Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in dogs in Jiangsu Province, eastern China

There is a lack of epidemiological data on Toxoplasma gondii infection in dogs from eastern China. In the present study, serum samples from 288 dogs were collected from Xuzhou, Huaiyin, and Yianchen in Jiangsu Province, eastern China, in August 2010; T. gondii antibodies were assayed by a modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 62 of 288 (21.5%) with MAT titers of 1∶25 in 21 dogs, 1∶50 in 15, 1∶100 in 11, 1∶200 in 6, and 1∶400 and above in 3 dogs. The seroprevalence in ≥3-yr-old dogs was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in dogs less than 3-yr-old. The results of the present study indicated that infection with T. gondii in household dogs in Jiangsu Province is a public health concern.     

广东潮州凤凰山茶区蜘蛛名录及其地理分布

2010年3-10月,对广东潮州凤凰山茶园的蜘蛛进行采样调查。经鉴定统计,凤凰山茶园蜘蛛共计23科,67属,79种,另待定种27种。在前人调查研究广东茶区蜘蛛的基础上新增了61种,均为广东省茶区蜘蛛的新纪录。     

Association of human papillomavirus infection and abnormal anal cytology among HIV-infected MSM in Beijing, China

Background

In the recent years, dramatic increases in HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) have been observed in China. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection related anal cancer is more common among HIV-infected MSM as compared to the general population. However, HPV infection and anal cytology has been rarely studied in HIV-infected MSM in China.

Methods

HIV-infected MSM in Beijing, China were invited to participate in this study between January and April 2011. Anal swabs were collected for examining cytology and HPV genotypes.

Results

Ninety-five eligible participants with complete questionnaire and laboratory data were included in the analyses. Thirty six of them (37.9%) showed abnormal anal cytology as follows: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) in 19 (20.0%), atypical squamous cells but cannot exclude HSIL (ASC-H) in 1 (1.1%), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) in 15 (15.8%), and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in 1 (1.1%). HPV6 (20.0%), HPV16 (10.9%), HPV56 (10.9%), HPV52 (9.1%) and HPV39 (9.1%) were observed most frequently among those with normal anal cytology, while different distribution was found in the ones with abnormal anal cytology as HPV6 (19.4%), HPV16 (19.4%), HPV45 (16.7%), HPV52 (16.7%) and HPV18 (11.1%). In addition, HPV16, HPV45, HPV52 and HPV18 were the most frequent high-risk types in patients with abnormal anal cytology. HPV multiplicity was found to be significantly related to the prevalence of abnormal anal cytology (p for trend = 0.04).

Conclusions

High prevalence of HPV infection and abnormal anal cytology was observed among HIV-infected MSM in China. Infection of multiple HPV types or high-risk types was found to be associated with an increased risk of abnormal anal cytology.     

广东省蚂蚁种类与分布

本文记录了广东省蚂蚁的种类和分布,共计8亚科,55属,160种,其中10个广东省新纪录属,59个广东省新纪录种;标本主要保存于广东省昆虫研究所蚂蚁利用与蚁害监控团队以及中山大学昆虫标本室.     

广东蕨类植物新资料

报道了2个新异名,1个新等级和35种蕨类植物在广东的分布新记录。正安肋毛蕨（Ctenitis changanensis Ching）和信宜铁角蕨（Asplenium xinyiense Ching et S.H.Wu）分别作直鳞肋毛蕨（Ctenitis eatoni (Bak.) Ching）和厚叶铁角蕨（Asplenium griffithianum Hook）的异名处理;齿翅井栏凤尾蕨（Pteris serralata（Miau）Y. H. Yan）被提升到种的等级;假芒萁属（Sticherus Presl）、柄盖蕨属（Peranema D. Don）、蛾眉蕨属（Lunathyrium Koidz.）和革舌蕨属（Scleroglossum Alderw）等4个属为广东分布新记录,小笠原卷柏（Selaginella boninensis Baker）为中国大陆分布新记录。广东现有蕨类已达到56科144属502种。     

Revegetation of Pb/Zn Mine Tailings, Guangdong Province, China

The Lechang lead/zinc mine is located in the north part of Guangdong Province, southern China. The tailings residue from the extraction of lead/zinc ores was permanently stored in tailings ponds, which required revegetation to reduce the environmental impact. A field study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the effects of different ameliorants, including: (1) pig manure (PM); (2) mushroom compost (MC); (3) burnt coal residue (BC); (4) fly ash (FA); and (5) surface soil on the growth of Agropyron elongatum (tall wheat grass), Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass), Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass), and Trifolium repens (clover) in the tailings residue. The results from the core profiles indicated that adding FA (10 cm) or BC (15 cm) as a barrier layer between the cover soil and the tailings could increase pH, compared to the treatment with soil only. C. dactylon grew well and had a high cover (90–100%) in all the treatment plots except the control plots without any amendment. A. elongatum and L. multiflorum had a higher cover when grown in plots covered with a barrier layer using FA or BC (both with surface soil), than those grown in plots covered with surface soil only. Treatment plots receiving a thicker soil cover (30 cm) had a better dry weight yield than those with a thinner soil cover (15 cm), regardless of the barrier layer. The results from this study indicate that the use of either 15 cm BC or 10 cm FA as a barrier layer with surface soil, or the use of 38 tonnes PM/ha and 6 cm MC, were effective for the revegetation of Pb/Zn mine tailings. C. dactylon was the best species among the four species used for revegetation. Key words: reclamation, Pb/Zn mine tailings, burnt coal, mushroom compost, fly ash, Bermuda grass, Italian ryegrass, clover.     

Biological characteristics of wild Cycas fairylakea population in Guangdong Province,China

There are five wild populations of Cycas fairylakea in Guangdong Province,China,three of which are newly found.A study of the biological characteristics of C.fairylakea populations showed that this species had a narrow colonization area within 300 hm2,and an island pattern of distribution.Because of the overexploitation,urbanization,environment pollution,plant diseases,and insect pests,the wild populations and individuals of C.fairylakea decreased markedly in the past decades.All five populations have an opposite pyramid age structure,few coning plants,few seed production,and low level of seed germination rate or sterility.In conclusion,C.fairylakea in Guangdong Province was threatened seriously and an urgent need to take effective efforts to protect the plants and habitats in its location sites was required.     

广东省典型水库浮游植物群落特征与富营养化研究

研究了广东省19座主要水库2000年丰水期和枯水期浮游植物状况,并根据浮游植物群落结构和多样性指数对水库进行营养状况评价。结果表明,东江流域的新丰江和白盘珠水库水质良好,属于贫营养型水库;大部分水库为中营养型,而鹤地、契爷石和石岩这3座位于沿海经济发达地区水库属于富营养型。流域上游水库水质明显优于下游水库,山区水库水质优于沿海水库,东江流域水库水质普遍较好。北江流域次之,而粤西沿海和珠江三角洲地区各水库均受到不同程度的污染。     

Reproducibility of the cytologic diagnosis of human papillomavirus infection

As part of a larger epidemiologic investigation of the association between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, the reliability of the cytologic diagnosis of HPV infection was examined. A random sample of cervicovaginal specimens with cytologic changes characteristic of HPV infection were matched with a second set of slides, with regard to the date and severity of the smear and the age of the woman from whom the smear was obtained. The kappa statistic for interobserver agreement was 0.38 (p less than 0.0005), increasing to 0.68 (p less than 0.0005) when uncertain diagnoses were excluded. Intraobserver agreement ranged from kappa = 0.40 to 1.00. Although this agreement is within the range of reliability found for the diagnosis of other atypical cytologic changes, considerable variation is present. The effect of this variability on the validity of estimating the risk of cervical cancer associated with HPV infection may be considerable.     

Population-based study on the prevalence of and risk factors for human papillomavirus infection in Qujing of Yunnan province, Southwest China

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes cervical cancer and premalignant lesions of the cervix. Prevalence of HPV infection and HPV genotypes vary among different regions. However there is no data on the prevalence of HPV infection and HPV genotypes from southwest China. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for HR-HPV infection in Qujing of Yunnan province, southwest China to provide comprehensive baseline data for future screening strategies. Methods: A sample of 5936 women was chosen by the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method with selection probabilities proportional to size (PPS). An epidemiological questionnaire was conducted via a face-to-face interview and cervical specimens were taken for HPV DNA testing by Digene Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test. HPV Genotyping Reverse Hybridization Test was used for HPV genotyping. Proportions were compared by Chi-squared tests, and logistic regression was utilized to evaluate risk factors. Results: The median age was 38 years and the inter-quartile range was from 31 years to 47 years. 97.3% of the study population was Han nationality. Overall prevalence of HR-HPV infection was 8.3% (494/5936) and bimodal age distribution of HPV infection was observed. The five most prevalent HR-HPV genotypes were HPV-16(3.4%), HPV-56(1.7%), HPV-58(1.4%), HPV-33(1.2%) and HPV-52(0.88%). Multiple HPV infections were identified in 50.5% (208/412) of the positive genotyping specimens. Multivariate logistic regression model indicated that parity (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.18-1.53, p<0.0001) was a risk factor for HR-HPV infection, and age of 50-65 years (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.45-0.80, p=0.0005), being married or in stable relationship (OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.31-0.96, p=0.035) were protective factors. Conclusions: This study provided baseline data on HR-HPV prevalence in the general female population in Qujing of Yunnan province, southwest China. The finding of multiple HPV infections and bimodal age distribution revealed that HPV screening is necessary for perimenopausal women in future.     

Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection among young women in North India

Background: The number of women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) and the distribution of the HPV genotypes vary across populations and with age. Objective: To determine the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in young married women aged 16–24 years. Methods: 1300 women residing in an urban slum in Delhi donated samples of exfoliated cervical cells that were collected by the Digene^® kit and tested for the presence of HPV DNA by two techniques in parallel, i.e., PCR using PGMY consensus primers for all HPV types and the Digene HPV test (Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) Probe B for high-risk (hr) types. Genotyping was done on all HPV positive samples using the Roche reverse line blot assay. Results: HPV infection was detected in 91/1300 (7%) samples by PCR and 110/1300 (8.4%) samples by HC2. Genotyping identified 20 high-risk and 11 low-risk types. HPV16 was the commonest high-risk type (3%) followed by HPV52 (1.2%) and HPV51 (0.8%). Among low-risk types, HPV62 was the commonest (0.8%), followed by HPV84 and HPV89 (0.5% each). Multiple infections were found in 3% of the HPV positive samples. Conclusion: A wide spectrum of HPV genotypes is seen in this young population. Knowledge about HPV types prevalent in communities in different regions of India would be useful in devising the optimum strategy for cervical cancer prevention.     

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pigs, in Zhejiang Province, China

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pigs in 10 regions of Zhejiang Province, China, was obtained by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Anti- T. gondii antibodies were found in 53.4% (434/813) of pigs. Results were analyzed by a chi-square (χ(2)) test. Differences were observed according to farm size, animal age, and sampling regions. Seroprevalences in pigs raised on small farms (71.4%) were significantly higher than that (42.7%) on large farms (P < 0.05), and seroprevalence increased progressively with age. The seroprevalence ranged from 28.1% to 66.0% in different regions, with Jiaxing having the lowest level (28.1%), followed by Hangzhou (36.0%) and Taizhou (42.0%). This is the first study on seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in pigs in Zhejiang Province.     

A prospective study of human papillomavirus infection of the cervix

In a prospective study 42 women, diagnosed as having low grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), made a total of 281 clinic visits over a 45 month period. At each visit, they were subjected to cytological and colposcopical examination and samples were taken for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA hybridization studies and for the detection of non-HPV infections. HPV types 16 and/or 18 were found in 25% of all the samples tested and these virus types were detected in five of six (83%) women whose lesions progressed compared to seven of 14 (50%) of those whose lesions regressed. The presence of HPV DNA was not a good prognostic indicator of progression since half of those whose disease regressed also harboured these viruses at some time. The recording of non-HPV infections almost 10 times more often in the women whose disease regressed than in those whose disease progressed could probably be accounted for by the former having a larger number of follow-up visits. Nevertheless, the significance of non-HPV infections also remains unclear.     

Biological characteristics of wild Cycas fairylakea population in Guangdong Province, China

There are five wild populations of Cycas fairylakea in Guangdong Province, China, three of which are newly found. A study of the biological characteristics of C. fairylakea populations showed that this species had a narrow colonization area within 300 hm², and an island pattern of distribution. Because of the overexploitation, urbanization, environment pollution, plant diseases, and insect pests, the wild populations and individuals of C. fairylakea decreased markedly in the past decades. All five populations have an opposite pyramid age structure, few coning plants, few seed production, and low level of seed germination rate or sterility. In conclusion, C. fairylakea in Guangdong Province was threatened seriously and an urgent need to take effective efforts to protect the plants and habitats in its location sites was required. __________ Translated from Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni, 2005, 44(6): 97–100 [译自: 中山大学学报 (自然科学版), 2006, 44(6): 97–100]     

Detection of the type III secretion system and its phylogenetic and symbiotic characterization in peanut bradyrhizobia isolated from Guangdong Province,China

The distribution of rhcRST and rhcJ-C1 fragments located in different loci of the type III secretion system (T3SS) gene cluster in the peanut-nodulating bradyrhizobia isolated from Guangdong Province, China was investigated by PCR-based sequencing. T3SS was detected in approximately one-third of the peanut bradyrhizobial strains and the T3SS-harboring strains belonging to different Bradyrhizobium genomic species. Diverse T3SS groups corresponding to different symbiotic gene types were defined among the 23 T3SS-harboring strains. The same or similar T3SS genes were detected in different genospecies, indicating that interspecies horizontal transfer of symbiotic genes had occurred in the Bradyrhizobium genus.