The oldest psyllipsocid booklice, in Lower Cretaceous amber from Lebanon (Psocodea, Trogiomorpha, Psocathropetae, Psyllipsocidae)

Libanopsyllipsocus alexanderasnitsynigen. et sp. n., of Psyllipsocidae is described and figured from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon. The position of the new taxon is discussed and the fossil is compared to other psyllipsocids. The species represents the earliest record of the family Psyllipsocidae.     

Mechanisms underlying the induction of regulatory T cells and its relevance in the adaptive immune response in parasitic infections

To fulfill its function, the immune system must detect and interpret a wide variety of signals and adjust the magnitude, duration, and specific traits of each response during the complex host-parasite relationships in parasitic infections. Inflammation must be tightly regulated since uncontrolled inflammation may be as destructive as the triggering stimulus and leads to immune-mediated tissue injury. During recent years, increasing evidence points to regulatory T cells (Tregs) as key anti-inflammatory cells, critically involved in limiting the inflammatory response. Herein, we review the published information on the induction of Tregs and summarize the most recent findings on Treg generation in parasitic diseases.     

Indirect ELISA with Recombinant GP5 for Detecting Antibodies to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome is caused by the PRRS virus (PRRSV),which has six structural proteins (GP2,GP3,GP4,GP5,M and N). GP5 and N protein are important targets for serological detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other methods. Toward this goal,we developed an indirect ELISA with recombinant GP5 antigens and this method was validated by comparison to the LSI PRRSV-Ab ELISA kit. The results indicated that the optimal concentration of coated recombinant antigen was...     

舟山地区2688例胆汁培养病原菌分布及耐药性分析

目的通过分析2007年到2010年舟山医院2 688例胆汁标本中病原菌的分布及耐药状况,为临床合理用药提供实验依据。方法对2 688例胆汁标本进行细菌培养、鉴定和药敏分析。结果 2 688例胆汁标本中共检出阳性标本611例(阳性率22.7%),其中革兰阴性菌占82.2%(502/611),革兰阳性菌占13.3%(81/611),真菌占4.6%(28/611)。主要的病原菌为大肠埃希菌(40.3%)、肺炎克雷伯菌(15.4%)、肠球菌(11.3%);阴沟肠杆菌(4.7%)等。大肠埃希菌和肺炎克雷伯菌的ESBLs阳性菌株的比例达到了21.0%和5.9%,其中ESBLs阴性菌株对头孢他啶、头孢吡肟、美罗培南和阿米卡星等药物较为敏感,而ESBLs阳性菌株只对美罗培南和亚胺培南敏感;革兰阳性菌对万古霉素、氨苄西林较敏感。结论舟山地区胆道感染以革兰阴性菌为主,大肠埃希菌产ESBLs的菌株有较高的比例,临床应加强对抗生素的合理使用。     

老年与中青年患者下呼吸道感染病原菌的对比分析

目的对比分析老年与中青年患者下呼吸道感染病原菌的分布规律及其耐药性特点,以指导临床合理用药。方法将研究对象分为老年(≥60岁)和中青年(20～59岁)2组;采用API系统进行菌种鉴定;采用K-B法进行药敏试验;采用纸片扩散表型确证法进行超广谱β-内酰胺酶(ESBLs)测定;采用SPSS 13.0进行χ2检验。结果老年组的真菌分离率显著高于中青年组,以白色假丝酵母菌最多;中青年组的G-杆菌分离率显著高于老年组,以铜绿假单胞菌最多;老年组主要致病菌对多数药物的耐药率比中青年组有增高趋势,但差异多无统计学意义;老年组肺炎克雷伯菌的ESBLs阳性率显著高于中青年组。结论老年与中青年患者下呼吸道感染的病原菌分布及耐药性存在一定差异。     

牙周可疑致病菌与下呼吸道感染的关系

牙菌斑生物膜是牙周炎的始动因子。研究发现,牙周炎与全身多器官或系统的感染性疾病有关,如心脑血管疾病、糖尿病、消化道和呼吸道疾病。近年来,牙周炎与呼吸道疾病之间的关系备受关注,本文将近期对牙周可疑致病菌感染下呼吸道的途径及其作用研究做简要综述。     

血清降钙素原与C反应蛋白的检测对下呼吸道感染性疾病的诊断价值

目的测定血清中血清降钙素原(PCT)、C反应蛋白(CRP)的含量,探讨其在下呼吸道感染性疾病诊断中的应用价值。方法选取辽宁中医药大学附属医院呼吸科2009年8月至2010年11月住院的下呼吸道感染患者35例,同期健康对照组20例,采用自动免疫透射比浊法测定PCT,胶乳增强免疫比浊法检测血清中CRP,同时检测患者白细胞计数。结果 35例下呼吸道感染患者中,PCT、CRP、WBC计数的对感染诊断的敏感性分别为77.1%、85.7%和40%,特异性分别为70%、100%和100%;对细菌性感染诊断的敏感性分别为100%、100%和63.2%,特异性为81.3%、37.5%和68.8%,且在细菌性感染中,PCT、CRP、WBC计数升高较非细菌性感染显著。结论测定血清中PCT、CRP含量对下呼吸道感染性疾病的诊断有一定临床应用价值。     

Quantitative proteomics (2-D DIGE) reveals molecular strategies employed by Burkholderia cenocepacia to adapt to the airways of cystic fibrosis patients under antimicrobial therapy

Chronic respiratory infections caused by Burkholderia cenocepacia in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are characterized by low responsiveness to antibiotic therapy and, in general, to a more rapid decline of lung function. To get clues into the molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptive strategies employed to deal with the stressing conditions of the CF lung including antibiotic therapy, quantitative proteomics (2-D DIGE) was used to compare the expression programs of two clonal isolates retrieved from a chronically infected CF patient. Isolate IST439 was the first bacterium recovered while the clonal variant IST4113 was obtained after 3 years of persistent infection and intravenous therapy with ceftazidime/gentamicin. This isolate exhibits higher resistance levels towards different classes of antimicrobials. Proteins of the functional categories Energy metabolism, Translation, Nucleotide synthesis, Protein folding and stabilization are more abundant in IST4113, compared with IST439, suggesting an increased protein synthesis, DNA repair and stress resistance in IST4113. The level of proteins involved in peptidoglycan, membrane lipids and lipopolysaccharide synthesis is also altered and proteins involved in iron binding and transport are more abundant in IST4113. The quantitative comparison of the two proteomes suggests a genetic adaptation leading to increased antimicrobial resistance and bacterial persistence in the CF airways.     

Optimization of respiratory chain enzymatic assays in muscle for the diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders

The diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders is difficult due to clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Measurements of mitochondrial respiratory chain (RC) enzyme activities are essential for both clinical diagnoses and many basic research questions. Current protocols for RC analysis are not standardized, and so are prone to inter-laboratory variability, and also to biochemical interferences that lead to analytical discrepancies. Moreover, knowledge of the analytical performances of these assays, which is essential to draw meaningful conclusions from the results, is lacking. To understand this variability and to propose possible solutions, we systematically investigated the effect of different homogenization protocols and chemical conditions on RC assays using muscle homogenates. We developed optimized protocols and a novel complex III method with improved sensitivity, precision, and linearity. These methods can be reliably performed on minute muscle samples with a single-wavelength spectrophotometer. Moreover, we measured the variability of the proposed homogenization protocol and we provide a systematic evaluation of each assay's specificity, precision, and linearity. These data will be useful for quality control in both clinical and research laboratories.     

Mitochondrial enzymes discriminate between mitochondrial disorders and chronic fatigue syndrome

We studied the extent of mitochondrial involvement in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and investigated whether measurement of mitochondrial respiratory chain complex (RCC) activities discriminates between CFS and mitochondrial disorders. Mitochondrial content was decreased in CFS compared to healthy controls, whereas RCC activities corrected for mitochondrial content were not. Conversely, mitochondrial content did not discriminate between CFS and two groups of mitochondrial disorders, whereas ATP production rate and complex I, III and IV activity did, all with higher activities in CFS. We conclude that the ATP production rate and RCC activities can reliably discriminate between mitochondrial disorders and CFS.