Effect of amikacin on cell wall glycopeptidolipid synthesis in Mycobacterium abscessus.

Cultivation of the smooth colony Mycobacterium abscessus at the sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of amikacin changed its growth pattern including its colony morphology (smooth to rough) and cell arrangement (dispersed to cord formation). In addition, reduced sliding motility and biofilm formation were observed. The amount of glycogpetidolipid (GPL) and mRNA expression of key genes involved in GPL synthesis were decreased in the amikacin-treated M.

Acupuncture for the treatment of obesity in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Meta-analysis was used to assess the clinical efficacy of acupuncture treatment for simple obesity and to provide evidence-based medical data for treating obesity with acupuncture.

Methods: A comprehensive search of studies on MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Chinese databases (Wan Fang,CNKI and VIP) from 1 January 1915 through 30 November 2015 (MEDLINE search updated through 31 December 2015) was performed. We included only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that used acupuncture and sham acupuncture to treat simple obesity.

High altitude and pre-eclampsia: Adaptation or protection.

Adaptive genes of high altitude can also be protective in diseases like preeclampsia, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer, Parkinson Disease and Cancer, which may result from deregulation of hypoxia pathway. The example of pre-eclampsia and normal pregnancy were studied to see if the hypoxia-induced disorders can be dragged towards adaptation. Here, we analyse the genetic variants that are known to be associated with adaptation to high altitude hypoxia.

Isolation of Kaeng Khoi virus (KKV) from Eucampsipoda sundaica bat flies in China.

A virus strain (WDBC1210) was isolated from specimens of bat flies (Eucampsipoda sundaica) associated with Leschenault's Rousette (Rousettus leschenaultii) in the China-Myanmar border area of Yunnan Province, China. Both BHK-21 and VeroE6 cells infected with WDBC1210 showed evident cytopathic effects (CPE), and the highest propagation titer was 1×10. The virus particles were spherical, 70nm in diameter.

Subtotal laparoscopic cholecystectomy influences the rate of conversion in patients with difficult laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Case series.

Objectives: This study aimed to show that subtotal laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SLC) is a safe procedure that reduces the rate of conversion in patients with difficult laporoscopic cholecystectomies in resource-meagre settings.

Patients And Methods: Following informed consent, patients with gallstones reporting to Atbara Medical Centre, Atbara, Northern Sudan from February 2012 to July 2013 were managed laparoscopically except those with choledocholithiasis. SLC was done for patients with difficult cholecystectomy and obscured Callot's triangle.

Significance of Serology by Multi-Antigen ELISA for Tissue Helminthiases in Korea.

It is clinically important to differentiate tissue-invading helminthiasis. The purpose of this study was to assess the specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody positive rates for clonorchiasis, paragonimiasis, cysticercosis, and sparganosis 4 helminthiases from 1996 to 2006 using multi-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in Korea. Results of 6,017 samples, which were referred to our institute for serodiagnosis, were analyzed.

Cross-border spread, lineage displacement and evolutionary rate estimation of rabies virus in Yunnan Province, China.

Background: Rabies is an important but underestimated threat to public health, with most cases reported in Asia. Since 2000, a new epidemic wave of rabies has emerged in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, which borders three countries in Southeast Asia.

Method: We estimated gene-specific evolutionary rates for rabies virus using available data in GenBank, then used this information to calibrate the timescale of rabies virus (RABV) spread in Asia.

Increased Chondrocyte Apoptosis in Kashin-Beck Disease and Rats Induced by T-2 Toxin and Selenium Deficiency.

Objective: To investigate chondrocyte apoptosis and the expression of biochemical markers associated with apoptosis in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and in an established T-2 toxin- and selenium (Se) deficiency-induced rat model.

Methods: Cartilages were collected from the hand phalanges of five patients with KBD and five healthy children. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a selenium-deficient diet for 4 weeks prior to T-2 toxin exposure.

Detection of alpha- and betacoronaviruses in rodents from Yunnan, China.

Background: Rodents represent the most diverse mammals on the planet and are important reservoirs of human pathogens. Coronaviruses infect various animals, but to date, relatively few coronaviruses have been identified in rodents worldwide. The evolution and ecology of coronaviruses in rodent have not been fully investigated.

Computed tomography or necropsy diagnosis of multiple bullae and the treatment of pneumothorax in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

Pulmonary bullae and pneumothorax have various etiologies in veterinary medicine. We diagnosed multiple pulmonary bullae combined with or without pneumothorax by computed tomography (CT) or necropsy in seven rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) imported from China. Two of seven rhesus macaques accompanied by pneumothorax were cured by fixation of ruptured lung through left or right 3rd intercostal thoracotomy.

Putative periodontal pathogens in the subgingival plaque of Sudanese subjects with aggressive periodontitis.

Background And Objectives: There has been limited study of the bacterial species associated with aggressive periodontitis (AgP) in high-risk populations in Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify the presence of four putative periodontal pathogens in the subgingival plaque of Sudanese subjects with AgP. A secondary aim was to investigate the effect of varying the detection threshold on the reported prevalence of the bacterial species investigated.

Epidemiological and molecular characteristics of emergent dengue virus in Yunnan Province near the China-Myanmar-Laos border, 2013-2015.

Background: Yunnan Province is located in southwestern China and neighbors the Southeast Asian countries, all of which are dengue-endemic areas. In 2000-2013, sporadic imported cases of dengue fever (DF) were reported almost annually in Yunnan Province. During 2013-2015, we confirmed that a large-scale indigenous DF outbreak emerged in cities of Yunnan Province near the China-Myanmar-Laos border.

Novel bat adenoviruses with low G+C content shed new light on the evolution of adenoviruses.

Bats have been reported to carry diverse adenoviruses. However, most bat adenoviruses have been identified on the basis of partial genome sequences, and knowledge on the evolution of bat adenoviruses remains limited. In this study, we isolated and characterized four novel adenoviruses from two distinct bat species, and their full-length genomes were sequenced.

Reliability and validity of the 12-item WHODAS 2.0 in patients with Kashin-Beck disease.

The purpose of this study was to check the reliability and validity of the 12-item Chinese version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) for the assessment of disability in patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD).

Efficacies of DHA-PPQ and AS/SP in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in an area of an unstable seasonal transmission in Sudan.

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), together with other control measures, have reduced the burden of falciparum malaria in sub-Saharan countries, including Sudan. Sudan adopted ACT in 2004 with a remarkable reduction in mortality due to falciparum malaria. However, emergence of resistance to the first-line treatment artesunate and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (AS/SP) has created new challenges to the control of malaria in Sudan.

CD80CD86 deficiency disrupts regulatory CD4+FoxP3+T cell homoeostasis and induces autoimmune-like alopecia.

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that results in spot baldness in humans. Adequate animal models for AA are currently lacking. The objective of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of autoimmune-like alopecia (ALA) in C57BL/6.

D-dimer level, in association with humoral responses, negatively correlates with survival of porcine islet grafts in non-human primates with immunosuppression.

Background: Several immunosuppression (IS) regimens achieve long-term graft survival in non-human primates (NHPs) after porcine islet transplantation (PITx), but their success rates vary. To understand the mechanism of graft loss, we investigated the relationships between graft survival and humoral or inflammatory responses for maintenance IS in NHPs after PITx.

Methods: Islets purified from adult wild-type pigs were intraportally transplanted into streptozotocin-induced diabetic rhesus monkeys.

Loss of PTEN expression in breast cancer: association with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis.

Various studies have evaluated the significance of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10) expression in breast cancer, but their results remain controversial. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the associations of PTEN expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in breast cancer. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched to identify relevant publications.

Disruption of outer blood-retinal barrier by Toxoplasma gondii-infected monocytes is mediated by paracrinely activated FAK signaling.

Ocular toxoplasmosis is mediated by monocytes infected with Toxoplasma gondii that are disseminated to target organs. Although infected monocytes can easily access to outer blood-retinal barrier due to leaky choroidal vasculatures, not much is known about the effect of T. gondii-infected monocytes on outer blood-retinal barrier.

Discovery and genetic analysis of novel coronaviruses in least horseshoe bats in southwestern China.

To investigate bat coronaviruses (CoVs), we collected 132 rectal swabs and urine samples from five bat species in three countries in southwestern China. Seven CoVs belonging to distinct groups of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-like CoVs and α-CoVs were detected in samples from least horseshoe bats. Samples from other bat species were negative for these viruses, indicating that the least horseshoe bat represents one of the natural reservoirs and mixers for strains of CoVs and has a pivotal role in the evolution and dissemination of these viruses.

Evaluation of the Sensitivity and Specificity of the New Clinical Diagnostic and Classification Criteria for Kashin-Beck Disease, an Endemic Osteoarthritis, in China.

This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the new clinical diagnostic and classification criteria for Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) using six clinical markers: flexion of the distal part of fingers, deformed fingers, enlarged finger joints, shortened fingers, squat down, and dwarfism. One-third of the total population in Linyou County was sampled by stratified random sampling. The survey included baseline characteristics and clinical diagnoses, and the sensitivity and specificity of the new criteria was evaluated.

Development of Urinary Bladder Pre-Neoplasia by Eggs and Chemical Carcinogen in Mice.

is a biocarcinogen of human urinary bladder (UB). The present study investigated developing UB cancer mouse model by injecting eggs into the bladder wall and introduction of chemical carcinogens. Histopathological findings showed mild hyperplasia to epithelial vacuolar change, and high grade dysplasia.

Siglec-9 is upregulated in rheumatoid arthritis and suppresses collagen-induced arthritis through reciprocal regulation of Th17-/Treg-cell differentiation.

Sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin-9 (Siglec-9) is a novel sialic acid-binding member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is broadly expressed on immune cells, which can inhibit both innate and adaptive immune responses through immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs. However, the exact role of Siglec-9 in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remains unknown. In this study, we determined soluble Siglec-9 (sSiglec-9) levels in the serum and synovial fluid of patients with RA and evaluated the relation between sSiglec-9 levels and clinical factors.

Doxycycline as Potential Anti-cancer Agent.

Cancer cells do create hostile microenvironment (deprivation of nutrients, accumulation of acidity, anoxic habitat). Those cells are not only adapted to this sanctuary environment, blunting of immunity but also, grow, migrate to the distal area (metastasis) and communicate with each other in a unique population structure and organization too (clonal expansion). The adaptation requirements push those types of adaptable cells (cancer cells) to be primitive cells.