.75) degrees. The C2 LSPD showed the different directions to C5 and C7 (p < 0.05). In the C4 vertebrae, the male tends to have greater LSPD angles than the female (T = -2.013, p = 0.047). In the C2 vertebrae, there was a statistically significant but weak correlation between age and LSPD angles (r = 0.24, p = 0.029). There was no statistically significant effect of sex or age on other levels of cervical vertebrae. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical spinous process deviation of less than 5 degrees on either side is a common morphological manifestation in Chinese adults. Thus, LSPD may not be an indicator for clinical care. Moreover, the vertebrae may have opposite directions of LSPD in the upper levels (C2-C4) and lower levels (C5-C7).

Advances in the study of molecular identification technology of Echinococcus species.

The larvae of Echinococcus (hydatidcyst) can parasitize humans and animals, causing a serious zoonotic disease-echinococcosis. The life history of Echinococcus is complicated, and as the disease progresses slowly after infection, early diagnosis is difficult to establish. Due to the limitations of imaging and immunological diagnosis in this respect, domestic and foreign scholars have established a variety of molecular detection techniques for the pathogen Echinococcus over recent years, mainly including nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex PCR, real-time quantitative PCR, and nucleic acid isothermal amplification technology. In this article, the research progress of molecular detection technology for Echinococcus infection currently was reviewed and the significance of these methods in the detection and diagnosis of hydatid and hydatid diseases was also discussed.

[Risk factors and resistance patterns of invasive Acinetobacter Baumannii infection in Children].

Objective: To understand the risk factors and antibiotics-resistant patterns of invasive Acinetobacter baumannii infection in Children. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in 6 tertiary hospitals from January 2016 to December 2018. The basic information, clinical data and the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing were collected from the 98 pediatric inpatients with Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid and analyzed. According to the susceptibility of the infected strains to carbapenems, they were divided into carbapenem-sensitive Acinetobacter baumannii (CSAB) group and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) group. According to the possible sources of infection, they were divided into nosocomial infection group and community infection group. Chi-square test or Fisher exact test were used to analyze categorical variables and rank sum test were used to analyze continuous variables. The risk factors of invasive CRAB infection in children were analyzed by Logistic regression. Result: There were 56 males and 42 females in 98 cases. The onset age of patients was 8 (2, 24) months. There were 62 cases (63%) from rural area. A total of 87 cases (89%) were confirmed with bloodstream infection, and 12 cases (12%) confirmed with meningitis (1 case was accompanied with bloodstream infection). In these patients, 66 cases (67%) received invasive medical procedures or surgery, 54 cases (55%) received carbapenems-containing therapy. Twenty-four cases were infected with CRAB, and 74 cases with CSAB. The onset age of cases in CRAB group was lower than that in CSAB group (4 (1, 9) vs. 10 (4, 24) months, Z=-2.16, P=0.031). The proportions of hospitalization in intensive care unit, carbapenem antibiotics using, pneumonia and adverse prognosis in CRAB group were higher than those in CSAB group (6 cases (25%) vs. 4 cases (5%), 18 cases (75%) vs. 36 cases (49%), 17 cases (71%) vs. 17 cases (23%), 6 cases (25%) vs. 4 cases (5%), χ2=5.61, 5.09, 18.32, 5.61, all P<0.05). Seventy-seven cases were nosocomial infection and 21 cases were hospital-acquired infection. The proportion of children hospitalized in high-risk wards for nosocomial infections, length of hospitalization, number of antimicrobial therapy received and duration of antimicrobial therapy were higher in the hospital associated infection group than those in the community acquired infection group (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that children from rural area (OR=8.42, 95%CI 1.45-48.88), prior mechanical ventilation (OR=12.62, 95%CI 1.31-121.76), and prior antibiotic therapy (OR=4.90, 95%CI 1.35-17.72) were independent risk factors for CRAB infection. The resistance percentage of CSAB isolates to many classes of antibiotics was <6% except to gentamicin, which was as high as 20% (13/65). All CRAB isolates of resistant to ampicillin-sulbactam (20/20), cefepime (23/23), piperacillin (17/17), meropenem (23/23) and imipenem (24/24) were 100%. The resistance percentage to other antibiotics were up to 42%-96%. Conclusions: Most of invasive Acinetobacter baumannii infection in children in China are hospital-acquired. The outcome of invasive CRAB infection was poorer than that of CSAB infection. The drug resistance rate of CRAB strains isolated is high. Living in rural area, prior invasive mechanical ventilation and prior antibiotic therapy were independent risk factors for invasive CRAB infection. The prevention and control of nosocomial infection and appropriate use of antibiotics to reduce Acinetobacter baumannii infection.

[Predictive model of curative effect of mite subcutaneous immunotherapy in 5-18 years of age patients with allergic asthma].

Objective: To analyze the factors affecting the efficacy of mite subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in allergic asthma patients aged 5-18 years, and to find the best predictive model for the curative effect. Methods: The data of 688 patients aged 5-18 years with allergic asthma who completed more than 3 years of mite SCIT from December 2006 to November 2021 in the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Male, results of skin prick test (SPT), age, daily medication score (DMS), visual analogue scale (VAS) score, and enrollment season were defined as independent variables. R language models, including Logistic regression model, random forest model and extreme gradient boosting (XGboost) model, were used to analyze the impact of these independent variables on the outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to compare the predictive ability of the models. Hypothesis testing of the area under curve (AUC) of the 3 models was performed using DeLong test. Results: There were 435 males and 253 females in the 688 patients. There were 349 patients aged 5-<8 years, 240 patients aged 8-<11 years, and 99 patients aged 11-18 years. SPT showed that 429 cases (62.4%) were only allergic to mite, and 259 cases (37.7%) were also allergic to other allergens. According to the efficacy after 3 years of SCIT, 351 cases (51.0%) discontinued the treatment and 337 cases (49.0%) required continued treatment. The DMS was 4 (3, 6) at initiation, 3 (2, 5) at 3 months, 3 (2, 5) at 4 months, 2 (1, 3) at 12 months, and 0 (0, 1) at 3 years of SCIT treatment. The VAS was 3.5 (2.5, 5.2) at initiation, 3.2 (2.2, 4.8) at 3 months, 2.6 (1.4, 4.1) at 4 months, 1.0 (0.6, 1.8) at 12 months, and 0.5 (0, 1.2) at 3 years of treatment. At 3, 4, and 12 months, the rate of decline in DMS was 0 (0, 20%), 16.7% (0, 33.3%), and 50.0% (31.0%, 75.0%), respectively; and the VAS decreased by 7.1% (3.2%,13.8%), 27.6% (16.7%,44.4%), and 70.2% (56.1%, 82.3%), respectively. Regarding the enrollment season, 99 cases were in spring, 230 cases in summer, 171 cases in autumn, and 188 cases in winter. The R language Logistic regression model found that DMS>3 points at 3 months (OR=-3.5, 95%CI:-4.3--2.7, P<0.01), male (OR=-1.7, 95%CI:-2.3--1.0), P<0.01), DMS decline rate>16.7% at 4 months (OR=-1.6, 95%CI:-2.3--0.8, P<0.01) and DMS decline rate>0 at 3 months (OR=-0.7, 95%CI:-1.3--0.2, P<0.05) had higher possibility of drug discontinuation; whereas, the decline rate of DMS at 12 months>50.0% (OR=0.7, 95%CI: 0.1-1.3, P<0.05), VAS at 12 months>1.0 points (OR=0.9, 95%CI: 0.3-1.6, P<0.05), and initial VAS<4.0 points (OR=1.0, 95%CI: 0.4-1.6, P<0.01) had lower possibility of drug discontinuation. Both the random forest model and the XGboost model showed that DMS>3 points at 3 months (mean decrease accuracy=30.9, importance=0.45) had the greatest impact on drug discontinuation. The AUC of the random forest model was the largest at 0.900, with an accuracy of 78.2% and a sensitivity of 84.5%. Logistic regression model had AUC of 0.891, accuracy of 80.0%, and sensitivity of 80.0%; XGboost model had AUC of 0.886, accuracy of 76.9%, and sensitivity of 84.5%. The AUC of the pairwise comparison model by DeLong test found that all three models could be used for the prediction of this data set (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The more drugs used to control the primary disease, and the more careful reduction of the control medicine after starting SCIT treatment, the more favorable it is to stop all drugs after 3 years. The random forest model is the best predictive model for the efficacy of mite SCIT in asthmatic children.

[Association and gender difference analysis of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome and liver injury].

Objective: To investigate the correlation and sex difference between obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and liver injury. Methods: A total of 974 OSAHS patients (444 cases of mild to moderate, 530 cases of severe) and 111 cases of simple snoring in the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and Zhangzhou Municipal Hospital from November 2015 to September 2019 were included in the study. The basic information of the patients was obtained through face-to-face survey with self-made questionnaire, physical examination, sleep monitoring and blood biochemical and liver function index detection were carried out among the included subjects. Multiple logistic regression model was used to analyze the correlation between OSAHS and liver injury and the gender differences. Results: The subjects were (50±14) years old, including 841 males (77.5%). Statistically significant differences in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), fasting blood glucose, alamine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ALT/AST, gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), the rate of elevated ALT, AST and liver injury were observed among the three groups (all P values<0.05). There was no significant difference in total bilirubin and ALP among all groups (all P values>0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, severe OSAHS was positively correlated with liver injury [OR (95%CI): 2.25 (1.22-4.14)]. Subgroup analysis by gender showed that severe OSAHS was positively correlated with liver injury in males [OR (95%CI): 2.20 (1.04-4.65)], but not in females, mild to moderate OSAHS [OR (95%CI): 1.56 (0.52-4.71)] or severe OSAHS [OR (95%CI): 2.07(0.64-6.75)], after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusion: Severe OSAHS is positively correlated with liver injury in males, while female OSAHS is not associated with liver injury.

[Current status and progress of precision nutritional weight management guided by single nucleotide polymorphism].

The incidence of obesity in our country is increasing year by year. Diet and lifestyle interventions are the most commonly used weight loss measures, but their intervention effects are affected by individual genetics, environment and other factors. Genome-wide association analysis has found many SNPs related to weight loss, and explored the interaction between these loci and diet, intestinal flora and other environmental factors. This article summarizes the study of single nucleotide polymorphisms, the analysis of gene-environment interactions related to diet interventions for weight loss, and the multi-loci analysis and prediction models such as genetic risk scores and machine learning modeling in weight loss, which provides reference for the further application and development of the precise nutrition in medical weight loss.

[Epidemiological research progress on the relationship between children's dietary patterns and health].

As food preferences and eating habits form early in life, the development of healthy eating habits in early childhood is a way to prevent diet-related diseases. The dietary pattern approach examines the effect of an overall diet on health outcomes, instead of individual foods or nutrients, thereby presenting a comprehensive evaluation of children's dietary intake. This article reviews the current literature to summarize the main methods for assessing dietary patterns and explore relationships between children's dietary patterns and obesity, puberty onset, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodevelopment. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence-based support for reducing the risk of diet-related diseases in children and recommendations for future research directions.

Global Burden and Inequality of Dental Caries, 1990 to 2019.

Previous studies on the global burden of caries primarily focused on simple descriptive statistics. We aimed to characterize the burden, trends, and inequalities of untreated caries of permanent and deciduous teeth from 1990 to 2019 at the global, regional, and national levels through an array of analytic approaches. Estimates of caries burden were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Decomposition analysis was performed to examine the contribution of demographic and epidemiologic factors to the evolving number of prevalent caries cases. In portfolio analysis, the caries epidemiologic profile of each country was categorized by terciles of age-standardized prevalence in 2019 and average annual percentage change from 1990 to 2019. Sociodemographic attribution analysis was performed to reveal the scale of inequality in burden of caries. Age-standardized prevalence of caries in permanent and deciduous teeth decreased 3.6% (95% uncertainty interval, 2.6% to 4.5%) and 3.0% (1.3% to 4.9%), respectively. Population growth was the key driver of the changes in the number of caries cases, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (percentage contribution: 126.6%, permanent teeth; 103.0%, deciduous teeth). Caries prevalence in the permanent dentition was lower in more developed countries, whereas a reverse trend was noted in the deciduous dentition, except for the highest sociodemographic quintile where caries prevalence was the lowest. Globally, 64.6 million (95% CI, 64.4 to 64.9 million) and 62.9 million (62.8 to 63.1 million) prevalent cases of caries in permanent and deciduous teeth were attributable to sociodemographic inequality in 2019. This amounted to 3.2% (3.2% to 3.2%) and 12.1% (12.1% to 12.1%) of the global number of prevalent cases of caries in permanent and deciduous teeth. Burden of dental caries remains a global public health challenge. A systemwide reform of the global oral health care system is needed to tackle the causes of the burden and inequality of dental caries.

[Mechanism of hepatic fibrosis associated with Echinococcus: a review].

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus infections, and this disorder may cause fibrosis of multiple vital organs, which may further progress into cirrhosis. Early-stage hepatic fibrosis is reversible, and unraveling the mechanisms underlying hepatic fibrosis induced by Echinococcus infections is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of early-stage hepatic fibrosis. Recently, the studies pertaining to hepatic fibrosis associated with Echinococcus infections focus on cytokines and immune cells. This review summarizes the advances in the mechanisms underlying host immune cells- and cytokines-mediated hepatic fibrosis in humans or mice following Echinococcus infections.

Advances in the study of molecular identification technology of Echinococcus species

@#The larvae of Echinococcus (hydatidcyst) can parasitize humans and animals, causing a serious zoonotic disease-echinococcosis. The life history of Echinococcus is complicated, and as the disease progresses slowly after infection, early diagnosis is difficult to establish. Due to the limitations of imaging and immunological diagnosis in this respect, domestic and foreign scholars have established a variety of molecular detection techniques for the pathogen Echinococcus over recent years, mainly including nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), multiplex PCR, real-time quantitative PCR, and nucleic acid isothermal amplification technology. In this article, the research progress of molecular detection technology for Echinococcus infection currently was reviewed and the significance of these methods in the detection and diagnosis of hydatid and hydatid diseases was also discussed.

[Follow - up prognostic study on two imported patients with human African trypanosomiasis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognosis of two rare imported patients with human African trypanosomias (HAT) after treatment in a follow-up study, and to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy, so as to provide insights into the treatment of imported HAT patients. METHODS: The white blood cells in cerebrospinal fluid samples and the trypomastigotes in cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples were monitored in an imported case with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense infection 1, 3, 11 and 25 months post-treatment and in an imported case with T. brucei gambiense infection 1, 3, 8 and 12 months post-treatment to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and prognosis. RESULTS: There were 1, 1, 4 and 2 white blood cells in per µL of cerebrospinal fluid in the case with T. brucei rhodesiense infection 1, 3, 11 and 25 months post-treatment, and there were 3, 6, 4 and 3 white blood cells in per µL of cerebrospinal fluid in the case with T. brucei gambiense infection 1, 3, 8 and 12 months post-treatment. In addition, no trypomastigotes were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid or blood samples of either case with T. brucei rhodesiense or T. brucei gambiense infection. CONCLUSIONS: Following standardized treatment, two imported cases with human African trypanosomiasis cases recover satisfactorily, without any signs of relapse.

[The cervical microbiota characteristics in patients with human papillomavirus infection].

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of cervical microbiota in patients with HPV (Human Papillomavirus) infection, and to analyze the associations of cervical microbiota and HPV infection or cervicitis. Methods: 300 samples underwent HPV nucleic acid testing was collected in this case-control study from June 2019 to April 2020 in the Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University, there were 150 cases allocated in HPV infection group (HPV+), and 150 cases of negative nucleic acid test were non-infectious Group (HPV-). Next-generation sequencing was used to sequence the V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, and QIIME pipeline was used to analysis the microbiota composition of the two groups. Wilcoxon rank sum test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to statistically analysis the differences of the microbiota between groups; and the α diversity and ß diversity of the flora between groups were statistically analyzed by Adonis multivariate analysis of variance and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: A total of 300 samples were analyzed in this study, of which 150 samples were HPV-positive and 150 samples were HPV-negative; among HPV-positive cases, 132 were infected by high-risk HPV (88.0%), and 18 were low-risk HPV infections (12.0%). The composition of the cervical microbiota were significantly different between the HPV+group and the HPV-group, which in the HPV+group, the α diversity of the cervical microbiota were significantly increased (Shannon index, W=8 174, P<0.000 1; PD whole tree, W=8 887, P=0.001 7). The ß diversity of the two groups was significantly different (Binary Jaccard, F=2.325 4, P=0.042 0; Bray Curtis, F=2.136 44, P=0.044 0). The relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. and L.iners in the HPV+group sample decreased significantly (W=7 730, P<0.000 1; W=8 979, P=0.002 5), accompanied by enriched Achromobacter, Stenotrophomonas, Methylobacterium, Sneathia and Dialister. There was no significant difference in the composition of the cervical microbiota between high-risk HPV infection and low-risk HPV infection (F=4.100 4, P>0.05). In addition, cervicitis is significantly related to HPV infection (χ²=19.78, P<0.000 1), the composition of cervical flora has similarity features in cervicitis and HPV infection samples. Compared with the normal group, the cervical microbiota of cervicitis with HPV infection is mainly enriched in Achromobacter, Aerococcaceae, Streptococcus, Fusobacteria, and Xanthomonadaceae. Conclusion: The cervical microbiota of patients with HPV infection has a significant dysbiosis, with increased diversity and significant depletion of lactobacillus, accompanied by an increase in the abundance of pathogenic bacteria such as Achromobacter.

Dendritic cell TLR4 induces Th1-type immune response against Cryptosporidium parvum infection.

The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism of Toll-like receptor (TLR4)- mediated dendritic cell (DC) immune against Cryptosporidium parvum infection. C. parvum sporozoites were labeled with 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester. Murine bone marrow-derived DCs were isolated, and divided into TLR4 antibody blocking (TAB; infected with 2 × 105 labeled sporozoites and 0.5 µg TLR4 blocking antibody), TLR4 antibody unblocking (TAU; infected with 2 × 105 labeled sporozoites), and blank control (BC; with 1.5 mL Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 medium) groups. The adhesion of Cryptosporidium sporozoites to DCs and CD11c+ levels were examined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Male KM mice were orally injected with C. parvum. The proliferation of T lymphocytes in spleen, expression of cytokines in peripheral blood, and TLR4 distribution features in different organs were further determined by immunohistochemistry. A significantly higher expression of CD11c+ and higher C. parvum sporozoite adhesion were found in the TAU group compared with other groups. The expression of CD4+CD8- /CD8+CD4- in the spleen were obviously differences between the TAB and TAU groups. The expression of TLR4, interleukin IL-4, IL-12, IL-18 and IFN-γ improved in the TAU group compared with TAB group. Higher expression of TLR4 was detected in the lymph nodes of mice in the TAU group, with pathological changes in the small intestine. Hence, TLR4 could mediate DCs to recognize C. parvum, inducing Th1 immune reaction to control C. parvum infection.

Improving probiotic spore yield using rice straw hydrolysate.

Spore-forming Bacillus sp. has been extensively studied for their probiotic properties. In this study, an acid-treated rice straw hydrolysate was used as carbon source to produce the spores of Bacillus coagulans. The results showed that this hydrolysate significantly improved the spore yield compared with other carbon sources such as glucose. Three significant medium components including rice straw hydrolysate, MnSO4 and yeast extract were screened by Plackett-Burman design. These significant variables were further optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal values of the medium components were rice straw hydolysate of 27% (v/v), MnSO4 of 0·78 g l-1 and yeast extract of 1·2 g l-1 . The optimized medium and RSM model for spore production were validated in a 5 l bioreactor. Overall, this sporulation medium containing acid-treated rice straw hydrolysate has a potential to be used in the production of B. coagulans spores.

Dendritic cell TLR4 induces Th1-type immune response against Cryptosporidium parvum infection

@#The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism of Toll-like receptor (TLR4)- mediated dendritic cell (DC) immune against Cryptosporidium parvum infection. C. parvum sporozoites were labeled with 5,6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester. Murine bone marrow-derived DCs were isolated, and divided into TLR4 antibody blocking (TAB; infected with 2 × 105 labeled sporozoites and 0.5 μg TLR4 blocking antibody), TLR4 antibody unblocking (TAU; infected with 2 × 105 labeled sporozoites), and blank control (BC; with 1.5 mL Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 medium) groups. The adhesion of Cryptosporidium sporozoites to DCs and CD11c+ levels were examined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Male KM mice were orally injected with C. parvum. The proliferation of T lymphocytes in spleen, expression of cytokines in peripheral blood, and TLR4 distribution features in different organs were further determined by immunohistochemistry. A significantly higher expression of CD11c+ and higher C. parvum sporozoite adhesion were found in the TAU group compared with other groups. The expression of CD4+CD8- /CD8+CD4- in the spleen were obviously differences between the TAB and TAU groups. The expression of TLR4, interleukin IL-4, IL-12, IL-18 and IFN-γ improved in the TAU group compared with TAB group. Higher expression of TLR4 was detected in the lymph nodes of mice in the TAU group, with pathological changes in the small intestine. Hence, TLR4 could mediate DCs to recognize C. parvum, inducing Th1 immune reaction to control C. parvum infection.

[Establishment of a recombinase-aided isothermal amplification assay for nucleic acid detection of Echinococcus multilocularis and its preliminary application].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a rapid nucleic acid detection technique for identification of Echinococcus multilocularis based on the recombinase aided isothermal amplification assay (RAA) and assess its diagnostic efficiency. METHODS: The mitochondrial gene sequence of E. multilocularis (GenBank accession number: AB018440) was used as a target sequence. The primers were designed according to the RAA reaction principle and synthesized, and RAA was performed using the generated primers. E. multilocularis genomic DNA at various concentrations and the pMD19-T (Simple) vector containing various copies of the target gene fragment were amplified using RAA to evaluate its sensitivity for detection of E. multilocularis, and RAA was em- ployed to detect the genomic DNA of E. granulosus G1 genotype, Taenia saginata, T. asiatica, T. multiceps, Dipylidium caninum, Toxocara canis, Trichuris trichiura, Giardia lamblia, Fasciola hepatica, Paragonimus westermani, Fasciola gigantica and Clonorchis sinensis to evaluate its specificity. In addition, the optimized RAA was employed to detect nine tissue specimens of E. granulosus-infected animals, 3 fecal samples from E. granulosus-infected dogs and 2 fecal samples from field infected dogs to examine its reliability and feasibility. RESULTS: The established RAA was able to detect the specific target gene fragment of E. multilocularis within 40 min. The lowest detect limit of RAA was 10 pg if E. multilocularis genomic DNA served as a template. If the re- combinant plasmid was used as a template, the minimally detectable copy number of RAA was 104. In addition, RAA was nega- tive for the genomic DNA of E. granulosus G1 genotype, T. saginata, T. asiatica, T. multiceps, D. caninum, T. canis, T. trichiura, G. lamblia, F. hepatica, P. westermani, F. gigantica and C. sinensis. The established RAA was positive for detection of the tissue specimens of infected animals, and simulated and field dog stool samples. CONCLUSIONS: A rapid, sensitive and specific RAA is established, which shows promising values in identification of E. multilocularis and gene diagnosis of alveolar echinococcosis.