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We used metagenomic analysis to identify Tacheng tick virus 2 infection in a patient with a history of tick bite in northwestern China. We confirmed the virus with reverse transcription-PCR, virus isolation, and genomic analysis. We detected viral RNA in 9.6% of ticks collected from the same region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We isolated Brucella melitensis biovar 3 from the spleen of an Asian badger (Meles leucurus) in Nilka County, northwestern China. Our investigation showed that this isolate had a common multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis 16 genotype, similar to bacterial isolates from local aborted sheep fetuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although berberine alkaloids (BAs) are reported to be with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antiviral activities, the interactions among BAs have not been elucidated. In the present study, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was chosen as a model organism, and modified broth microdilution was applied for the determination of the fluorescence absorption values to calculate the anti-MRSA activity of BAs. We have initiated four steps to seek the optimal combination of BAs that are (1) determining the anti-MRSA activity of single BA, (2) investigating the two-component combination to clarify the interactions among BAs by checkerboard assay, (3) investigating the multicomponent combination to determine the optimal ratio by quadratic rotation-orthogonal combination design, and (4) in vivo and in vitro validation of the optimal combination. The results showed that the interactions among BAs are related to their concentrations. The synergetic combinations included "berberine and epiberberine," "jatrorrhizine and palmatine" and "jatrorrhizine and coptisine"; the antagonistic combinations included "coptisine and epiberberine". The optimal combination was berberine : coptisine : jatrorrhizine : palmatine : epiberberine = 0.702: 0.863:1: 0.491: 0.526, and the potency of the optimal combination on cyclophosphamide-immunocompromised mouse model was better than the natural combinations of herbs containing BAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]