Toxoplasma gondii is a medically and agriculturally important protozoan parasite that can infect virtually all the mammalian and avian species. Previous studies showed that the family of rhoptry proteins (ROPs) plays a key role in the invasion process of T. gondii, and its several members can be potential marker for population genetic researches of Toxoplasma. In order to estimate whether other member is also suitable as the novel genetic marker, the variation of ROP41 gene among 11 T. gondii isolates from different hosts and geographical locations and two reference strains was examined in this study. Our results showed that all the examined sequence of TgROP41 gene was 1473 bp in length, and their A+T contents were between 48.47% and 48.88%. Sequence analysis presented 14 nucleotide mutation positions (0%-0.54%), leading to 5 amino acid substitutions (0%-0.61%) through alignment with T. gondii ME49 strain (ToxoDB: TGME49_266100). Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses by MP and BI methods based on deduced amino acid sequences of TgROP41 gene was only able to distinguish the type I strain, but not able to separate the two classical genotypes (Type II and III) into the respective clusters. These results indicated limited sequence diversity in the TgROP41 gene.

The study of children who experienced with febrile seizures(FS) as a result of COVID-19 infection to gain insight into the clinical characteristics and prognosis of neurological damage, with the aim of improving prevention, diagnosis, and the treatment of neurological complications. This study investigated the clinical features of 53 children with FS who were admitted to Sanya Women and Children’s Hospital from December 1, 2022, to January 31, 2023. The results indicated that the duration of convulsion in the case and control group was 7.90±8.91 and 2.67±1.23 (minutes) respectively. The analysis reveals that convulsions occurred within 24 hours in 39 cases (95.12%) of the case group, and in 8 cases (66.7%) of the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Additionally, the case group presented lower counts of WBC and NEU compared to the control group (p<0.05). The findings indicate that convulsions manifest at earlier stages of COVID-19 in children and the last longer than in the control group. It is therefore crucial for healthcare workers to remain attentive to patients with COVID-19 who report fever within 24 hours, and act promptly to implement preventive measures, particularly in cases of prolonged fever. It is essential to integrate the clinical manifestation, particularly convulsions, and the continuous numerical changes of inflammatory factors to assess COVID-19 linked with febrile seizures. In addition, larger-scale multi-center and systematic research are necessary to aid clinicians in monitoring neuropathological signals and biological targets, enabling more equitable diagnosis and treatment plans.