Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes in people with gastrointestinal disorders in Queensland and Western Australia

Enterocytozoon bieneusi is the commonest pathogenic microsporidian found in humans and animals in many countries, but there is scant information on this pathogen in Australia. Here, we conducted the first molecular epidemiological investigation of E. bieneusi in humans with gastrointestinal disorders in Queensland and Western Australia. Genomic DNAs derived from 605 individual faecal samples from children (n = 279) and adults (n = 326) were extracted, and then subjected to nested PCR-based sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA to detect and characterise E. bieneusi. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected in eight of 605 human faecal samples (1.3%), including five children (≤3 years of age) and one adult (58 years) in Queensland, and two children (≤3 years) in Western Australia. Analysis of ITS sequence data revealed two known zoonotic (ALP1 and Ind4) and three novel (Hum_q1–3) genotypes of E. bieneusi. Genotype ALP1 identified here in humans has been found previously in farmed alpacas in Australia. Phylogenetic analysis showed that genotypes ALP1, Hum_q1–2 and Ind4 belonged to E. bieneusi Group 1 (with zoonotic potential), whereas genotype Hum_q3 clustered within E. bieneusi Group 10, suggesting that some genotypes within Group 10 might have zoonotic potential. Further investigations of humans, alpacas, marsupials and other animals in Australia will be significant to understand the epidemiology of E. bieneusi in Australia, to identify possible reservoirs of human infection, and to assist in the prevention and control of human microsporidiosis

Effect of Ultra-fine Traditional Chinese Medicine Compounds on Regulation of Lipid Metabolism and Reduction in Egg Cholesterol of Laying Hens

<div><p>ABSTRACT This study has the objective of investigating the effects of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions (TCM) on serum lipid, abdominal and hepatic fat percentage, cholesterol content in eggs, and mRNA expression of genes apoA I and apoB100. One hundred and thirty five healthy (300-day-old) layers were randomly assigned to three treatments. The hens in control group were fed with the basal diet. The hens in the experimental groups (TCM 1 and TCM 2) were fed with the basal diet supplemented with 1% TCM 1 and 1% TCM 2 respectively over a period of 60 days. Laying performance and the serum parameters relevant to fat metabolism were measured. The results showed that no significant differences were found in average daily feed intake and egg weight among three treatments. Average daily laying rate in TCM treatments was increased, and the cholesterol content in eggs was decreased. The serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in experimental treatments were decreased (p<0.05), while the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was increased (p<0.05) compared to the control group. Additionally, abdominal fat percentage decreased in TCM 1 treatment (p<0.05), and hepatic fat percentage decreased in both TCM treatments (p<0.05). The expression of apolipoproteinA I (apoA I) and apolipoproteinB100 (apoB100) mRNA in the liver increased in both TCM treatments (p<0.05). These results suggest that the diet supplemented with TCM could increase the expression of apoA I and apoB100 mRNA in the liver, and decrease lipid content in the serum, and reduce egg cholesterol in layers.</p></div

Management of severe trauma worldwide: implementation of trauma systems in emerging countries: China, Russia and South Africa

As emerging countries, China, Russia, and South Africa are establishing and/or improving their trauma systems. China has recently established a trauma system named “the Chinese Regional Trauma Care System” and covered over 200 million populations. It includes paramedic-staffed pre-hospital care, in-hospital care in certified trauma centers, trauma registry, quality assurance, continuous improvement and ongoing coverage of the entire Chinese territory. The Russian trauma system was formed in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Pre-hospital care is region-based, with a regional coordination center that determines which team will go to the scene and the nearest hospital where the victim should be transported. Physician-staffed ambulances are organized according to three levels of trauma severity corresponding to three levels of trauma centers where in-hospital care is managed by a trauma team. No national trauma registry exists in Russia. Improvements to the Russian trauma system have been scheduled. There is no unified trauma system in South Africa, and trauma care is organized by public and private emergency medical service in each province. During the pre-hospital care, paramedics provide basic or advanced life support services and transport the patients to the nearest hospital because of the limited number of trauma centers. In-hospital care is inclusive with a limited number of accredited trauma centers. In-hospital care is managed by emergency medicine with multidisciplinary care by the various specialties. There is no national trauma registry in South Africa. The South African trauma system is facing multiple challenges. An increase in financial support, training for primary emergency trauma care, and coordination of private sector, need to be planned

OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb: The First Spitzer Bulge Planet Lies Near the Planet/Brown-dwarf Boundary

We report the discovery of OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb, which is likely to be the first Spitzer microlensing planet in the Galactic bulge/bar, an assignation that can be confirmed by two epochs of high-resolution imaging of the combined source-lens baseline object. The planet's mass, Mp= 13.4 ± 0.9 MJ, places it right at the deuterium-burning limit, i.e., the conventional boundary between "planets" and "brown dwarfs." Its existence raises the question of whether such objects are really "planets" (formed within the disks of their hosts) or "failed stars" (low-mass objects formed by gas fragmentation). This question may ultimately be addressed by comparing disk and bulge/bar planets, which is a goal of the Spitzer microlens program. The host is a G dwarf, Mhost= 0.89 ± 0.07 Mo, and the planet has a semimajor axis a ∼ 2.0 au. We use Kepler K2 Campaign 9 microlensing data to break the lens-mass degeneracy that generically impacts parallax solutions from Earth-Spitzer observations alone, which is the first successful application of this approach. The microlensing data, derived primarily from near-continuous, ultradense survey observations from OGLE, MOA, and three KMTNet telescopes, contain more orbital information than for any previous microlensing planet, but not quite enough to accurately specify the full orbit. However, these data do permit the first rigorous test of microlensing orbital-motion measurements, which are typically derived from data taken over <1% of an orbital period