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Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the impact of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (TA) administration after peeling of idiopathic epiretinal membranes (iERM) on both anatomical and visual outcomes, utilizing the ectopic inner foveal layer (EIFL) staging scheme.Methods In this retrospective case-control study, we analyzed 43 eyes from 43 patients diagnosed with iERM between June 2019 and December 2021. All participants were categorized into the TA or control groups based on administering intravitreal TA injection following ERM peeling. We thoroughly reviewed the clinical data, including the preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central foveal thickness (CFT), and macular cube volume (VOL), with ERM stages classified according to the EIFL staging scheme.Results The study enrolled 22 eyes in the TA and 21 in the control groups. Following a mean follow-up period of 11.07 ± 2.02 months, noteworthy improvements in EIFL stages were observed in both cohorts (p< 0.01), but without significant distinctions between groups. In the TA group, 63.64% of eyes demonstrated improvements in EIFL stages, while the control group exhibited 76.19% (p= 0.37). At the final visit, both groups experienced a noteworthy reduction in the postoperative CFT and VOL (p< 0.05), coupled with significant improvement in BCVA (p< 0.01). No substantial differences appeared between the two groups concerning BCVA, CFT, and VOL (all p> 0.05).Conclusions Our study suggested that concurrent intravitreal TA injection following ERM removal did not provide additional benefits regarding anatomical and visual improvement in iERM cases classified as Stages 2 and 3.

Biochar derived from biomass conversion has gained widespread use in environmental applications due to its cost-effectiveness, environmental benefits, and potential for carbon neutralization. However, due to restricted pore structure and limited surface-active sites of virgin biochar, modification is usually required to improve its performance. But these modifications can increase the costs associated with pretreatment processing for biochar utilization. Algae biomass (such as algae and microalgae) is characterized by its diverse varieties, rapid propagation rate, and excellent stability, making it a highly suitable raw material for adsorbents. Nitrogen doping is one of the most commonly used methods to enhance the catalytic performance of biochar materials. The utilization of algal biomass as a foundational material, in combination with nitrogen doping, has demonstrated superior catalytic performance surpassing that of virgin biochar. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the research progress on algal biomass, analyzing the pyrolysis mechanism of algal biomass and the advantages and limitations of several methods for preparing nitrogen-doped biochar. Furthermore, we explore the practical applications of nitrogen-doped biochar in catalysis, pollutant adsorption, and supercapacitors, offering valuable insights for the ongoing development of algal nitrogen-doped biochar.

Joint profiling of chromatin accessibility and gene expression from the same single cell provides critical information about cell types in a tissue and cell states during a dynamic process. Here, we develop in situ sequencing hetero RNA–DNA-hybrid after assay for transposase-accessible chromatin-sequencing (ISSAAC-seq), a highly sensitive and flexible single-cell multi-omics method to interrogate chromatin accessibility and gene expression from the same single nucleus. We demonstrated that ISSAAC-seq is sensitive and provides high quality data with orders of magnitude more features than existing methods. Using the joint profiles from over 10,000 nuclei from the mouse cerebral cortex, we uncovered major and rare cell types and cell-type specific regulatory elements and identified heterogeneity at the chromatin level within established cell types defined by gene expression. Finally, we revealed distinct dynamics and relationships of gene expression and chromatin accessibility during an oligodendrocyte maturation trajectory.

Stimulation of CD4 T cells with anti-CD3/CD28 is a commonly used model to study T cell activation. Here, we present a protocol for investigating T cell activation based on anti-CD3/CD28 bead stimulation and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). We describe the workflow from the isolation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs) and CD4 T cell enrichment to anti-CD3/CD28 bead stimulation, scRNA-seq, and data analysis.

Fungi are generally thought to live in host plants with a single lifestyle, being parasitism, commensalism, or mutualism. The former, known as phytopathogenic fungi, cause various plant diseases that result in significant losses every year; while the latter, such as endophytic fungi, can confer fitness to the host plants. It is unclear whether biological factors can modulate the parasitic and mutualistic traits of a fungus. In this study, we isolated and characterized a mycovirus from an endophytic strain of the fungus Pestalotiopsis theae, a pathogen of tea (Camellia sinensis). Based on molecular analysis, we tentatively designated the mycovirus as Pestalotiopsis theae chrysovirus-1 (PtCV1), a novel member of the family Chrysoviridae, genus Alphachrysovirus. PtCV1 has four double-stranded (ds) RNAs as its genome, ranging from 0.9 to 3.4 kbp in size, encapsidated in isometric particles. PtCV1 significantly reduced the growth rates of its host fungus in vitro (ANOVA; P-value < 0.001) and abolished its virulence in planta(ANOVA; P-value < 0.001), converting its host fungus to a non-pathogenic endophyte on tea leaves, while PtCV1-free isolates were highly virulent. Moreover, the presence of PtCV1 conferred high resistance to the host plants against the virulent P. theaestrains. Here we report a mycovirus that modulates endophytic and phytopathogenic fungal traits and provides an alternative approach to biological control of plant diseases caused by fungi.

Fungi are generally thought to live in host plants with a single lifestyle, being parasitism, commensalism, or mutualism. The former, known as phytopathogenic fungi, cause various plant diseases that result in significant losses every year; while the latter, such as endophytic fungi, can confer fitness to the host plants. It is unclear whether biological factors can modulate the parasitic and mutualistic traits of a fungus. In this study, we isolated and characterized a mycovirus from an endophytic strain of the fungus Pestalotiopsis theae, a pathogen of tea (Camellia sinensis). Based on molecular analysis, we tentatively designated the mycovirus as Pestalotiopsis theae chrysovirus-1 (PtCV1), a novel member of the family Chrysoviridae, genus Alphachrysovirus. PtCV1 has four double-stranded (ds) RNAs as its genome, ranging from 0.9 to 3.4 kbp in size, encapsidated in isometric particles. PtCV1 significantly reduced the growth rates of its host fungus in vitro (ANOVA; P-value < 0.001) and abolished its virulence in planta(ANOVA; P-value < 0.001), converting its host fungus to a non-pathogenic endophyte on tea leaves, while PtCV1-free isolates were highly virulent. Moreover, the presence of PtCV1 conferred high resistance to the host plants against the virulent P. theaestrains. Here we report a mycovirus that modulates endophytic and phytopathogenic fungal traits and provides an alternative approach to biological control of plant diseases caused by fungi.

It has been reported that squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) infects some Cucurbitaceae crops except for melon (Cucumis meloL.). A new disease of melon exhibiting severe leaf curl and dwarfing was observed in Hainan Province of China. In this study, the pathogen was identified as SLCCNV through biological and molecular characterization. The isolate (SLCCNV-HN) possess a bipartite genome, DNA-A (HM566112.1) with the highest nucleotide identity (99%) to SLCCNV-Hn (MF062251.1) pumpkin and SLCCNV-Hn61 (AM260205.1) squash isolates from China, whereas DNA-B (HM566113.1) with the highest nucleotide identity (99%) to SLCCNV-Hn (MF062252.1). Phylogenetic analyses based on the full-length SLCCNV-HN DNA-A and -B sequences indicated that SLCCNV-HN melon isolate is clustered with SLCCNV-Hn pumpkin, SLCCNV-Hn61 and SLCCNV-SY squash isolates from southern China, forming an independent cluster. Infectious clone of SLCCNV-HN was constructed and the melon plants were inoculated and the infection rate is 100%, the systemic symptoms in melon showed identical to those of melon plants infected in fields. Additionally, melon plants transmission of this virus by Bemisia tabaciwith a transmission rate of 95% (19/20) showed leaf curl and dwarf symptoms 15 days post transmission, thereby fulfilling Koch's postulates. Analysis of genomic organization and phylogenetic trees indicated that SLCCNV-HN melon isolate belongs to the Begomovirusgenus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first characterization of melon-infecting SLCCNV through its genome, infectious clone and transmission.

Although mammalian genomes are diploid, previous studies extensively investigated the average chromatin architectures without considering the differences between homologous chromosomes. We generated Hi-C, ChIP-seq, and RNA-seq data sets from CD4 T cells of B6, Cast, and hybrid mice, to investigate the diploid chromatin organization and epigenetic regulation. Our data indicate that inter-chromosomal interaction patterns between homologous chromosomes are similar, and the similarity is highly correlated with their allelic coexpression levels. Reconstruction of the 3D nucleus revealed that distances of the homologous chromosomes to the center of nucleus are almost the same. The inter-chromosomal interactions at centromere ends are significantly weaker than those at telomere ends, suggesting that they are located in different regions within the chromosome territories. The majority of A|B compartments or topologically associated domains (TADs) are consistent between B6 and Cast. We found 58% of the haploids in hybrids maintain their parental compartment status at B6/Cast divergent compartments owing to ciseffect. About 95% of the trans-effected B6/Cast divergent compartments converge to the same compartment status potentially because of a shared cellular environment. We showed the differentially expressed genes between the two haploids in hybrid were associated with either genetic or epigenetic effects. In summary, our multi-omics data from the hybrid mice provided haploid-specific information on the 3D nuclear architecture and a rich resource for further understanding the epigenetic regulation of haploid-specific gene expression.

Pear ring rot disease, mainly caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, is widespread in most pear and apple-growing regions. Mycoviruses are used for biocontrol, especially in fruit tree disease. BdCV1 (Botryosphaeria dothideachrysovirus 1) and BdPV1 (Botryosphaeria dothideapartitivirus 1) influence the biological characteristics of B. dothideastrains. BdCV1 is a potential candidate for the control of fungal disease. Therefore, it is vital to explore interactions between B. dothideaand mycovirus to clarify the pathogenic mechanisms of B. dothideaand hypovirulence of B. dothideain pear. A high-quality full-length genome sequence of the B. dothideaLW-Hubei isolate was obtained using Single Molecule Real-Time sequencing. It has high repeat sequence with 9.3% and DNA methylation existence in the genome. The 46.34 Mb genomes contained 14,091 predicted genes, which of 13,135 were annotated. B. dothideawas predicted to express 3833 secreted proteins. In bioinformatics analysis, 351 CAZy members, 552 transporters, 128 kinases, and 1096 proteins associated with plant-host interaction (PHI) were identified. RNA-silencing components including two endoribonuclease Dicer, four argonaute (Ago) and three RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) molecules were identified and expressed in response to mycovirus infection.Horizontal transfer of the LW-C and LW-P strains indicated that BdCV1 induced host gene silencing in LW-C to suppress BdPV1 transmission. To investigate the role of RNA-silencing in B. dothideadefense, we constructed four small RNA libraries and sequenced B. dothideamicro-like RNAs (Bd-milRNAs) produced in response to BdCV1 and BdPV1 infection. Among these, 167 conserved and 68 candidate novel Bd-milRNAs were identified, of which 161 conserved and 20 novel Bd-milRNA were differentially expressed. WEGO analysis revealed involvement of the differentially expressed Bd-milRNA-targeted genes in metabolic process, catalytic activity, cell process and response to stress or stimulus. BdCV1 had a greater effect on the phenotype, virulence, conidiomata, vertical and horizontal transmission ability, and mycelia cellular structure biological characteristics of B. dothideastrains than BdPV1 and virus-free strains. The results obtained in this study indicate that mycovirus regulates biological processes in B. dothideathrough the combined interaction of antiviral defense mediated by RNA-silencing and milRNA-mediated regulation of target gene mRNA expression.

Apple stem pitting virus(ASPV) is an important causal agent of pear diseases. Nowadays, the infection status and molecular characteristics of the virus in old pear trees have never been investigated. In this study, we provide the first complete genome sequence of an ASPV isolate LYC from an over 300-year-old tree of a local Pyrus bretschneidericultivar ‘Chili’ specifically grown at Laiyang area in China. ASPV-LYC possesses a chimeric genome consisting of 9 273 nucleotides excluding a poly(A) tail at its 3’ end and harboring a recombination region in its open reading frame (ORF1) with Aurora-1 and KL9 identified as the major and minor parents. Western blot analysis with antisera against recombinant coat proteins (CPs) of three ASPV isolates from pear indicates that ASPV-LYC is serologically related to these ASPV isolates, but with differential activities. Further biological tests on indicator plants of Pyronia veitchiishow that ASPV-LYC can induce serious leaf and stem symptoms as other ASPV isolates. The results provide an important information for understanding molecular evolution of ASPV and suggest a need to prevent dissemination of the isolate among pear trees.

In vitroculture of sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) cv. Huanghua (HH) infected with apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) was conducted and the titer and variant mutations of the virus in sub-culture were analyzed. The results showed that ASGV could replicate stably in 20 successive sub-cultures. The 500 bp PCR products of ASGV in each sub-culture were cloned and used for single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis. The results demonstrated that there was a dominant molecular variant of ASGV in vitroand that the variant structure of ASGV is stable in sub-culturing. The rate of the main haplotype in the 20 passages was from 78.0% to 95.7%. To clarify the origin of subordinate haplotypes, the error rate of our RT-PCR assay (5.4× 10−4/nt) was computed and the results indicated that the mutations which appeared in sub-passages were acquired from artificial operation and not produced by viral replication.

A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) luminophor of amoxicillin was studied and found to generate ECL following the oxidation or reduction of amoxicillin. The amoxicillin oxidation state was also found to eliminate the reduction state, generating ECL. When solutions of amoxicillin were scanned between +1.5 V and −1.0 V with a graphite electrode in the presence of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide using KC1 as the supporting electrolyte, ECL emissions were observed at potentials of −0.7 V and +0.5 V. The ECL intensity at −0.7 V was enhanced by H2O2. Based on these findings, an ECL method for the determination of the amoxicillin concentration is proposed. The ECL intensities were linear with amoxicillin concentrations in the range of 1.8 × 10−8 g/mL to 2.5 × 10−7 g/mL, and the limit of detection (signal/noise = 3) was 5 × 10−9 g/mL. The florescence of amoxicillin had the greatest emission intensity in a neutral medium, with the emission wavelength dependent on the excitation wavelength. The experiments on the ECL mechanism for amoxicillin found that the electrochemical oxidation products of dissolved oxygen and active oxygen species contributed to the ECL process. The data also suggest that the hydroxyl group of amoxicillin contributed to its ECL emission.

AbstractExisting zebrafish embryonic stem (ES) cell lines are derived and maintained using feeder layers. We describe here the derivation and long-term culture of an ES cell-like line derived from zebrafish blastomeres without the use of feeder cells. This line, designated as ZES1, has been maintained for more than 800 days in defined Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum, zebrafish embryo extract, trout serum, and human basic fibroblast growth factor. ZES1 cells possessed a morphology typical of ES cells, being round or polygonal in shape with a large nucleus and sparse cytoplasm and were mostly diploid. The cells formed individual colonies consisting of tightly packed cells that stained positively for alkaline phosphatase. ZES1 cells also formed embryoid bodies when transferred onto uncoated wells. The pluripotent nature of ZES1 cells was confirmed when they could be induced to differentiate in vitrointo several cell types, through low- or high-density culture conditions. Treatment with retinoic acid also induced the differentiation of ZES1 cells into primarily neuronal cells. Using immunostaining and real-time polymerase chain reaction, we showed that Sox2, a known pluripotent marker in mammalian ES cells, was also present in ZES1 cells. Chimera experiments revealed that fluorescent-labeled ZES1 cells microinjected into zebrafish blastulas participated in the formation of all three germ layers. Using GFP-labeled ZES1 cells, chimera germline transmission was also demonstrated at the F1generation. In conclusion, ZES1 cells possess both in vitroand in vivopluripotency characteristics, indicating that nonmammalian ES cells can be readily derived and maintained for a long term under feeder-free culture conditions.

AbstractAim:To investigate the influence of overt hyperthyroidism and euthyroid congenital hypothyroidism on fasting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels.Methods:A total of 30 untreated overt hyperthyroidism patients, 17 euthyroid congenital hypothyroidism children, and age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. Levels of GLP-1, insulin, glucose, and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) were measured and evaluated.Results:Fasting GLP-1, blood glucose, insulin, and HOMR-IR levels were higher in patients with overt hyperthyroidism than in controls (p=0.030, p=0.008, p=0.004, p=0.037, respectively). These parameters in euthyroid hypothyroidism were similar to the controls. In euthyroid congenital hypothyroidism and overt hyperthyroidism patients, serum GLP-1 levels were not correlated with thyroid hormone, blood glucose, insulin, and HOMR-IR.Conclusions:Fasting GLP-1 levels in the peripheral circulation were significantly increased in overt hyperthyroidism, however, they were no different in euthyroid congenital hypothyroidism.

Corn silk polysaccharide (CSP) was investigated for the treatment of different kinds of diseases. In order to characterize the chemical properties and antioxidant activities of CSP, the CSP was isolated from corn silk and purified by DE-52 cellulose column chromatography. Four components were separated, and the highest one named CSP-A. The CSP-A was characterized by FTIR and the monosaccharide components were analyzed by HPLC. The FTIR spectra indicated that CSP-A was characteristic of β-glucosidic bond and α-glycosidic bond. The CSP-A mainly comprised of glucose, galactose, arabinose, mannose, rhamnose. The antioxidant activities of CSP were determined by hydroxyl radical (•OH) and DPPH radicals scavenging assays. When the concentration of CSP was 10mg/mL, the scavenging capacity of •OH and DPPH could reach to 40% and 48%, respectively.

Goat milk was fermented by different strains of lactic acid bacterias in anaerobic tube, strains with high angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity were screened from 28 probiotic Lactobacillus strains by the criteria of ACE inhibitory activity and pH. The results showed that 20 strains had ACE inhibitory activity and among them the activity of 4 strains were extremely high, they were Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus rhamnosu and Lactobacillus helveticu. In vitro experiments, the ACE inhibitory activity of goat milk fermented by these 4 strains reached 95.92%, 84.61%, 82.79% and 78.57%, respectively. After incubation, pH of them were 6.17, 3.88, 5.24 and 3.71, respectively.

Ten new RGD (Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic acid) peptidomimetics have been synthesized and screened for their affinity to v3 integrin receptor. Arginine and Aspartic acid mimetic subunits were connected through 1,2,3-triazole as central scaffold by click chemistry, affording the final products with good yields. Among them, compounds 3f-j exhibited high affinity to the receptor,with IC50 in the low nanomolar range, comparable to that of the reference compound Cilengitide.

Ten new RGD (Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic acid) peptidomimetics have been synthesized and screened for their affinity to ..v..3 integrin receptor. Arginine and Aspartic acid mimetic subunits were connected through 1,2,3-triazole as central scaffold by click chemistry, affording the final products with good yields. Among them, compounds 3f-j exhibited high affinity to the receptor,with IC50 in the low nanomolar range, comparable to that of the reference compound Cilengitide.

Germ cells make two major decisions when they move from an indeterminate state to their final stage of gamete production. One decision is sexual commitment for sperm or egg production, and the other is to maintain mitotic division or entry into meiosis. It is unclear whether the two decisions are made as a single event or separate events, because there has been no evidence for the presence of germ cell sex prior to meiosis. Here we report direct evidence in the fish rainbow trout that gonia have distinct sexuality. We show that dazl expression occurs in both male and female gonia but exhibits differential intracellular distribution. More strikingly, we show that bouleis highly expressed in male gonia but absent in female gonia. Therefore, mitotic gonia possess sex, sperm/egg decision and mitosis/meiosis decision are two independent events, and sperm/egg decision precedes mitosis/meiosis decision in rainbow trout, making this organism a unique vertebrate model for mechanistic understanding of germ cell sex differentiation and relationship between the two decisions.

Stem cells are present in developing embryos and adult tissues of multicellular organisms. Owing to their unique features, stem cells provide excellent opportunities for experimental analyses of basic developmental processes such as pluripotency control and cell fate decision and for regenerative medicine by stem cell-based therapy. Stem cell cultures have been best studied in 3 vertebrate organisms. These are the mouse, human and a small laboratory fish called medaka. Specifically, medaka has given rise to the first embryonic stem (ES) cells besides the mouse, the first adult testis-derived male stem cells spermatogonia capable of test-tube sperm production, and most recently, even haploid ES cells capable of producing Holly, a semi-cloned fertile female medaka from a mosaic oocyte created by microinjecting a haploid ES cell nucleus directly into a normal oocyte. These breakthroughs make medaka a favoring vertebrate model for stem cell research, the topic of this review.

The article presents a study that analyzes the situation of aerobic instructors in fitness clubs in China. It cites the adoption of literature study, questionnaire, and expert interview for the study. The research finds out that some instructors have no certificate and mostly doing their job for health and economic reasons. Moreover, it states that it is difficult to say that these instructors did their job for social advantage or recognition.

AbstractA microwave-assisted extraction technique was developed to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from grape seeds. The microwave power (300-150W) and time of extraction (20-200s) were varied during the optimization process. The polyphenol content of the resulting extracts were measured as mg of tannic acid equivalent per gram of crude extract (mg TAE/g of crude extract), using a Folin-Ciocalteau reagent. In general, neither the time nor the power had a significant effect on the overall % yield (average of 13.5%) and on the polyphenol content (392 mg TAE/g of crude extract) of the extracts. However, when the solvent polarity was changed by the addition of 10% water, the yield increased to 15.2% and the polyphenol content increased to 429 mg TAE/g of crude extract.

A microwave-assisted extraction technique was developed to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from grape seeds. The microwave power (300-150W) and time of extraction (20-200s) were varied during the optimization process. The polyphenol content of the resulting extracts were measured as mg of tannic acid equivalent per gram of crude extract (mg TAE/g of crude extract), using a Folin-Ciocalteau reagent. In general, neither the time nor the power had a significant effect on the overall % yield (average of 13.5%) and on the polyphenol content (392 mg TAE/g of crude extract) of the extracts. However, when the solvent polarity was changed by the addition of 10% water, the yield increased to 15.2% and the polyphenol content increased to 429 mg TAE/g of crude extract.

MED20 is a non-essential subunit of the transcriptional coactivator Mediator complex, but its physiological function remains largely unknown. Here, we identify MED20 as a substrate of the anti-obesity CRL4-WDTC1 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex through affinity purification and candidate screening. Overexpression of WDTC1 leads to degradation of MED20, whereas depletion of WDTC1 or CUL4A/B causes accumulation of MED20. Depleting MED20 inhibits adipogenesis, and a non-degradable MED20 mutant restores adipogenesis in WDTC1-overexpressing cells. Furthermore, knockout of Med20in preadipocytes abolishes development of brown adipose tissues. Removing one allele of Med20in preadipocytes protects mice from diet-induced obesity and reverses weight gain in Cul4a-or Cul4b-depleted mice. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis reveals that MED20 organizes the early adipogenic complex by bridging C/EBPβ and RNA polymerase II to promote transcription of the central adipogenic factor, PPARγ. Our findings have thus uncovered a critical role of MED20 in promoting adipogenesis, development of adipose tissue and diet-induced obesity.

Glycosylations and deacetylations of 2-O-acetyl of O-peracetylated β-D-glucopyranose were realized in one step by reactions with 4.0 equivalents of alcohols and 1.5 equivalents of trifluoroborane etherate. Thus, various β-D-glucopyranosides with a free hydroxyl group on C-2 were conveniently prepared and applied for synthesis of Glcl → 2 linked disaccharides.

In this study, microcomputer image processing and pattern recognitiontechnology, and the knowledge of morphology and optical characteristics ofCryptococcus neoformanswere used for identification ofCryptococcus neoformans. Four groups of mice were lethally infected with standard strain, Wuhan strain, American B-2643 strain and Var. Shanghainesis of theCryptococcus neoformans. The samples collected included mice brain, lung, kidney, liver, small intestine tissue and were observed under a light microscope. More than 600 images of the fungus were input into a microcomputer. A system of computer for automatic identification of theCryptococcus neoformanswas developed. The technique involved image preprocessing, image segmenting, coding of line-length on the edge, curve fitting, extracting of image feature, building of image library and feature data bank etc. And then, 768 images of the clinical samples and other fungus samples whose morphological features tend to be confused withCryptococcus neoformanswere input into microcomputer and subjected to automatic identification. TheCryptococcus neoformanswas accurately identified within 15 min, and the consistence rate with results of routine culture was 98 %.

Summary: In this study, microcomputer image processing and pattern recognitiontechnology, and the knowledge of morphology and optical characteristics ofCryptococcus neoformans were used for identification ofCryptococcus neoformans. Four groups of mice were lethally infected with standard strain, Wuhan strain, American B-2643 strain and Var. Shanghainesis of theCryptococcus neoformans. The samples collected included mice brain, lung, kidney, liver, small intestine tissue and were observed under a light microscope. More than 600 images of the fungus were input into a microcomputer. A system of computer for automatic identification of theCryptococcus neoformans was developed. The technique involved image preprocessing, image segmenting, coding of line-length on the edge, curve fitting, extracting of image feature, building of image library and feature data bank etc. And then, 768 images of the clinical samples and other fungus samples whose morphological features tend to be confused withCryptococcus neoformans were input into microcomputer and subjected to automatic identification. TheCryptococcus neoformans was accurately identified within 15 min, and the consistence rate with results of routine culture was 98 %.