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Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of the BD Kiestra InoqulA automated specimen processing system with commonly encountered clinical microbiology specimens. Materials and methods Four types of clinical specimens (sputum, urine, normally sterile body fluids, and feces) were inoculated onto relevant agar plates using a manual method and the BD Kiestra automated system. The number of isolated pathogen species, number of isolated single colonies and uniformity of plate streaking were calculated and compared between two methods. Results Significantly more isolated colonies were observed on plates inoculated by InoqulA for all specimen types and media with the exception of sputum specimens inoculated onto chocolate agar with vancomycin (P =0.076) and urine onto China blue agar (P =0.856). The quality of plate streaking was also better with InoqulA for all specimen types and media with the exception of urine specimens (P =1.000) and sterile body fluids (P =0.56) inoculated onto China blue agar. Conclusion This is the first evaluation study of InoqulA with 4 types of clinical specimens in China. It focused on the effect of streaking plates automatically with the magnetic bead. Inoculation of clinical specimens with the BD Kiestra InoqulA system is superior to the manual method for recovery of single colonies and the overall quality of semi-quantitative plate streaking.

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome of Moolgarda perusii, which is 16,781 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a complete control region. ...

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome of Lactoria cornuta, which is 16,495 bp in length with an A + T content of 57.37%, and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and a comp...

Patients suffer hemispatial neglect after stroke. However, whether the function of spatial attention is reorganized to the contralateral brain remains poorly understood. Here we present a case report of neonatal stroke to demonstrate the reorganization of spatial attention in the contralateral hemisphere using a series of tests including star cancellation task, line bisection test, the bells test, letter cancellation test, and drawing tests. The patient underwent right hemispherectomy for treatment of refractory epilepsy and did not have hemispatial neglect after surgery, supporting transfer of function prior to the operation. After analyzing the literature in this field, we proposed that the function of spatial attention may transfer to the contralateral side in childhood. Thus, this study sheds new light on the preserved function of spatial attention in neonatal stroke patients even when hemispherectomy is performed.

Trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene (TPI) with a Mooney viscosity of 120 was filled with 37.5 phr aromatic oil to prepare oil‐extended trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene (OETPI) by a dry oil‐extending process. The curing characteristics of TPI gum, OETPI gum, and TPI/SBR compounds were studied and the mechanical properties of vulcanizates were also investigated. The experimental results showed that the Shore A hardness, Mooney viscosity, and mechanical properties of OETPI gum decreased, compared with that of TPI gum. The modulus at 100% elongation, Shore A hardness, and tensile strength of OETPI vulcanizates also decreased, while the abrasion loss, compression heat build‐up, and compression set increased. Compared with TPI/SBR, the dispersibility of carbon black in OETPI/SBR compounds was improved. The mechanical properties of OETPI/SBR vulcanizates changed little, while the wet skid resistance and fatigue resistance was greatly improved.

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Amphilophus citrinellus was firstly sequenced and determined. The total genome is 16,522 bp in length with an A + T content of 54.19%, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes and two main non-coding regions. The gene composition and order is similar to that of most other vertebrates, as is base composition and codon usage. These data will provide useful molecular information for phylogenetic relationships within the family Cichlidae species.

Xiaodan He,1 Li Li,2 Hong Su,1 Dinglun Zhou,3 Hongmei Song,4 Ling Wang,1 Xuehua Jiang1 1West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 3West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 4HitGen Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China Background: Effective anticancer drug delivery to the tumor site without rapid body clearance is a prerequisite for successful chemotherapy. 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine-N-(methoxy[polyethyleneglycol]-2000) (DSPE-PEG2000) has been widely used in the preparation of stealth liposomes. Although PEG chains can efficiently preserve liposomes from rapid clearance by the reticuloendothelial system (RES), its application has been hindered by poor cellular uptake and unsatisfactory therapeutic effect.Methods: To address the dilemma, we presented a facile approach to fabricate novel stealth nanoparticles generated by poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL), soybean phosphatidylcholine (SPC), and cholesterol, namely LPPs (L represented lipid and PP represented PEG-b-PCL), for the delivery of anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX). LPPs were prepared using the thin film hydration method. Two PEG-b-PCL polymers with different molecular weights (MW; PEG2000-b-PCL2000, MW: 4,000 Da and PEG5000-b-PCL5000, MW: 10,000 Da) were used to fabricate stealth nanoparticles. Conventional PEGylated liposome (LDP2000, L represented lipid and DP2000 represented DSPE-PEG2000) composed of SPC, cholesterol, and DSPE-PEG2000 was used as the control. The physical properties, cellular uptake, endocytosis pathway, cytotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, tumor accumulation, and anticancer efficacy of free PTX, PTX-loaded LPPs, and LDP2000 were systemically investigated after injection into 4T1 breast tumor–bearing mice.Results: LPPs were vesicles around 100 nm in size with negative zeta potential. With enhanced stability, LPPs achieved sustainable release of cancer therapeutics. The cellular uptake level was closely related to the PEG chain length of PEG-b-PCL; a shorter PEG chain resulted in higher cellular uptake. Moreover, the cellular internalization of LPP2000 modified by PEG2000-b-PCL2000 on 4T1 cells was 2.1-fold higher than LDP2000 due to the improved stability of LPP2000. The cytotoxicity of PTX-loaded LPP2000 was also higher than that of LDP2000 and LPP5000 as observed using a WST-8 assay, while blank LPPs showed negligible toxicity. Consistent with the results of the in vitro study, in vivo experiments showed that LPPs allowed significantly improved bioavailability and prolonged T1/2ß as compared to free PTX injection. More importantly, LPPs mainly accumulated at the tumor site, probably due to the enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR effect). As a nanomedicine, LPP2000 (tumor inhibition rate of 75.1%) significantly enhanced the therapeutic effect of PTX in 4T1 breast tumor–bearing mice by inhibiting tumor growth compared to LDP2000 and LPP5000 (tumor inhibition rates of 56.3% and 49.5%, respectively).Conclusion: Modification of liposomes with PEG2000-b-PCL2000 can simultaneously improve drug accumulation at the target tumor site and tumor cells, showing great promise for utilization as a PEG modification tool in the fabrication of stealth nanoparticles for cancer chemotherapy. Keywords: nanoparticles PEG-b-PCL, phospholipid, murine breast cancer chemotherapy, paclitaxel

Hongmei Song, Gang Wang, Bin He, Li Li, Caixia Li, Yusi Lai, Xianghui Xu, Zhongwei GuNational Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of ChinaBackground: Effective gene transfection without serum deprivation is a prerequisite for successful stem cell-based gene therapy. Polyethylenimine (PEI) is an efficient nonviral gene vector, but its application has been hindered by serum sensitivity and severe cytotoxicity.Methods: To solve this problem, a new family of lipopolyplexes was developed by coating PEI/DNA polyplexes with three serum-resistant cationic lipids, namely, lysinylated, histidylated, and arginylated cholesterol. The physical properties, transfection efficiency, cellular uptake, subcellular distribution, and cytotoxicity of the lipopolyplexes was investigated.Results: The outer coat composed of lysinylated or histidylated cholesterol remarkably improved the transfection efficiency of the polyplex with a low PEI/DNA ratio of 2 in the presence of serum. The resulting lysinylated and histidylated cholesterol lipopolyplexes were even more efficient than the best performing polyplex with a high PEI/DNA ratio of 10. Results from cellular uptake and subcellular distribution studies suggest that their higher transfection efficiency may result from accelerated DNA nuclear localization. The superiority of the lipopolyplexes over the best performing polyplex was also confirmed by delivering the therapeutic gene, hVEGF165. Equally importantly, the lipid coating removed the necessity of introducing excess free PEI chains into the transfection solution for higher efficiency, generating lipopolyplexes with no signs of cytotoxicity.Conclusion: Noncovalent modification of polyplexes with lysinylated and histidylated cholesterol lipids can simultaneously improve efficiency and reduce the toxicity of gene delivery under serum conditions, showing great promise for genetic modification of bone marrow stem cells.Keywords: gene delivery, nonviral vectors, cationic lipids, polyethylenimine, lipopolyplex, bone marrow stem cells