Objective To assess the prevalence of mycoplasma genitalium(MG)in patients attending sexually transmitted disease(STD)clinic in Guangzhou,and to provide an epidemiological foundation for clinical treatment and laboratory diagnostics.Methods Utilizing real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR),we analyzed MG DNA in 2,749 clinical specimens collected from 2,722 outpatients in the Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University from July 2019 to December 2021.Concurrent testing for MG,Chlamydia trachomatis(CT),and Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG)was performed on 2,382 of these specimens.Patient data extracted from medical records were used to investigate the correlation between STD symptoms and MG infection.Results The investigation revealed that the overall prevalence of MG infection was 4.4%among the sampled patients(120 out of 2,722),with a higher prevalence in males(4.9%,or 87 out of 1,790)compared to in females(3.5%,or 33 out of 932).Notably,the prevalence decreased with increasing age.The highest incidence of MG infection was observed in females aged 18～25 years(6.4%,or 18 out of 281),while the lowest was in males aged 46 years and above(1.5%,or 5 out of 342),showing a statistically significant variation across age groups(P<0.05).Among males with urethritis symptoms,MG positive rate was significantly higher at 7.3%(42 out of 574).The rate of single MG infection was prominent,accounting for 89.9%(71 out of 79)in MG-positive male patients and 61.5%(16 out of 26)in MG-positive female patients.Co-infection rate of MG with CT was 1.2%in females and 0.3%in males,indicating a significant dif-ference(P<0.05).Conclusion The findings suggest a relatively high prevalence of MG infection and co-infection with CT among STD clinic attendees in Guangzhou,particularly in the younger demographic.The study underscores the need for early screening and vigilant surveillance of MG to mitigate its transmission among sexually active popula-tions at high risk.

Interleukin (IL)-17A, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is a fundamental function in the onset and advancement of multiple immune diseases. To uncover the primary compounds with IL-17A inhibitory activity, a large-scale screening of the library of traditional Chinese medicine constituents and microbial secondary metabolites was conducted using splenic cells from IL-17A-GFP reporter mice cultured under Th17-priming conditions. Our results indicated that some aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides isolated from a wetland mud-derived fungus, Myrothecium gramineum, showed remarkable IL-17A inhibitory activity. Nine new aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides, myrogramins A-I ( 1, 4- 11), and two known ones ( 2 and 3) were isolated and identified from the strain. Compounds 1, 3, 4, 10, and 11 exhibited significant IL-17A inhibitory activity. Among them, compound 3, with a high fermentation yield dose-dependently inhibited the generation of IL-17A and suppressed glycolysis in splenic cells under Th17-priming conditions. Strikingly, compound 3 suppressed immunopathology in both IL-17A-mediated animal models of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and pulmonary hypertension. Our results revealed that aureane-type sesquiterpene tetraketides are a novel class of immunomodulators with IL-17A inhibitory activity, and hold great promise applications in treating IL-17A-mediated immune diseases.

Plastics are widely used in daily life. Due to poor management and disposal, about 80% of plastic wastes were buried in landfills and eventually became land and ocean waste, causing serious environmental pollution. Recycling plastics is a desirable approach, but not applicable for most of the plastic waste. Microbial degradation offers an environmentally friendly way to degrade the plastic wastes, and this review summarizes the potential microbes, enzymes, and the underpinning mechanisms for degrading six most commonly used plastics including polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polystyrene and polyurethane. The challenges and future perspectives on microbial degradation of plastics were proposed.
Biodegradation, Environmental ; Plastics ; Polyurethanes ; Recycling

Four interesting sequoiatones stereoisomers (-) were isolated from a wetland soil-derived fungusby chiral HPLC. On the basis of comprehensive NMR and mass analyses, their planar structures were elucidated as the same as that of sequoiatone B. Among them,and(orand) were a pair of enantiomers, andand(orand) were a pair of stereoisomers with epimerization at C-12, which indicated that sequoiatione-type metabolites exist as enantiomers rather than as optically pure compounds in some strains. With the quantum chemical ECD calculations, the absolute configurations of C-8 in-were determined, which is the first report to establish the absolute configuration of C-8 in sequoiatones. However, the absolute configurations of C-12 in sequoiatones are still unsolved.

Objective To investigate the significance of combined detection of homocysteine(Hcy) and ischemia modified albu‐min(IMA) in serum to the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction(AMI) .Methods The serum levels of Hcy and IMA were detec‐ted in 80 patients with acute myocardial infarction ,60 patients with angina pectoris and 40 healthy subjects(control group) ,and the results were statistically analyzed .Results The concentration of Hcy and IMA in AMI patients was significantly higher than which in the control group ,the difference is statistically significant(P<0 .05);the sensitivity of the Hcy+ IMA combined diagnosis was higher than that of the single project .Hcy and IMA was positively related(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The combined detection of Hcy and IMA levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction has a good effect on early diagnosis and monitoring ,and it is worth popularizing .

Objective To explore the clinical features of congenital hepatic fibrosis (CHF) in children.MethodsA total of 111 patients diagnosed with CHF during January 2002 to June 2015 were included and divided into children group and adult group according to the age at diagnosis. The clinical data including gender, age, clinical symptoms, signs, laboratory examinations, and imaging characteristics were retrospectively analyzed and compared between two groups.ResultsThere were high incidences of splenomegaly and liver cirrhosis in both children and adult groups, and no difference was found between two groups (P>?0.05). The fatigue, jaundice, and hepatosplenomegaly were more common in children group while the renal cyst and liver cyst were more common in adult group, and the differences were statistically signiifcant (P all?

Objective To determine the prevalence of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae(PPNG) and the distribution of blaTEM-135 gene variants in PPNG at several gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance sites in China, to compare N. gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing(NG-MAST)types of PPNG and its blaTEM-135 gene variants, and to assess the difference and association in NG-MAST types of blaTEM-135 gene variants among different regions. Methods A total of 572 N. gonorrhoeae isolates were collected at 6 gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance sites from Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Tianjin, Guangdong and Guangxi in 2012. After isolation, purification, and identification, cefalotin paper discs were used for detection of PPNG. DNA was extracted by QIAxtractor DX kits after cultivation of the PPNG strains. Then, mismatch amplification mutation assay (MAMA) PCR was performed to identify blaTEM-135 variants, and NG-MAST analysis to determine N. gonorrhoeae genotypes. Results Among the 572 N. gonorrhoeae strains, 38.1%(218/572) were identified as PPNG, and of the PPNG strains, 52.3% (114/218) were blaTEM-135 variants. The detection rate of PPNG at these surveillance sites from high to low was as follows: 51.7% (45/87, Zhejiang), 45.6%(36/79, Shanghai), 38.0% (78/205, Guangdong), 37.5% (12/32, Guangxi), 31.2% (24/77, Jiangsu) and 25.0%(23/92, Tianjin), and that of blaTEM-135 variants was as follows: 68.9%(31/45, Zhejiang), 58.3%(14/24, Jiangsu), 50.0%(39/78, Guangdong), 47.2%(17/36, Shanghai), 39.1%(9/23, Tianjin)and 33.3%(4/12, Guangxi). NG-MAST analysis showed that the ST2318, ST1768, ST1866, ST1053 and ST8726 types predominated among these bla TEM-135 variants, and a strong correlation was found between blaTEM-135 variants and some NG-MAST types, such as ST1768, ST1053 and ST8726 types. The distribution of NG-MAST types was significantly different between the surveillance site in Tianjin (in the Northern part of China) and the other sites (in the Southern part of China), but highly similar among the surveillance sites in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai regions. Conclusions There is a high prevalence of PPNG and its blaTEM-135 variants at several gonococcal antimicrobial surveillance sites in China, with significant differences in NG-MAST genotype distribution of PPNG and its blaTEM-135 variants among different regions.

Objective To assess the vitro susceptibility to 6 antimicrobial agents and genotypes of clinical isolates of Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) from Guangzhou region. Methods Ct was isolated from clinical specimens by using McCoy cell culture and subjected to propagation. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 6 antimicrobial agents (clarithromycin, roxithromycin, azithromycin, doxycycline, tetracycline, ofloxacin) against Ct isolates were determined in McCoy cell culture. Nested PCR was performed to amplify the outer membrane protein 1 (omp1) VS1-2 gene followed by sequencing. Results Seventy-six Ct strains were isolated from 346 urogenital specimens, and 40 strains met the require ments for susceptibility testing after serial propagation. The MIC50/MIC90 of clarithromycin, azithromycin, roxi thromycin, doxycycline, tetracycline and ofloxacin were as follows: 0.008/0.032, 0.080/0.160, 0.125/0.500, 0.032/0.064, 0.250/0.500 and 0.500/1.000 mg/L. Seven genotypes were observed. The most prevalent geno types in decreasing order were E (14, 35%), J (10, 25%)and F (6, 15%). The MIC50 was consistent for azithromycin among the 7 genotypes, but varied by 1 - 4 folds for doxycycline, ofloxacin and roxithromycin. Conclusions Clarithromycin, doxycycline and azithromycin exhibit an excellent activity against Ct, and the activity of azithromycin is consistent among the 7 genotypes of Ct.

Objective To develop a PCR-mverse dot blot hybridization(RDB)assay to rapidly detect pathogenic mycoplasmas in genitourinary tract.Methods Universal primers were designed and applied to amplify the 16S rRNA gone of ureaplasma parvum(Up),ureaplasma urealyticum(Uu),Mycoplasma genitalium(Mg),Mycoplasma hominis(Mh)by using nestcd PCR.Specific nucleotide probes of Up,Uu,Mg and Mh Were constructed and immobilized onto nylon membranes.PCR products were denatured and hybridized、with specific oligonucleofide probes on nylon membrane.The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR-RDB assay were evaluated based.on the hybddizafion results.Also,PCR-RDB Was utilized to detect pathogenic mycoplasmas from 60 clinical samples.Results The four probes selectively hybridized with the PCR product of corresponding mycoplasmas,and no cross hybridization was observed.The detection limit of PCR-RDB Was one colony forming unit(CFU)of mycoplasma.Out of the 60 clinical samples、19were positive for mycoplasm,Mixed infections were found in three samples,including two coinfected with Up and Uu and one with Uu and Mg.Conclusion PCR-RDB is a rapid,specific and sensitive approach to the identification of pathogenic mycoplasmas in urogenital tract.

Dynamic fucosylation of glycoprotein especially 80 ku which bound to UEA and LCA during the course of rat hepatocarcinogenesis was investigated. In patient hepatocellular carcinoma, more UEA- and LCA-bound proteins were also observed in patients with high metastatic potential than those with low metastatic potential. Fueosylated glycans constitute important adhesion molecules such as Lewis antigens. A differential expression pattern of Lewis antigens was further conf'Lrmed on various metastasis potential hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC). High metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HMCC97H) expressed much more Lewis x and b than low metastasis HMCC97L cells. Moreover, surface Lewis x, or b expression level declined significantly after the cells were treated by retinoie acid. Not only in experimental metastasis foei, but in HCC as well, both α1,3/1,2 and α1,6 fucosyltransferase activities were quite high. After retinoie acid treatment, α1,3/1,2 fueosyltransferase activities were significantly inhibited, Lewis x on epidermal growth factor receptor reduced, and the EGFR was less phosphorylated. These results suggested that fucosylated glycans such as Lewis x played an important role in HCC development and metastasis.