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Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an economically important swine disease affecting swine worldwide. In this study, a total of 385 samples were collected from Shandong pig farms during 2013 and 2014, when pigs were not inoculated with any vaccine. Results indicated that, out of 385 samples, 47 (12.21%) were PRRSV-RNA-positive. The gene sequence analysis of 12 ORF5, 12 ORF7, and 8 Nsp2 of these samples was used to determine the molecular epidemiology of PRRSV in different parts of China's Shandong Province. The phylogenetic tree based on these 3 genes indicated that the Chinese PRRSV strains could be divided into five subgroups and two large groups. The 8 study strains were clustered into subgroup IV, another 4 strains into subgroup I. The first 8 strains shared considerable homology with VR-2332 in ORF5 (96-97.5%), the other 4 strains shared considerable homology with JXA1 (94-98%). Phylogenetic tree of GP5 showed that the eight isolates formed a tightly novel clustered branch, subgroup V, which resembled but differed from isolate VR-2332. When examined using Nsp2 alone, the first 8 strains showed considerable homology with a U.S. vaccine strain, Ingelvac MLV (89.6-98.4%). One novel pattern of deletion was observed in Nsp2. The genetic diversity of genotype 2 PRRSV tended to vary in the field. The emergence of novel variants will probably be the next significant branch of PRRSV study., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is often detected in commercial bovine serum. BVDV genetic diversity was investigated in commercial bovine serum of Chinese origin. Twenty-two batches of bovine serum were obtained from 10 suppliers with different geographic origins in China, and 20 batches of bovine serum were positive by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequencing. Phylogenetic reconstructions of partial 5'UTR sequences indicated that the samples examined in this work clustered within the BVDV type 1 and BVDV type 2 genotypes. Interestingly, 3 sample sequences clustered into CSFV. These results suggest a high genetic diversity in Chinese BVDV field isolates. This study will benefit epidemiological surveys of BVDV detected in China., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: Reactive gliosis has been implicated in injury and recovery patterns associated with hydrocephalus. The roles that these mechanisms play in the pathophysiology of hydrocephalus are still not clear in terms of cytopathology and gene expression. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between reactive gliosis and neuroinflammation of hydrocephalic rats of different severity at both cellular and molecular levels. Therefore 35 adult SD (standard deviation) rats were randomly divided into the normal group (n=5), the sham operation group (n=5) and the model group (n=25). Hydrocephalic rat models were induced by intraventricular injections of 3% kaolin, and the ventricular dilatation was examined by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) at 2-week postoperation. Then the model group was subdivided into the mild group (n=5), the moderate group (n=7) and the severe group (n=9) according to the degree of ventricular dilatation. While IL-18 (interlukin 18), GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein), and Iba-1 (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1) were detected by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, Western blot and correlation analysis were conducted at the same time. According to the result comparison between the normal group and the sham operation group, the ventricle of model group was obviously enlarged (P<0.01). The expression of GFAP and Iba-1 was increased (P<0.05) in brain tissue of the model group and IL-18 was also increased in CSF (cerebrosinal fluid) sample of model group. It was revealed by correlation analysis that the increase was positively correlated with the severity of ventricular dilatation., Conclusion: These results indicate that gliosis and inflammation continue to rise dramatically in experimental hydrocephalus and can be regarded as the main factors of hydrocephalus. Regulating the level of gliosis and alleviating inflammation may provide new therapeutic methods of hydrocephalus., (Copyright © 2012 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A series of 4-(6-(3-nitroguanidino)hexanamido)pyrrolidine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their abilities to inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) isoform. All target compounds were prepared in 11 steps from commercially trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline. The preliminary pharmacological test showed that three compounds, 17, 21, and 30, have the good potency (IC(50)=2.36, 2.68, 2.5 microM, respectively) which are compared to the NOS inhibitor N(G)-nitroarginine(L-NNA) (IC(50)=14.74 microM), and could be used as lead compounds for exploring new iNOS inhibitors in the future.

Recombinant human endostatin (rhEndostatin) has been shown to inhibit tumor growth, but the variable antitumor activity of different rhEndostatin preparations has necessitated the development of an accurate, reproducible in vivo bioassay for evaluating the rhEndostatin activity. To assess the in vivo antitumor efficacy of rhEndostatin, H22 tumor-bearing mice received three doses of rhEndostatin and the potency of rhEndostatin preparations in inhibiting tumor growth was determined by ED(50)-potency assay and validated by dose-response parallel-line assay. There was a consistent and highly reproducible linear regression relationship between rhEndostatin dosage and tumor growth inhibition rate. The ED(50) values were determined from dose-response regression lines for seven rhEndostatin preparations with high reproducibility. On the basis of the current study, the potency of rhEndostatin preparations was assigned a value of 6.09 x 10(5) U/ampoule and a 95% confidence limit of 5.96 x 10(5)-6.22 x 10(5). We consider that this procedure can be served as a potential candidate pharmacopoeial method for potency measurement of different rhEndostatin preparations.