Genetic relatedness among azole-resistant Candida tropicalis clinical strains in Taiwan from 2014 to 2018.

To monitor trends in the distribution of yeast species and the susceptibilities of these species to commonly prescribed antifungal drugs, we conduct the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance of Yeasts (TSARY) every 4 years. We found that 25 of 294 Candida tropicalis isolates from TSARY 2014 and 31 of 314 C. tropicalis isolates from TSARY 2018 were resistant to fluconazole.

A time-course study of microglial activation and dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra of mice with paraquat-induced Parkinson's disease.

Activated microglia play an active role in the pathogenesis of PD and paraquat (PQ) induces PD. The study was to understand the time relationship between microglial activation and dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra (SN) of PQ-induced PD mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally with PQ, twice a week for six weeks.

Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV) La Sota expressing the haemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein of genotype VII NDV shows improved protection efficacy against NDV challenge.

Intensive vaccination strategies against Newcastle disease (ND) have been implemented in many countries for a long time, but ND outbreaks still occur frequently, with most isolates belonging to genotype VII of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Many researchers have revealed that vaccines closely matched to epidemic viruses provide better protection. Therefore, using a previously established reverse genetics system, we generated a recombinant NDV vaccine strain (rLa Sota-HN) based on the La Sota vaccine strain expressing the haemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein of genotype VII NDV.

Recombinant Fiber-2 Protein-Based Indirect ELISA for Antibody Detection of Fowl Adenovirus Serotype 4.

Clinical cases of hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS) from fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) have increased in China since 2013. Therefore, the development of a new serologic method for HHS detection is now urgent. Here, the FAdV-4 strain JSJ13 was used to construct a plasmid for prokaryotic expression of the JSJ13 fiber-2 protein.

Different Origins of Newcastle Disease Virus Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Protein Modulate the Replication Efficiency and Pathogenicity of the Virus.

To investigate the exact effects of different origins of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein to the biological characteristics of the virus, we systematically studied the correlation between the HN protein and NDV virulence by exchanging the HN of velogenic or lentogenic NDV strains with the HN from other strains of different virulence. The results revealed that the rSG10 or rLaSota derivatives bearing the HN gene of other viruses exhibited decreased or increased hemadsorption (HAd), neuraminidase and fusion promotion activities. and tests further showed that changes in replication level, tissue tropism and virulence of the chimeric viruses were also consistent with these biological activities.

Microglial Activation in the Pathogenesis of Huntington's Disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by expanded CAG trinucleotide repeats (>36) in exon 1 of gene that encodes huntingtin protein. Although HD is characterized by a predominant loss of neurons in the striatum and cortex, previous studies point to a critical role of aberrant accumulation of mutant huntingtin in microglia that contributes to the progressive neurodegeneration in HD, through both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms. Microglia are resident immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS), which function to surveil the microenvironment at a quiescent state.

Effect of interleukin-1β and lipoxin A in human endometriotic stromal cells: Proteomic analysis.

Aim: Lipoxin A (LXA ) can function as an endogenous 'breaking signal' in inflammation and plays an important role in the progression of endometriosis. The proteome responses to interleukin-1β (IL-1β) or LXA in human endometriotic stromal cells (ESC) are not well understood.

Methods: In this study, primary ESC were cultured from ovarian endometriosis tissue.

Multi-dimensional analysis on Parkinson's disease questionnaire-39 in Parkinson's patients treated with Bushen Huoxue Granule: A multicenter, randomized, double-blinded and placebo controlled trial.

Objectives: To preliminarily assess the effects of Bushen Huoxue Granule (BHG) on Parkinson's Patients with Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39)and to provide data for further research.

Design: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled study with a 3-month intervention period and a 6-month follow-up.

Interventions: Participants were patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) of age ranging from 50 to 80 years and Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) stage I-IV of the disease.

Antigenic variation of LaSota and genotype VII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and their efficacy against challenge with velogenic NDV.

Continued monitoring and evaluation of vaccine efficacy against prevalent or newly isolated strains has great importance in advising Newcastle disease (ND) immunization strategy. In this study, we systematically analysed the antigenic variation between genotype VII NDV aSG10 and the commercial vaccine strain LaSota, and assessed their efficacy against challenge with velogenic NDV by serological analysis and animal testing. We show that these two viruses are antigenically distinguishable; anti-NDV aSG10 hyper-immune sera demonstrated higher haemagglutination inhibition (HI) titres (11.

Pharmacological Effects of Active Components of Chinese Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease: A Review.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common neurodegenerative disorder associated with dementia, not only severely decreases the quality of life for its victims, but also brings a heavy economic burden to the family and society. Unfortunately, few chemical drugs designed for clinical applications have reached the expected preventive or therapeutic effect so far, and combined with their significant side-effects, there is therefore an urgent need for new strategies to be developed for AD treatment. Traditional Chinese Medicine has accumulated many experiences in the treatment of dementia during thousands of years of practice; modern pharmacological studies have confirmed the therapeutic effects of many active components derived from Chinese herbal medicines (CHM).

[Factors influencing the bone mineral density in preterm infants].

Objective: To study the bone mineral development and the factors influencing the development in preterm infants.

Methods: Ninety preterm and 90 term infants followed up by the child health care service were randomly enrolled. Tibia quantitative ultrasound measurements were used to evaluate bone mineral density described as supersonic speed of sound (SOS) and Z scores at 6 months old (corrected gestational age for preterm infants).

SB203580, a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor, suppresses the development of endometriosis by down-regulating proinflammatory cytokines and proteolytic factors in a mouse model.

Background: p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK), a regulator of inflammation, may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis (EM). We studied the effect of SB203580, a p38 MAPK inhibitor, on the development of EM in a mouse model.

Methods: EM was induced in BALB/c mice by peritoneal injection of endometrium-rich fragments.

[Meta analysis of lactic acid bacteria as probiotics for the primary prevention of infantile eczema].

Objective: To determine whether lactic acid bacteria as probiotics is efficacious in the primary prevention of infantile eczema or atopic eczema.

Methods: For this meta analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCT) describing the efficacy of probiotics in infants with eczema or atopic eczema at ages of ≤2 years, a comprehensive search in the databases was performed up to January 2010. Three reviewers independently evaluated the studies for methodological qualities.

High prevalence of vitamin D and calcium deficiency among pregnant women and their newborns in Chengdu, China.

Background: Vitamin D and calcium deficiency is common in pregnant women and newborn infants. There are few data about the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D during pregnancy and infancy in China. We assessed vitamin D status of pregnant women and their neonates in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China.

[Relationship between Ghrelin and growth hormone secretagogue receptor expression and catch-up growth in rats with intrauterine growth restriction].

Objective: To study the relationship between Ghrelin and growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) expression and the catch-up growth in rats with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Methods: The rat model of IUGR was established by food restriction during pregnancy. The small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) rat pups from the pregnant rats were used as the experimental group.

[Effects of different feeding types on the physical growth of infants].

Objective: To investigate the effects of different feeding types on the physical growth of infants.

Methods: Infants who visited the children health clinics regularly were recruited for the study. They were classified into breast feeding group, bottle feeding group and mixed feeding group according to the feeding types before 4-months-old.

[Sleep problems among school age children in Chengdu].

Objective: To identify the sleep patterns and sleep problems in the children of school age in Chengdu. Methods In 2005, 2848 children of school age were randomly selected from five districts in Chengdu to participants in a questionnaire survey. The sleep behaviors of the participants and their determinants were investigated.

Neurogranin expression in stably transfected N2A cell line affects cytosolic calcium level by nitric oxide stimulation.

To test a cellular effect of rodent neurogranin (Ng) oxidation as compared to Ng phosphorylation, we develop a cell model capable of stable expression of Ng using the Tet-On system, and determine whether Ng oxidation regulates intracellular calcium level. Our results show that Ng oxidation by nitric oxide donor induces an increase of [Ca(2+)](i) in Ng-expressed cells as compared to the control cells without expressing Ng. These results suggest that Ng oxidation plays a significant role in intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis, essential for the activated signaling networks in learning and memory.

[Injury of myocardial mitochondria in neonatal swines with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage].

Objective: To clarify the effect of hypoxia and ischemia on the concentration of Ca2+ in myocardial mitochondria, and on the activity of respiratory chain complex IV--cytochrome oxidase (CCO) in neonatal swines, and to find out the change of myocardial mitochondria during hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD).

Methods: The study was performed on neonatal swines. For establishment of HIBD model, the left carotid was ligated and the swine was placed under hypoxia for two hours.