Prevalence characteristic of BVDV in some large scale dairy farms in Western China

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence characteristic of Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in some large scale dairy farms in Western China. BVDV was detected in 30 samples of bulk tank milk (BTM) collected from 30 large dairy farms in 7 provinces of western China, 93.33% (28/30) of the farms were infected with BVDV, and S/P ratio was over 0.3 in 28 positive farms. The individual status was further estimated in the dairy farm (No. 10) with the highest positive rate (S/P ratio = 1.37) and the dairy farm (No. 17) with the lowest positive rate (S/P ratio = 0.39). Two hundred cows were, respectively, selected from calf, young cows and lactating cows in farm No. 10 and farm No. 17 and the serum sample of each enrolled cow was collected. The individual positive rate of serum antibody (Ab) was 87.17% (523/600) in farm No. 10 and 31.33% (188/600) in farm No. 17. The individual positive ratio of serum antibody in calves, young cows and lactating cows were 41.75 % (167/400), 58.75% (235/400) and 77.25% (309/400), respectively. BTM Ab of farm No. 10 has an S/P ratio more than 1.0, which indicated there were emergent or persistent infection (PI) cases, and further test showed that PI cases were 0.51% in farm No. 10. Pathogens were positive in 42.34% (163/385) of nasal mucus samples collected from cows with respiratory symptom, and BVDV cases were 57 in 163 positive samples. Three strains of NCP BVDV-1, one strain of CP BVDV-1, one strain of NCP BVDV-2 and one strain of CP BVDV-2 were successfully isolated. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the subtypes of BVDV currently prevalent in western China were BVDV-1a, BVDV-1m, BVDV-1q and BVDV-2. The findings suggested that the BVDV infection is serious in some Large Scale Dairy Farms in Western China

SARS-CoV-2 genomic characterization and evolution in China

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected global health worldwide due to its high contagiousness. During the viral spread, many mutations occurred within the virus genome. China has adopted nonpharmaceutical intervention (NPI) to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. In order to understand the evolution and genomic variation of SARS-CoV-2 in China under this policy, a total of 524 sequences downloaded from Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) between 2019 and 2022 were included in this study. The time-scaled evolutionary analysis showed that these sequences clustered in three groups (Group A-C). Group B and C accounted for the majority of the sequences whose divergence times were around 2020 and distributed in multiple regions. Group A was mainly composed of G variants, which were mainly isolated from several regions. Moreover, we found that 191 sites had mutations with no less than 3 times, including 30 amino acids that were deleted. Finally, we found that spike and nucleocapsid genes underwent positive selection evolution, indicating that the mutations within spike and nucleocapsid genes increased the SARS-CoV-2 contagiousness. Hence, this study preliminarily elucidates the evolutionary characteristics and genomic mutations of SARS-CoV-2 under the implementation of the NPI policy in China, providing scientific basis for further understanding the control effect of the NPI policy on the epidemic

The Safety and Efficacy of Dexmedetomidine vs. Sufentanil in Monitored Anesthesia Care during Burr-Hole Surgery for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Retrospective Clinical Trial

Background: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a very common clinical emergency encountered in neurosurgery. While both general anesthesia (GA) and monitored anesthesia care (MAC) can be used during CSDH surgery, MAC is the preferred choice among surgeons. Further, while dexmedetomidine (DEX) is reportedly a safe and effective agent for many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, there have been no trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of DEX vs. sufentanil in CSDH surgery. Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of DEX vs. sufentanil in MAC during burr-hole surgery for CSDH.Methods: In all, 215 fifteen patients underwent burr-hole surgery for CSDH with MAC and were divided into three groups: Group D1 (n=67, DEX infusion at 0.5 μg·kg–1 for 10 min), Group D2 (n=75, DEX infusion at 1 μg·kg–1 for 10 min), and Group S (n=73, sufentanil infusion 0.3 μg·kg–1 for 10 min). Ramsay sedation scale (RSS) of all three groups was maintained at 3. Anesthesia onset time, total number of intraoperative patient movements, hemodynamics, total cumulative dose of DEX, time to first dose and amount of rescue midazolam or fentanyl, percentage of patients converted to alternative sedative or anesthetic therapy, postoperative recovery time, adverse events, and patient and surgeon satisfaction scores were recorded.Results: The anesthesia onset time was significantly less in group D2 (17.36±4.23 vs. 13.42±2.12 vs. 15.98±4.58 min, respectively, for D1, D2, S; P<0.001). More patients in groups D1 and S required rescue midazolam to achieve RSS=3 (74.63% vs. 42.67% vs. 71.23%, respectively, for D1, D2, S; P<0.001). However, the total dose of rescue midazolam was significantly higher in group D1 (2.8±0.3 vs. 1.9±0.3 vs. 2.0±0.4 mg, respectively, for D1, D2, S; P<0.001). The time to first dose of rescue midazolam was significantly longer in group D2 (17.32±4.47 vs. 23.56±5.36 vs. 16.55±4.91 min, respectively, for D1, D2, S; P<0.001). Significantly fewer patients in groups S and D2 required rescue fentanyl to relieve pain (62.69% vs. 21.33% vs. 27.40%, respectively, for D1, D2, S; P<0.001). Additionally, total dose of rescue fentanyl in group D1 group was significantly higher (212.5±43.6 vs. 107.2±35.9 vs. 98.6±32.2 μg, respectively, for D1, D2, S

Evaluation of the Hydrolysis Specificity of an Aminopeptidase from <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> SWJS33 Using Synthetic Peptides and Soybean Protein Isolate

The substrate specificity of aminopeptidases has often been determined against aminoacyl-<i>p</i>-nitroanilide; thus, its specificity toward synthetic peptides and complex substrates remained unclear. The hydrolysis specificity of an aminopeptidase from <i>Bacillus licheniformis</i> SWJS33 (BLAM) was evaluated using a series of synthetic peptides and soybean protein isolate. The aminopeptidase showed high specificity for dipeptides with Leu, Val, Ala, Gly, and Phe at the N-terminus, and the specificity was significantly affected by the nature of the penultimate residue. In the hydrolysis of soy protein isolate, BLAM preferred peptides with Leu, Glu, Gly, and Ala at the N-terminus by free amino acid analysis and preferred peptides with Leu, Ala, Ser, Trp, and Tyr at the N-terminus by UPLC-MS/MS. The introduction of complex substrates provides a deeper understanding of the aminopeptidase’s specificity, which can instruct the application of the enzyme in protein hydrolysis

Distribution of drug resistance genes in 13 <i>Campylobacter</i> strains.

Distribution of drug resistance genes in 13 Campylobacter strains.</p

Virulence factors detected in the examined 13 <i>Campylobacter</i>i isolates in this study.

Virulence factors detected in the examined 13 Campylobacteri isolates in this study.</p

Phylogenetic tree based on cg-SNPs of 13 <i>Campylobacter</i> spp isolates.

Phylogenetic tree based on cg-SNPs of 13 Campylobacter spp isolates.</p

Phylogenetic tree based on cg-SNPs of 11 <i>C</i>. <i>jejuni</i> isolates, using the genome of strain NCTC 11168 as reference.

Phylogenetic tree based on cg-SNPs of 11 C. jejuni isolates, using the genome of strain NCTC 11168 as reference.</p

Genomic characteristics of 13 <i>Campylobacter</i> strains.

Genomic characteristics of 13 Campylobacter strains.</p