Rickettsia burneti and Brucella melitensis co-infection: a case report and literature review.

Rickettsia is the pathogen of Q fever, Brucella ovis is the pathogen of brucellosis, and both of them are Gram-negative bacteria which are parasitic in cells. The mixed infection of rickettsia and Brucella ovis is rarely reported in clinic. Early diagnosis and treatment are of great significance to the treatment and prognosis of brucellosis and Q fever. Here, we report a case of co-infection Rickettsia burneti and Brucella melitensis. The patient is a 49-year-old sheepherder, who was hospitalized with left forearm trauma. Three days after admission, the patient developed fever of 39.0°C, accompanied by sweating, fatigue, poor appetite and headache. Indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) was used to detect Rickettsia burneti IgM. After 72 hours of blood culture incubation, bacterial growth was detected in aerobic bottles, Gram-negative bacilli were found in culture medium smear, the colony was identified as Brucella melitensis by mass spectrometry. Patients were treated with doxycycline (100 mg bid, po) and rifampicin (600 mg qd, po) for 4 weeks. After treatment, the symptoms disappeared quickly, and there was no sign of recurrence or chronic infection. Q fever and Brucella may exist in high-risk practitioners, so we should routinely detect these two pathogens to prevent missed diagnosis.

Molecular analysis of Chinese truffles resembling Tuber californicum in morphology reveals a rich pattern of species diversity with emphasis on four new species.

In China the species name Tuber californicum is assigned to pale truffles in the genus Tuber that have more or less regularly globose ascospores; however, we recently discovered that the name was misapplied to some specimens collected in China. In the present study we re-examined all available Chinese collections purported to be T. californicum, including herbarium specimens and newly collected materials, with morphological and molecular methods. The accessions separated into seven clusters in a phylogenetic analysis based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacers sequences of these materials. An ML tree generated with ITS, nuc 28S rDNA and translation elongation factor-1α sequences from Chinese and worldwide Tuber species with globose ascospores showed only two clades, the Puberulum clade and Latisporum clade. The Latisporum clade as recognized in this study includes the species known from eastern Asia only and probably represents a new lineage that arose in parallel with the Puberulum, Maculatum and Gibbosum lineages. We concluded that no evidence supports the existence of T. californicum in China and that the specimens misidentified as T. californicum belong to four species newly described herein, T. xuanhuaense, T. jinshajiangense, T. caoi and T. parvomurphium.

Phylogenetic analyses of Chinese Tuber species that resemble T. borchii reveal the existence of the new species T. hubeiense and T. wumengense.

In phylogenetic analyses based on the internal transcribed spacers and 28S nuc rDNA and translation elongation factor 1-α to compare Chinese white truffle specimens that have ascomata resembling the European Tuber borchii, the sequences of Chinese species resembling T. borchii in morphology grouped into seven distinct clusters among three clades: Puberulum, Maculatum and Latisporum No sequences from these Chinese species matched those of the European T. borchii and the occurrence of the European T. borchii in China could not be supported by our study. Three unknown species are recognized from the seven Chinese clusters; two are described here as T. hubeiense and T. wumengense based on molecular and morphological evidence.

A taxonomic reassessment of the genus Balsamia from China.

Molecular analysis of the genus Balsamia was conducted with ITS and 28S sequences available, including newly gained sequences from Chinese specimens. Combined with the morphological examinations, a new hypogeous species, Balsamia lishanensis was described and illustrated from North China, which is morphologically characterized by reddish brown ascomata covered with fine warts, the whitish gleba with numerous small chambers, 3-5 layers peridium with reddish brown polygonal cells and the smooth and regular ellipsoid ascospores with one large oil drop. Two species previously described as Barssia were transferred to Balsamia. Balsamia platyspora was confirmed to be in existence in China based on newly collected specimen. A key to the Chinese Balsamia species was provided.

Four new Tuber species added to the Rufum group from China based on morphological and molecular evidence.

Four new species, Tuber crassitunicatum, T. lishanense, T. piceatum, and T. wanglangense, are described and illustrated based on both morphological and molecular data. Morphologically, T. crassitunicatum is diagnosed by its brown ascomata and ellipsoidal ascospores ornamented by crowded spiny reticulum with more than 10 meshes across the spore width. Tuber lishanense can be recognized by its whitish to pale brown ascomata with a basal cavity, and very broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose ascospores ornamented by densely isolated spines. Tuber piceatum differs in its pale white ascomata and ellipsoidal ascospores with isolated spines, whereas T. wanglangense is characterized by its broad ellipsoidal ascospores with short spines that are connected by lower ridges when examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Phylogenetic analyses inferred the four new species in the Rufum group. Each species had less than 96% similarity in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) nuc rDNA ITS sequence to other Tuber species and represented a unique terminal clade in the phylogenetic tree. Our research did not confirm the occurrence in China of the European T. rufum and T. nitidum and the North American T. lyonii, although they are often reported in the literature on Chinese Tuber species.

The efficacy of intravenous aminocaproic acid in primary total hip and knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs to assess the efficacy of aminocaproic acid in cases of primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Potentially relevant academic articles were identified from the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (1966-2017 October 31), PubMed (1966-2017 October 31), EMBASE (1980-2017 October 31), and ScienceDirect (1985-2017 October 31). Secondary sources were identified from the references of the included literature. The pooled data were analyzed using RevMan 5.1. RESULTS: Three RCTs and four non-RCTs met the inclusion criteria. There were significant differences in total blood loss (mean difference (MD) = - 495.80, 95% CI - 837.29 to - 154.32, P = 0.004), drainage volume (MD = - 249.43, 95% CI - 286.78 to - 212.08, P < 0.00001), postoperative hemoglobin level (MD = 0.90, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.02, P < 0.00001), hemoglobin reduction (MD = - 0.75, 95% CI - 0.93 to - 0.57, P < 0.00001), transfusion rates (risk difference (RD) = - 0.17, 95% CI - 0.25 to - 0.09, P < 0.0001), average transfusion units (MD = - 0.28, 95% CI - 0.48 to - 0.09, P = 0.004), and length of hospital stay (MD = - 0.33, 95% CI - 0.43 to - 0.24, P < 0.00001) between the two groups. No significant differences were found regarding deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (RD = - 0.00, 95% CI - 0.01 to 0.00, P = 0.36) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis indicated that the application of aminocaproic acid in THA or TKA decreases the total blood loss, drainage volume, transfusion rate, transfusion units per patient, and length of hospital stay and does not increase the risk of DVT.

Nutritional value, chemical composition and antioxidant activity of three Tuber species from China.

Nutritional value, chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the traditional edible truffles Tuber latisporum, T. subglobosum and T. pseudohimalayense, from China were evaluated. Powder formulations of the three truffles revealed the presence of essential nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates and unsaturated fatty acids, and T. latisporum presented the highest contents of total sugar (50.10 g/100 g) and monounsaturated fatty acids (265.19 mg/100 g dw); T. pseudohimalayense showed the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (367.98 mg/100 g dw). They all presented a low fat content but high contents of proteins and unsaturated fatty acid, which is beneficial to human health. The methanol extract from T. pseudohimalayense showed a high radicals scavenging activity and the highest content of total phenols (735.01 mg/100 g dw); T. subglobosum presented the highest content of flavonoids (1355.43 mg/100 g dw). All these extracts could be used as potential antioxidant sources to prevent diseases related to oxidative damage.