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Background Although previous studies have made significant contributions to establishing animal traumatic brain injury (TBI) models for simulation of human TBI, the accuracy, controllability, and modeling efficiency of animal TBI models need to be further improved. This study established a novel high-efficiency graded mouse TBI model induced by shock wave. Methods A total of 125 mice were randomly divided into sham, 0.7 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.5 mm groups according to the depth of the cross groove of the aluminum sheets. The stability and repeatability of apparatus were evaluated, and the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, cerebral edema, neuropathologic immunohistochemistry, apoptosis-related protein, and behavioral tests of neurologic function were used to validate this new model. Results The results showed that 4 mice were injured simultaneously in 1 experiment. They received the same intensity of shock waves. Moreover, the mortality rates caused by 3 different aluminum sheets were consistent with the mortality rates of mild TBI, moderate TBI, and severe TBI. Compared with the sham group, mice in different injured groups significantly increased brain water content, blood-brain barrier permeability, and neuronal apoptosis. And the mice in all injured groups showed poor motor ability, balancing, spatial learning, and memory abilities. Conclusions The novel TBI apparatus has advantages in its small size, simple operation, high repeatability, high efficiency, and graded severity. Our TBI apparatus provides a novel tool to investigate the neuropathologic changes and underlying mechanisms of TBI with various levels of severities.

Maternally derived antibodies (MDA) substantially interfere with active immunity in post-hatch vaccination, although they provide early protection against disease through passive immunity in young chickens. Previously, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strain TS09-C was demonstrated to be safe and immunogenic as in-ovo vaccine in specific-pathogen-free chickens. Here, we evaluated the safety, protective efficacy, and duration of clinical protection of the TS09-C virus as an in-ovo vaccine for commercial chickens in the presence of Maternally derived antibodies against NDV. This vaccine was safe in commercial chickens and provided at least 80% protection against a virulent NDV challenge for 3 mo, despite inducing a low hemagglutinin-inhibition titer. For commercial chickens, the protective efficacy of the in-ovo vaccination was markedly higher than that of posthatch vaccination, and the cellular immune response might play an important role in the higher protective efficacy of the in-ovo vaccine. The overall results indicate that the maternally derived antibodies against NDV do not significantly interfere with the ability of the in-ovo vaccine strain TS09-C to induce protective cellular immunity.

To explore the relationships between the aqueous and vitreous levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), interleukin-8 (IL-8), placental growth factor (PlGF) and erythropoietin (EPO) in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and neovascular glaucoma (NVG). Aqueous and vitreous samples were obtained from patients with PDR and NVG during surgery. Aqueous and vitreous concentrations of VEGF-A, IL-8, PlGF and EPO were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. No correlation between the aqueous and vitreous levels of VEGF-A, IL-8, PlGF or EPO was found in both the PDR and the NVG eyes. Aqueous VEGF-A was significantly higher in the NVG group (317.55 ± 36.25 pg/ml, n = 15) than that in the PDR group (256.23 ± 46.11 pg/ml, n = 17, P

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the key devastating bacterial pathogen responsible for tuberculosis. Increasing emergence of multi-drug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant, and rifampicin/isoniazid-resistant strains of Mtb makes the discovery of validated drug targets an urgent priority. As a vital translational component of the protein biosynthesis system, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) is an important molecular switch responsible for selection and binding of the cognate aminoacyl-tRNA to the acceptor site on the ribosome. In addition, EF-Tu from Mtb (MtbEF-Tu) is involved in the initial step of trans-translation which is an effective system for rescuing the stalled ribosomes from non-stop translation complexes under stress conditions. Given its crucial role in protein biosynthesis, EF-Tu is identified as an excellent molecular target for drug design. Here, we reported the recombinant expression, purification, biophysical characterization, and structural modeling of the MtbEF-Tu protein. Our results demonstrated that prokaryotic expression plasmids of pET28a-MtbEF-Tu could be expressed efficiently in Escherichia coli. We successfully purified the 6× His-tagged proteins with a yield of 16.8 mg from 1 l of Luria Bertani medium. Dynamic light scattering experiments showed that MtbEF-Tu existed in a monomeric form, and circular dichroism experiments indicated that MtbEF-Tu was well structured. Moreover, isothermal titration calorimetry experiments displayed that the purified MtbEF-Tu protein possessed intermediate binding affinities for guanosine-5'-triphosphate (GTP) and GDP. The GTP/GDP-binding sites were predicted by flexible molecular docking approach which reveals that GTP/GDP binds to MtbEF-Tu mainly through hydrogen bonds. Our work lays the essential basis for further structural and functional studies of MtbEF-Tu as well as MtbEF-Tu-related novel drug developments.

Purpose: To characterize the aqueous levels of inflammation and ischemia-related biomarkers in a spectrum of retinal ischemic conditions, including neovascular glaucoma (NVG) with stable iris neovascularization after pan retinal photocoagulation (PRP) and anti-VEGF treatment. Methods: Aqueous samples were collected from 139 eyes including NVG (n = 12), stable NVG (n = 26), CRVO (n = 11), NPDR (n = 18), PACG (n = 18), PDR (n = 25), BRVO (n = 7) and cataract (n = 22). The levels of VEGF-A, IL-8 and EPO were measured with ELISA. Results: Aqueous VEGF-A significantly decreased after anti-VEGF and PRP, from 983.79 ± 821.16 pg/ml in the NVG group (n = 11) to 256.50 ± 51.14 pg/ml in the stable NVG group (n = 24) (P = .015). Aqueous VEGF-A in stable NVG group (256.50 ± 51.14 pg/ml, n = 24) was significantly higher (ANOVA, P P = .017), NPDR (221.18 ± 38.21 pg/ml, n = 14, P = .015), BRVO (213.14 ± 48.50 pg/ml, n = 6, P = .028) and cataract group (185.30 ± 34.35 pg/ml, n = 22, P P P = .032) and cataract group (54.11 ± 12.28 pg/ml, n = 22, P P P = .034) and cataract group (13.50 ± 2.65 pg/ml, n = 22, P P P P P = .002, respectively). IL-8 correlated positively with EPO (P Conclusions: The aqueous levels of VEGF-A, IL-8 and EPO in NVG patients with stable iris neovascularization, who had received PRP and anti-VEGF, were still significantly higher than in control groups with some retinal ischemic conditions.

Background The incidence and mortality rates of cancer have been increasing in developing countries, particularly in Asia. Therefore to provide optimal comprehensive care to the cancer patients, the care plan must focus on the comprehensive needs of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the comprehensive needs of cancer patients, and explore the associated factors. Methods In a cross-sectional questionnaire study, a total of 200 cancer patient-caregiver dyads were selected and interviewed in Mainland China by convenient sampling method. Patients’ comprehensive needs were assessed with Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool in cancer for Patients (CNAT), including seven domains (Information, Psychological Problems, Health Care Staffs, Physical Symptoms, Hospital Facilities and Services, Social/Religious/Spiritual Support and Practical Support). Both cancer patients and caregivers completed the sociodemographic survey. The mean differences in domain scores for different characteristics groups were compared by one-way ANOVA or non-parametric analyses, and influencing factors defined with multivariate regression analysis. Results The cancer patients’ need for Health Care Staffs (78.35 ± 13.08) was the highest among the seven domains, followed by the need for Information (71.18 ± 17.39) and the need for Hospital Facilities and Services (52.65 ± 13.35). The lowest score was the need for Physical Symptoms (35.12 ± 16.68). Patients who were female, with low family monthly income, at their own expense, and with highly educated caregivers had higher score of CNAT. Also sociodemographic characteristics were associated with each domain need of cancer patients. Conclusion This study shows that cancer patients experience high levels of needs for health-care staff and information, and the different needs are closely related to their sociological characteristics. The provision of health care can be adapted to meet the different needs of cancer patients of different epidemiological characteristics at different times during the course of treatment.

In this experiment, the digital Mars contrast sensitivity check tables are used to test the contrast sensitivity value between two genders and three age groups. There was no statistically significant difference in contrast sensitivity between genders (P > 0.05) and between different eyes (P > 0.05). The contrast sensitivity of individuals of different groups was significantly different. The contrast sensitivity values of the left eye, right eye and both eyes increase with the increase of visual acuity.

Exogenous alanyl-glutamine (Aln-Gln) was evaluated for its effects on growth performance, intestinal structure and function, antioxidant status and non-specific immunity of young carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). Six diets supplemented with 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0, or 15.0 g · kg−1 of Aln-Gln were fed to fish for 12 weeks. Supplementation with 7.5, 10.0, or 15.0 g · kg−1 of Aln-Gln significantly increased weight gain rate (WGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), but feed conservation rate (FCR) and survival were not affected (P>0.05). The intestinal fold height and number, digestive enzyme, Na+, K+-ATPase activities was found to be significantly high (P

Background Campylobacter species are the major food-borne pathogens which could cause bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. Contaminated chicken products have been recognized as the primary vehicles of Campylobacter transmission to human beings. In this study, the prevalence of Campylobacter in retail chicken meat in Central China was investigated, and the isolates were further characterized using molecular approaches and tested for antibiotic resistance. Results A total of 302 chicken samples purchased from April 2014 to April 2015 were tested. The level of Campylobacter contamination was enumerated by most probable number-PCR (MPN-PCR). The Campylobacter positive rate was 17.2% (52/302), with bacterial count varying from 3.6 to 360 MPN/g in positive samples. A total of 52 Campylobacter strains, including 40 Campylobacter jejuni and 12 Campylobacter coli, were isolated from the positive samples. To examine the genetic diversity of the isolates, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) technology was applied, which identified 23 sequence types (STs) belonging to seven clonal complexes (CCs) and unassigned. Among them, the dominant CCs of C. jejuni included CC-353 and CC-464, and the dominant CCs of C. coli were CC-828 and CC-1150. Antibiotic resistance analysis showed that all of the isolates were resistant to norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. 23 virulence-associated genes were tested in the isolates, which showed that the number of virulence-associated genes detected in the C. jejuni isolates ranged from 16 to 21, while in most of the C. coli isolates ranged from 12 to 16. Virulence-associated genes, flaA, flgB, flgE2, fliM, fliY and cadF were detected in all isolates. VirB11, however, was not detected in any of the isolates. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the contamination level and molecular biological features of Campylobacter strains in retail chicken meat in Central China, which showed high genetic diversity and remarkable antibiotic resistance. This study provided scientific data for the risk assessment and evaluation of Campylobacter contamination in retail chicken products. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13099-016-0132-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A one-step real-time RT-PCR assay using a minor groove binding probe was developed for the specific detection of Chinese wild-type classical swine fever virus (CSFV). The assay detected wild-type CSFV strains representing different genotypes, but did not amplify viral RNA from the Hog Cholera Lipinized Virus (HCLV) vaccine-strain and other porcine viruses. The assay had a detection limit of 10 copies/reaction or 3.0 median tissue culture infective dose/reaction. In comparison to the sequencing nested RT-PCR assay, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 98.3% and 94.3%, respectively, when testing 515 veterinary samples. Wild-type CSFV RNA was detected in nasal swabs 2–4 days before detection in serum samples from pigs exposed to infection by contact, and 2–4 days prior to the onset of clinical disease. HCLV RNA remained undetectable in nasal swabs and serum samples from vaccinated pigs. In conclusion, the novel assay described in this study provides a rapid and sensitive method for differentiating between wild-type and the HCLV-strain of CSFV. It could be used for monitoring in CSF outbreak areas or as a screening method for CSFV eradication strategies.

Riemerella anatipestifer is an important bacterial pathogen associated with epizootic infections in waterfowl and various other birds. Riemerella anatipestifer strain RA-JLLY is an avirulent strain, isolated from the brain of an old duck in Hubei province, China. Here, we report the genome sequence of this species.

Childhood obesity and its consequences have been the subject of intense interest in recent years. In this study we examined the influence of overweight on circadian variations of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in Chinese adolescents. First, 24-hr ABP monitoring was performed in 252 adolescents divided into two groups with equivalent sex, age, and body height (49 girls and 77 boys in each group): controls (normal weight) were aged 13.68 +/- 1.21 years, height 165.37 +/- 9.45 cm, body mass index (BMI) 18.82 +/- 2.3; overweights (BMIor = 24) were aged 13.71 +/- 1.23 years, height 165.75 +/- 9.47 cm, BMI 27.70 +/- 3.1. ABP recordings were treated by ABP database system and analyzed by cosinor method and conventional statistics methods. The circadian variations of ABP in adolescent patterned as "dipper" and circadian rhythmicity of ABP variations were confirmed by cosinor analysis in most adolescents of both groups. Significant statistical differences were found for rhythm parameters: the MESOR (midline estimate statistic of rhythm), peak, trough (the maximum and minimum values derived from the composed curves, respectively), and amplitude values between control and overweight groups. Significant higher values also were seen in the overweight group for most of ABP parameters (p.01), such as, BP means (SBP, DBP, MAP: mean arterial pressure, or PP: pulse pressure), BP variability, BP loads and rate-pressure product (HR x SBP). Our results have shown that overweight influenced significantly on ABP and parameters derived from ABP recordings in Chinese adolescents, which suggests an increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases in overweight adolescents.

Seawater drowning can lead to acute lung injury (ALI). Several studies have shown that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC) treatment could attenuate ALI. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon still remain elusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether BMSC treatment can ameliorate seawater-induced ALI and its underlying mechanisms in a rat model. In this study, arterial blood gas, lung weight coefficient, and TNF-α, and IL-8 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), as well as histopathology examination, were used to detect the lung injury of seawater exposure. Moreover, western blot and RT-PCR were used to explore autophagy in lung tissues. The results demonstrated that seawater exposure induced ALI including impaired arterial blood gas, pulmonary edema, histopathologic changes, and inflammatory response in lung tissues. What is more, these changes were partly ameliorated by BMSC treatment through inhibition of autophagy in lung tissues. The application of BMSC may be a potential effective treatment for seawater-induced ALI.

Macrophage infiltration into inflammatory sites is generally preceded by neutrophils. This suggests neutrophils may be the source of chemotactic factors for monocytes. To identify these putative monocyte attractants, we have systematically prepared neutrophil granules, lysed them, and sequentially purified the released proteins by several reverse phase chromatography procedures. Assays for monocyte chemotactic activity of the chromatography fractions yielded a major peak of activity associated with a protein of 30 kD, according to SDS-PAGE analysis. NH2-terminal sequence of the protein revealed this to be identical to cathepsin G. The monocyte chemotactic activity of human cathepsin G was dose dependent with optimal concentration at 0.5–1 μg/ml. Cathepsin G is chemotactic rather than chemokinetic for monocytes, as demonstrated by checkerboard analysis. Cathepsin G–induced monocyte chemotaxis is partially pertussis toxin sensitive implying the involvement of a G protein–coupled receptor. Enzymatic activity of cathepsin G is associated with its monocyte chemotactic activity, since DFP- or PMSF-inactivated cathepsin G no longer induced monocyte migration. The chemotactic activity of cathepsin G can also be completely blocked by α1 antichymotrypsin, a specific inhibitor of chymotrypsin-like proteinases present in human plasma. In addition, cathepsin G is also a potent chemoattractant for neutrophils and a chemokinetic stimulant for T cells. In the course of pursuing these in vitro studies, we established that the T cell chemoattractant, azurocidin/CAP37 from human neutrophil granules, at doses of 0.05 to 5 μg/ml, was chemotactic for monocytes and neutrophils. As predicted from the in vitro chemotactic activity, subcutaneous injection of cathepsin G into BALB/c mice led to infiltration of both mononuclear cells and neutrophils. Thus, the transition of inflammatory exudate from neutrophil to mononuclear cells can be mediated, at least in part, by extracellular release of neutrophil granule proteins such as cathepsin G and azurocidin/CAP37.

Because dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells involved in many pathophysiological responses, we investigated the effect of chemokines on the migration of these cells in an effort to determine whether chemokines may contribute to the initiation of immune responses. CD34+ progenitor cells isolated from umbilical cord blood were grown in suspension cultures with cytokines and expanded 50- to 100-fold. A variable proportion of the cells expressed markers consistent with DC. The proportion of CD1a+ DC was increased when the cells were cultured with interleukin-4 (IL-4). These cells expressed specific binding sites for C-C and C-X-C chemokines. Cells cultured with or without IL-4 had similar binding profiles. All C-C chemokines tested, including monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, MCP-2, MCP-3, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP1α), MIP-1β, and RAN-TES, induced migration of DC-enriched cells cultured with or without IL-4 with MCP-3 being the most potent chemoattractant. Phenotypic analysis of cell migrating in response to C-C chemokines showed that CD1a+ cells were indeed attracted across the polycarbonate filters, and there was no preferential attraction of contaminating CD14+ monocytes by C-C chemokines. DC-enriched cells also expressed specific binding sites for IL-8 and NAP2, which failed to induce cell migration. Our results suggest that C-C chemokines may participate in the recruitment of DC to amplify host defense.

Background and Objectives Prior studies demonstrate increased rates of osteoporosis and fracture among patients with HIV. Validated scales exist for measuring osteoporosis-related knowledge, self-efficacy for behavioural change, and health beliefs, but have not yet been applied to HIV-infected populations. Better understanding of these factors can increase the effectiveness of osteoporosis prevention efforts. Materials and Methods Subjects were drawn from a multi-center trial in China comparing 3 antiretroviral regimens. Volunteers completed a questionnaire with 6 sections including: 1. Fracture risk assessment, 2. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), 3. Calcium and vitamin D intake scale, 4. Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT), 5. Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (OSES), and 6. Osteoporosis Health Beliefs Scale (OHBS). Demographic data were obtained from the parent study. Results In total 263 subjects participated (200 men, 63 women). Mean age (38.4 ± 9.8 yrs.) and BMI (21.6 ± 2.6 kg/m 2 ) were similar for both sexes. Men were more likely to have completed high school (69 v. 23.8%, p = 0.000) and report smoking (49 v. 8.8%, p = 0.000) or alcohol use (26.8 v. 12.3%, p = 0.022) than women. Moderate physical activity level was most common for both sexes (41.8 v. 44.6%, p = 0.931) and mean frequency of consumption of calcium and vitamin D-rich foods was similar in both groups (p = 0.257). OKT calcium and exercise scores were low for both groups, yet OSES calcium and exercise scores reflected moderate confidence regarding ability to adopt behavioural change. Subjects did not perceive personal susceptibility to osteoporosis and felt neutral regarding the seriousness of a diagnosis of osteoporosis. Both men and women recognised benefits of exercise and calcium intake, however men were less likely to perceive barriers to exercise and calcium intake compared with women. Both sexes reported moderate overall health motivation. Multiple regression analysis showed that higher intake of calcium and vitamin D rich foods was associated with higher OKT calcium score (β = 0.29, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.58, p = 0.043) and OSES calcium score (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.11, p = 0.001), whereas higher physical activity level correlated with lower education (β = 0.45, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.81, p = 0.008). Conclusions Knowledge regarding osteoporosis is low among Chinese men and women with HIV, and women perceive more barriers to behavioural change than men. Calcium and vitamin D intake and physical activity levels have different predictors. Understanding these associations may aid in the development of targeted behavioural interventions for this vulnerable group.

The diversity of monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)3 target cell types, as well as the capacity of MCP3 to desensitize leukocyte responses to other CC chemokines, suggested that MCP3 may interact with multiple CC chemokine receptors. The purpose of this study is to establish how MCP3 binds and activates monocytes and neutrophils. We show that human monocytes exhibit high-affinity binding for 125I-MCP3 with an estimated Kd of 1-3 nM and about 10,000 binding sites/cell. The binding of 125I-MCP3 to monocytes was progressively less well competed by CC chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)1 alpha (Kd = 5-10 nM), RANTES (Kd = 5-10 nM), MCP1 (monocyte chemoattractant and activating factor, or MCAF) (Kd = 60 nM) and MIP1 beta (Kd > 100 nM). On the other hand, unlabeled MCP3 displaced the binding of radiolabeled MIP1 alpha, RANTES, MCP1 and MIP1 beta as effectively as the isologous CC chemokines. In agreement with the binding data, pretreatment of monocytes with MCP3 completely desensitized the calcium flux in response to MIP1 alpha and RANTES. However, MIP1 alpha and RANTES failed to desensitize the response of monocytes to MCP3. MCP3 and MCP1 partially desensitized each other's effects on monocytes. These binding and cross-desensitization results suggest that MCP3 binds and signals through other binding sites in addition to those shared with MIP1 alpha, RANTES and MCP1. The unidirectional competition for MIP1 beta binding and signaling by MCP3 suggests the existence of an as-yet unidentified site for MCP3 shared with MIP1 beta. The existence of another unique binding site(s) for MCP3 was further shown by the failure of any of the other CC chemokines to compete effectively for MCP3 binding on neutrophils. MCP3 in our study was also the only human CC chemokine that consistently chemoattracted neutrophils. These results suggest that MCP3 is a ligand that can bind and activate a broad range of target cells through receptors shared by other CC chemokines as well as its own receptor.