1%. Proteomics showed that there were 57 proteins up-regulated in the MLs M. pneumoniae, half of which were membrane-associated protein with adhesion or toxicity. Conclusions Pediatric RMPP usually presented with viral co-infection, but it caused limited effects on the progression and prognosis of RMPP. Persistent presence of viable M. pneumoniae is not necessary in the later stage of RMPP. The expression of virulence factor in the MLr M. pneumoniae was higher than that of the MLs M. pneumoniae, which was more common in the RMPP children.Background Invasive fungal infection (IFI) is one of the most common nosocomial infections. However, data on the epidemiology of IFI and susceptibility to antifungal agents in China are quite limited, and in particular, no current data exist on the microbiological, and clinical characteristics of IFI patients in Northeast China. Objectives The purpose of this study was to provide a retrospective review of the clinical characteristics, laboratory test results, and risk factor predictions of inpatients diagnosed with IFI. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess prognostic factors associated with the mortality of these patients. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the results from 509 patients with IFI extracted from the First Hospital of China Medical University from January 2013 to January 2018. Results Neutrophil numbers, total bilirubin, length of stay in the ICU, renal failure, use of immunosuppressants within the past 30 days, stomach tube placement and septic shock were risk factors for death from IFI. Recent surgery (within 2 weeks) and drainage tube placement did not increase mortality in these IFI patients. Increased serum levels of PCT (AUC 0.601, 95% CI 0.536-0.665, P = 0.003) and CRP (AUC 0.578, 95% CI 0.512-0.644, P = 0.020) provided effective predictors of 30-day mortality rates. Conclusions We report for the first time epidemiological data on invasive fungal infections in Northeast China over the past 5 years. Despite the limited available clinical data, these findings will greatly aid clinical health care workers with regard to the identification, prevention, and treatment of IFI in hospitalized patients.Proline-rich antimicrobial peptides (PR-AMPs) having a potent antimicrobial activity predominantly toward Gram-negative bacteria and negligible toxicity toward host cells, are attracting attention as new templates for developing antibiotic drugs. We have previously isolated and characterized several bactenecins that are promising in this respect, from the leukocytes of the domestic goat Capra hircus ChBac5, miniChBac7.5N-α, and -β, as well as ChBac3.4. Unlike the others, ChBac3.4 shows a somewhat unusual pattern of activities for a mammalian PR-AMP it is more active against bacterial membranes as well as tumor and, to the lesser extent, normal cells. Here we describe a SAR study of ChBac3.4 (RFRLPFRRPPIRIHPPPFYPPFRRFL-NH2) which elucidates its peculiarities and evaluates its potential as a lead for antimicrobial or anticancer drugs based on this peptide. A set of designed structural analogues of ChBac3.4 was explored for antibacterial activity toward drug-resistant clinical isolates and antitumor properties. ll selectivity was found to more actively initiate apoptosis in target cells, though its action was slower than that of the native ChBac3.4. Its antitumor effectiveness was successfully verified in vivo in a murine Ehrlich ascites carcinoma model. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of structural modification to manage caprine bactenecins‘ selectivity and activity spectrum and confirm that they are promising prototypes for antimicrobial and anticancer drugs design.Using computerized time-stamps, we compared the turnaround-times (TAT) for urine samples and screening ESwabs of MRSA, VRE, and ESBL carriage in the bacteriology laboratory of Geneva University Hospitals between January and December 2017 (period preceding the implementation of the WASPLabTM) with the same specimen types analyzed between January and December 2019 (period after the implementation of the automation). During both 1-year periods, a total of 98’380 specimens were analyzed (48’158 in 2017 vs. 50’222 in 2019). On the WASPLabTM, all culture plates were imaged at defined intervals each day of incubation, but the processing of the cultures (i.e., pathogen identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing) was only performed during day shift hours (~800 A.M. to 430 P.M.). The median TAT for negative reports decreased by almost half for urine samples from 52.1 (2017) to 28.3 h (2019) (p less then 0.001), and for MRSA screening specimens from 50.7 to 26.3 h (p less then 0.001). The difference in median TAT for negative reports was less pronounced for screening of ESBL (50.2 vs. 43.0 h) (p less then 0.001) and VRE (50.6 vs. 45.7 h) (p less then 0.001). Despite a trend toward shorter result delivery for positive samples, there was no significant change in the median TAT. These results suggest that TAT for negative samples immediately benefit from automation, whereas TAT for positive samples also depend on the laboratory hours of operation and daily human resource management.Various adjuvant effects on the immunogenicity of the candidate inactivated Puumala virus vaccine were detected in BALB/c mice. Adjuvants under study were aluminum hydroxide, spherical particles of Tobacco mosaic virus coat protein, B subunit of heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli, and low endotoxic lipopolysaccharide of Shigella sonnei. Aluminum hydroxide (1 mg/ml) did not affect neutralizing antibodies‘ induction and vaccine stability during storage compared to immunization with the vaccine without adjuvant. B subunit of heat-labile enterotoxin (0.2 µg/ml), low endotoxic lipopolysaccharide (50 µg/ml), and plant virus-based spherical particles (300 µg/ml) significantly enhance the humoral immune response of vaccine (p less then 0.0001). Pronounced stimulation of IL-12 and IFN-ɣ was observed when mice were immunized with vaccines both with adjuvants (except of aluminum hydroxide) and without adjuvants. It has been shown that low endotoxic lipopolysaccharide contributes not only to enhance the immune response but also to stabilize vaccine immunogenicity during at least 1 year storage.Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most frequent bacterial infections in humans, being Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the most common etiological agent. The ability of UPEC to invade urothelial cells and to form intracellular bacterial communities (IBC) has been described. Therefore, UPEC can persist in the urinary tract producing recurrent infections, resisting antibiotic activity. The objective of the present work was to analyze the ability of a collection of UPEC clinical isolates to invade bladder epithelial cells in vitro and the activity of different classes of antibiotics on intracellular bacteria. We selected 23 UPEC clinical isolates that had been previously detected intracellularly in desquamated bladder epithelial cells from patients‘ urine. A cellular invasion assay using the T24 bladder cell line was used. Intracellular bacteria was confirmed by laser confocal microscopy. All the strains were able to invade the cells with different percentages of intracellular bacterial survival (0.7 to 18%). However, no significant relationship was found between the percentage of in vitro infection and the presence of IBC in desquamated urine cells. In vitro, intracellular bacteria were confirmed in four representative strains by confocal laser microscopy. Ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and, azithromycin in vitro activity on intracellular bacteria were evaluated. Amikacin was used as a negative control. All the antibiotics tested, except amikacin, significantly decreased the number of intracellular bacteria. Ciprofloxacin was the antibiotic that induced the highest decrease percentage. Conclusions All UPEC clinical isolates could invade bladder epithelial cells in vitro. Ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and azithromycin can reduce the percentage of intracellular bacteria in vitro. In vivo studies are needed to confirm the utility of these antibiotics for intracellular bacteria reduction in UTI.Extracellular vesicles (EVs), are considered as vehicles of cellular communication. Parasites usually release EVs in their excretory-secretory products to modulate host environment. However, little is known about the secretion of EVs by ticks. In this study, we show for the first time that the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis secretes EVs in saliva that resembles exosomes. EVs were purified from pilocarpine induced saliva of partially engorged H. longicornis ticks. Electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of exosome-like vesicles with a size of 100 nm. Proteomic analysis by LC-MS/MS identified a total of 356 proteins in tick-derived EVs. Proteome data of tick-derived EVs was validated by Western blot analysis. Immunodetection of Hsp70 and GAPDH proteins indicated that the proteomics data of tick-derived EVs were highly reliable. Bioinformatics analysis (Gene Ontology) indicated association of certain biological and molecular functions with proteins which may be helpful during tick development. Likewise, KEGG database revealed involvement of vesicular proteins in proton transport, detoxification, ECM-receptor interaction, ribosome, RNA transport, ABC transporters, and oxidative phosphorylation. The results of this study provide evidence that EVs are being secreted in tick saliva and suggest that tick saliva-derived EVs could play important roles in host-parasite relationships. Moreover, EVs could be a useful tool in development of vaccines or therapeutics against ticks.Radiation enteritis (RE) is a common complication in cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Although studies have shown the changes of this disease at clinical, pathological and other levels, the dynamic characteristics of local microbiome and metabolomics are hitherto unknown. We aimed to examine the multi-omics features of the gut microecosystem, determining the functional correlation between microbiome and lipid metabolites during RE activity. By delivering single high-dose irradiation, a RE mouse model was established. High-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing and global lipidomics analysis were performed to examine microbial and lipidomic profile changes in the gut microecosystem. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the functional correlation between bacteria and metabolites. Clinical samples were collected to validate the above observations. During RE activity, the intestinal inflammation of the mice was confirmed by typical signs, symptoms, imaging findings and pathological evidences. 16S datasets revealed that localized irradiation dramatically altered the gut microbial composition, resulting in a decrease ratio of Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes. Lipidomics analysis indicated the remarkable lipidomic profile changes in enteric epithelial barrier, determining that glycerophospholipids metabolism was correlated to RE progression with the highest relevance. see more Spearman correlation analysis identified that five bacteria-metabolite pairs showed the most significant functional correlation in RE, including Alistipes-PC(360e), Bacteroides-DG(180/204), Dubosiella-PC(352), Eggerthellaceae-PC(356), and Escherichia-Shigella-TG(182/182/204). These observations were partly confirmed in human specimens. Our study provided a comprehensive description of microbiota dysbiosis and lipid metabolic disorders in RE, suggesting strategies to change local microecosystem to relieve radiation injury and maintain homeostasis.