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Introduction: The purpose of our study was to explore the effects of edaravone on rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and investigate the underlying mechanism.Material and Methods: All rats were separated randomly into 3 groups as follows: sham group (n = 25), TBI group (n = 25), TBI + edaravone group (n = 25). Edaravone was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at a dose of 3 mg/kg at 30 min, 12 h, and 24 h after TBI. The neurological impairment and spatial cognitive function were assessed by the neurologic severity score (NSS) and Morris water maze (MWM), respectively. Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to determine the expression levels of caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB). Transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay as well as flow cytometry assay was used to determine the apoptosis rate of cells.Results: Edaravone administration significantly attenuated neurological impairment induced by TBI and promoted cognitive function outcome. The expression of BDNF and TrkB was elevated with treatment of edaravone, which was increased after TBI. The expression of apoptosis related proteins such as caspase-3 and Bax-2 was decreased while that of Bcl-2 was enhanced with edaravone administration following TBI. In addition, edaravone treatment reduced TBI-induced cell apoptosis in the hippocampus.Conclusions: Our study showed that administration with edaravone was able to inhibit neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus in a rat TBI model. The neuroprotective function of edaravone may relate to modulation of the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Mastitis is the mostexpensivedisease in the dairy cattle industry and results in decreased reproductive performance.Streptococcus, especiallyStreptococcus agalactiae, possesses a variety of virulence factors that contribute to pathogenicity. Objective:Streptococcusisolated from mastitis was tested to assess the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and distribution of antibiotic resistance- and virulence-related genes. Materials and methods: Eighty-oneStreptococcusisolates were phenotypically characterized for antimicrobial resistance against 15 antibiotics by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) using a micro-dilution method. Resistance- and virulence-related genes were detected by PCR. Results: High percentage of resistance to β-lactams, along with tetracycline and erythromycin, was found. Resistance to three or more of seven antimicrobial agents was observed at 88.9%, with penicillin–tetracycline–erythromycin–clindamycin as the major profile inStreptococcusisolates. Resistant genes were detected by PCR, the result showed that 86.4, 86.4, 81.5, and 38.3% of isolates were mainly carrying thepbp2b, tetL, tetM, andermBgenes, respectively. Nine virulence genes were investigated. Genescyl, glnA, cfb, hylB, andscaAwere found to be in 50% of isolates, while 3.7, 21, and 4.9% of isolates were positive forbca, lmb, andscpB, genes, respectively. None of the isolates carried thebacgene. Discussion and conclusion: This study suggests the need for prudent use of antimicrobial agents in veterinary clinical medicine to avoid the increase and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance arising from the use of antimicrobial drugs in animals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: The antibacterial protein PAG14 was extracted from a metabolite of Bacillus G14 isolated from mangrove plants. Methods: In this study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Pasteurell multocide , Enterobacter aerogenes , and Enterococcus faecalis were used as indicator bacteria to screen endophytes that exhibited antibacterial activity. The endophyte culture conditions were optimized to enhance productivity. Subsequently, the culture supernatant was salted using ammonium sulfate, followed by purification using dextran gel chromatography and ion exchange column techniques. Finally, the structures of antibacterial proteins were identified using mass spectrometry. Results and Discussion: The optimal culture conditions for Bacillus G14 were 2% mannitol, 0.5% fish peptone, 0.05% KH2PO4 + 0.05% K2HPO4 + 0.025% MnSO4·H2O. The antibacterial substances exhibited stability within the temperature range of 30-40°C and pH range of 5.0-7.0, while displaying sensitivity toward enzymes. The antibacterial activity decreased as the duration of UV irradiation increased. The antibacterial protein PAG14, isolated from the culture broth of Bacillus G14 through purification using dextran gel and ion-exchange columns, was identified as a class III bacteriocin using LC-MS/MS, similar to Lysozyme C. These findings serve as a theoretical foundation for the investigation and application of bacteriocins in food products., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Peng, Xie, Fan, Ma, Li, Luo, Yu, Ding and Ma.)

Introduction: The widespread use of antibiotics in animal agriculture has increased the resistance of Escherichia coli , and pathogenic E. coli often harbor complex virulence factors. Antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria can cause public health problems. Correlation analyses of the resistance, virulence, and serotype data from the pathogenic bacteria found on farms and in the surrounding environment can thus provide extremely valuable data to help improve public health management., Methods: In this investigation, we have assessed the drug resistance and virulence genes as well as the molecular typing characteristics of 30 E. coli strains isolated from duck farms in the Zhanjiang area of China. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the drug resistance and virulence genes as well as serotypes, and whole-genome sequencing was used to analyze the multilocus sequence typing., Results: The detection rates for the oqxA resistance gene and fimC virulence gene were highest (93.3%, respectively). There were no correlations between the drug resistance and virulence gene numbers in the same strain. The epidemic serotype was O81 (5/24), ST3856 was an epidemic sequence type, and strains I-9 and III-6 carried 11 virulence genes. The E. coli strains from the duck farms in the Zhanjiang area were thus found to have a broad drug resistance spectrum, various virulence genes, complex serotypes, and certain pathogenicity and genetic relationship., Discussion: Monitoring the spread of pathogenic bacteria and the provision of guidance regarding the use of antibiotics in the livestock and poultry industries will be required in the future in the Zhanjiang area., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Luo, Liao, Peng, Tao, Zhang, Dai, Ding and Ma.)

Introduction: The purpose of our study was to explore the effects of edaravone on rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and investigate the underlying mechanism., Material and Methods: All rats were separated randomly into 3 groups as follows: sham group ( n = 25), TBI group ( n = 25), TBI + edaravone group ( n = 25). Edaravone was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) at a dose of 3 mg/kg at 30 min, 12 h, and 24 h after TBI. The neurological impairment and spatial cognitive function were assessed by the neurologic severity score (NSS) and Morris water maze (MWM), respectively. Western blot and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to determine the expression levels of caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase receptor B (TrkB). Transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay as well as flow cytometry assay was used to determine the apoptosis rate of cells., Results: Edaravone administration significantly attenuated neurological impairment induced by TBI and promoted cognitive function outcome. The expression of BDNF and TrkB was elevated with treatment of edaravone, which was increased after TBI. The expression of apoptosis related proteins such as caspase-3 and Bax-2 was decreased while that of Bcl-2 was enhanced with edaravone administration following TBI. In addition, edaravone treatment reduced TBI-induced cell apoptosis in the hippocampus., Conclusions: Our study showed that administration with edaravone was able to inhibit neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus in a rat TBI model. The neuroprotective function of edaravone may relate to modulation of the BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2019 Termedia & Banach.)