Objective To investigate the risk factors, pathogens spectrum and antimicrobial susceptibility of neonatal fungal septicemia. Methods Medical records of 23 neonates with fungal septicemia from May 2009 to August 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Results A total of 36 strains of fungi including 20 strains of Candidaparapsilosis (55.6%) and 11 strains of Candidaalbicans (30.6%) were isolated from 23 patients. Fungal pathogens were susceptible to amphotericin and lfuorouracil, with susceptibility being 69.4%-77.8%. Prematurity, low birth weight, application of broad-spectrum antibiotics and invasive operation might be the risk factors of fungal septicemia. Fifteen cases (65.2%) had good outcomes (survival or partial restoration), while 8 cases (34.8%) had poor outcomes (withdrawing therapy or death). The duration of antifungal therapy in good prognosis group was longer than that in poor prognosis group (t=2.982, P<0.05). No significant difference in indicators of liver and kidney function was observed between before antifungal therapy and within 2 weeks after treatment. Meanwhile, no signiifcant difference of WBC was found between before antifungal therapy and within 2 weeks after treatment. The platelet counts were increased within one week after initial antifungal therapy (P<0.05). Conclusions Candida is the main pathogen of neonatal fungal septicemia and sensitive to amphotericin B. Long enough course of antifungal therapy is necessary to improve the cure rate.

Objective:To observe the influence of valsartan combined with Bailing capsules on urinary albumin excretion rate in early stage of type 2 diabetic nephropathy ( DN) , and explore its protection in early DN. Methods:Sixty patients with early DN were randomly divided into two groups. On the basis of diet control and blood glucose regulation, the control group (n=30) was given valsartan 160 mg, qd, while the prevention group (n=30) was treated by valsartan (160 mg·d-1) combined with Bailing capsules (2. 0g, po, tid), and the treatment course was 12 weeks. The urinary albumin excretion rate ( UAER) , mean arterial blood pressure ( MAP) , serum creat-inine ( Scr) and hemoglobin A1c ( HbA1c) were measured and compared before and after the treatment in the two groups. Results:UAER in the two groups was significantly reduced after the treatment compared with that before the treatment (P<0. 01), and that in the prevention group was obviously lower than that in the control group (P<0. 01). MAP in the two groups was significantly decreased after the treatment as well (P<0. 01), while there was no significant difference between the two groups. Scr and Hb Alc in the two groups showed no significant changes before and after the treatment (P>0. 05). Conclusion:Valsartan combined with Bailing capsules shows certain effects in the treatment of early stage of type 2 diabetic nephropathy by decreasing the urinary albumin excretion.

New epidemic broke out in recent year which was suspected to be caused by variant Muscovy duck parvovirus (MDPV). For this reason, new MDPV detection methods are needed for the new virus strains. In this study, a pair of primers were designed according to the full-length genome of MDPV strain SAAS-SHNH, which were identified in 2012, and were used to amplify the vp3 gene of MDPV by polymerase chain reaction. After being sequenced, the vp3 gene was subcloned into the prokaryotic expression vector PET28a. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 and induced with IPTG. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting analysis showed the MDPV vp3 gene was successfully expressed. After being purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography system, the recombinant protein was used as antigen to immunize rabbits to obtain antiserum. Western blotting analysis showed that the acquired antiserum could react specifically with VP3 protein of J3D6 strain and MDPV vaccine strain. The antiserum could also be used for detection of cultured MDPV from primary duck embryo fibroblasts by immune fluorescence assay (IFA). It could be concluded that the VP3 protein and its antibody prepared in the research could be used for detection of VP3 antiserum and antigen respectively.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; DNA Primers ; Ducks ; virology ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Immune Sera ; biosynthesis ; Parvovirus ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rabbits ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; Viral Proteins ; genetics

Radiotherapy is a treatment for cancer with undesired by-effects. In order to develop a new radiation protective agent that could reduce the by-effects, we tried to express and purify human cryptochrome 1 (hCRY1). The coding sequence of hCRY1 was inserted into prokaryotic expression plasmid pET28a(+), and this protein was purified from Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) after IPTG induction, ultrasonication, inclusion body dissolution, gradient dialysis, nickel column purification and ultrafiltration. The yield of hCRY1 in 1 L E. coli culture (LB medium) was about 10-15 mg. The radiation protective efficiency of hCRY1 was monitored by detecting X-ray-induced H2A.X foci in HaCaT cells. The results of immunofluorescence show that hCRY1 significantly reduces X-ray stimulated DNA damage response. The apoptosis of HaCaT cell was also detected, and the repression of H2A.X foci formation was not due to hCRY1's cytotoxity. All these data suggest a potential application of recombinant hCRY1 as a protective agent for radiotherapy.
Cryptochromes ; biosynthesis ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Plasmids ; Radiation-Protective Agents ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis

Porcine interferon-alpha (pIFN-alpha) fermentative production by recombinant Pichia pastoris was carried out in a 10-L bioreactor to study its metabolism changes and effects on fermentation under different inducing strategies, by analyzing the change patterns of the corresponding metabolism and energy regeneration. The results show that the specific activities of alcohol oxidase (AOX), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FLD) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) largely increased when reducing temperature from 30 degrees C to 20 degrees C under pure methanol induction, leading significant enhancements in methanol metabolism, formaldehyde dissimilatory energy metabolism and pIFN-alpha antiviral activity. The highest pIFN-alpha antiviral activity reached 1.4 x 10(6) IU/mL, which was about 10-folds of that obtained under 30 degrees C induction. Using methanol/sorbitol co-feeding strategy at 30 degrees C, the major energy metabolism energizing pIFN-alpha synthesis shifted from formaldehyde dissimilatory energy metabolism pathway to TCA cycle, formaldehyde dissimilatory pathway was weakened and accumulation of toxic intermediate metabolite-formaldehyde was relieved, and methanol flux distribution towards to pIFN-alpha synthesis was enhanced. Under this condition, the highest pIFN-alpha antiviral activity reached 1.8 x 10(7) IU/mL which was about 100-folds of that obtained under pure methanol induction at 30 degrees C. More important, enhanced pIFN-alpha production with methanol/sorbitol co-feeding strategy could be implemented under mild conditions, which greatly reduced the fermentation costs and improved the entire fermentation performance.
Animals ; Energy Metabolism ; Fermentation ; Interferon-alpha ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Methanol ; pharmacology ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Sorbitol ; pharmacology ; Swine

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of daily use of a test emollient combined with topical glucocorticoids applied at the weekend for delaying the recurrence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children during the maintenance period.Methods:A randomized, blank-controlled, multicenter clinical study was conducted in children with moderate AD from Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University and Shenzhen Children′s Hospital from March 2021 to February 2022. A total of 127 children aged 0 - 12 years with moderate AD were treated with topical glucocorticoids combined with emollients during the run-in period, 112 out of them achieved the investigator′s global assessment (IGA) score ≤ 1 point, and then the 112 patients were randomly divided into a test group (56 cases) and a control group (56 cases) at a ratio of 1∶1. Patients in the test group received treatment with a test emollient twice a day in combination with topical glucocorticoids applied at the weekend, and those in the control group were only treated with topical glucocorticoids at the weekend. Patients in the two groups were followed up at baseline, week 2 (± 3 d), week 4 (± 5 d), and week 12 (±7 d), as well as at the time of AD relapse, and the effect of the test emollient on the remission rate of AD in children during the maintenance period was evaluated, so were its effects on the dosage of topical glucocorticoids, pruritus, sleep, and skin pH. The occurrence of treatment-related adverse events was evaluated and recorded at the same time. Study endpoints were defined as AD relapse during the maintenance period, end of 12-week follow-up, or occurrence of serious adverse events. Comparisons of efficacy indicators between groups were conducted by using chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, Satterthwaite t′ test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:In the full-analysis set, 45 (80.36%) patients with AD maintained remission in the test group (56 cases) and 30 (53.57%) in the control group (56 cases), and the remission rate difference between the two groups was 26.79% (95% confidence interval [ CI]: 10.09%, 43.49%; χ2 = 9.11, P = 0.003) ; the 12-week follow-up during the maintenance period showed that the time to first relapse was 75.05 ± 25.07 days in the test group, which was significantly longer than that in the control group (49.55 ± 33.92 days, t′ = 4.52, P < 0.001). At the study endpoint, the test group showed significantly decreased AD disease severity score (eczema area and severity index [EASI] score: 0.00 [0.00, 1.20] points vs. 0.60 [0.00, 4.00] points), pruritus visual analog scale (VAS) score (0.00 [0.00, 2.00] points vs. 2. 00 [0.00, 10.00] points), and sleep VAS score (0.00 [0.00, 0.00] points vs. 1.00 [0.00, 4.00] points) compared with the control group ( Z = -2.77, 2.43, 3.48, P = 0.006, = 0.015, < 0.001, respectively), while there was no significant difference in the pH value at the lesional sites between the test group and control group ( t = 0.97, P = 0.335). For the group aged 0 - 2 years, the average daily glucocorticoid dosage at the weekend in AD children during the maintenance period was significantly lower in the test group than in the control group ( Z = -1.97, P = 0.049) ; for the group aged >2 - 12 years, there was no significant difference in the average daily glucocorticoid dosage at the weekend between the two groups ( Z = -0.25, P = 0.802). During the study period, no significant difference was observed in the incidence of treatment-related adverse events between the test group (2/56, 3.57%) and control group (3/56, 5.36%; P = 1.000), and no serious adverse events occurred. Conclusion:Compared with the weekend treatment with topical glucocorticoids alone, the daily use of the test emollient combined with topical glucocorticoids at the weekend could markedly improve the remission rate of AD, prolong the time to relapse, and reduce the disease severity at relapse in children with AD during the maintenance period, which provides a new option for maintenance treatment of children with AD.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is one of the major etiologies responsible for the acute, highly contagious disease in the digestive tract of pigs, especially neonatal piglets. Since PEDV was first identified in Europe in the late 1970s, it has resulted in significant economic losses in many Asian swine-raising countries, including China. Recently, reverse genetics techniques including targeted RNA recombination, bacteria artificial chromosome system and in vitro ligation have been successfully used to manipulate the genome of PEDV, which providing new strategies for the clear delineation of the functions of the viral proteins, the mechanisms behind PEDV pathogenesis and the design of novel vaccines against PEDV. Here, we review the progresses of different reverse genetics platforms developed for PEDV and their applications, covering the roles of trypsin in PEDV propagation, functions of S and ORF3 protein and the development of next generation PED vaccines, and the perspectives of reverse genetics for PEDV.

ORF3 protein, the single accessory protein encoded by porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), is related to viral pathogenicity. In order to determine the cytoplasmic location signal of PEDV ORF3, we constructed a series of recombinant plasmids carrying full-length or truncated segments of PEDV DR13 ORF3 protein. When the acquired plasmids were transfected into Vero cells, expression and distribution of the EGFP-fused full-length ORF3 protein and its truncated forms in the cells were observed by laser confocal microscopy. The results showed that ORF3 protein or their truncated forms containing 40-91 aa segment including two transmembrane domains were localized in the cytoplasm, whereas ORF3 truncated peptides without the 40-91 aa segment were distributed in the whole cell (in both cytoplasm and nucleus). This suggests that the 40-91 aa is the key structural domain determining cytoplasmic location of PEDV ORF3 protein. The discovery provides reference for further clarifying intracellular transport and biological function of PEDV ORF3 protein.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Chlorocebus aethiops ; Coronavirus Infections ; virology ; Cytoplasm ; virology ; Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus ; genetics ; Protein Domains ; Swine ; Vero Cells ; Viral Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism

Three pairs of primers were designed according to the conserved region of IBRV gB gene published in GenBank(GenBank Accession No. DQ006857.1) using the software Primer Explorer V4. The loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was established by optimization of the reaction system and then evaluated through sensitivity and specificity tests. In total 393 clinical specimens were detected for IBRV using the established LAMP assay performed at 65℃ for 50 min, which produced a ladder-like pattern of amplification bands and the detection result could be judged by color change. The sensitivity of the assay was 10 copies/μL plasmid DNA which was 1000 times higher than that by PCR method and equivalent to nested-PCR. There was no cross-reactivity of the assay with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), pseudorabies virus (PRV) and vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). The positive rate of 301 nasal swabs and 92 serum specimens were 87.6% and 58.8%, respectively, which meant nasal swab specimen was more suitable for clinical IBRV detection by the method. The IBRV LAMP method established in this study has the advantages of visualization, quickness, specificity and sensitivity and be suitable for rapid detection of clinical IBRV detection on the spot.