ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of glutamine (Gln) on the intestinal mucosal structure and immune cells of broilers infected with Salmonella Enteritidis. 160 1-d-old commercial Arbor Acres (AA) broilers were randomly selected to receive one of four treatments, each of which had 5 replicates. Each replicate consisted of 8 chicks subjected to a 21-d feeding trial. Group I served as the unchallenged (CON). All birds in groups II (SCC) - IV were challenged with 2.0 × 104 CFU/mL of S. Enteritidis. The birds in groups III and IV were treated with 0.5% and 1.0% Gln. The results showed that S. Enteritidis infection led to a decrease in the relative length and weight, villus height:crypt depth (VH:CD) of the jejunum and ileum, the number of intraepithelial lymphocyte cells, and number of goblet cells and an increase in the number of mast goblet cells compared with the measurements of these parameters in the CON group (p<0.05). In addition, the Gln groups had increased relative length and weight, VH:CD of the jejunum and ileum, numbers of intraepithelial lymphocyte cells, and numbers of goblet cells and decreased crypt depth in the jejunum and ileum and numbers of mast goblet cells compared with the measurements of these parameters in the SCC group (p<0.05). It was concluded that Gln added to broiler diets can effectively alleviate the intestinal mucosal damage caused by S. Enteritidis infection and improve its normal defense barrier function.

ABSTRACT The aim was to investigate the effect of glutamine (Gln) on broilers challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis. 240 1-day-old birds were divided into four groups in a completely randomized design, each of which included 6 replicates with 10 birds per replicate. Group I served as the unchallenged, untreated control (CON). All birds in groups II (SCC) - IV were challenged with 2.0 × 104 CFU/mL of S. Enteritidis. Birds in group III and IV were treated with 0.5% (Gln 1) and 1.0% (Gln 2), respectively, of Gln. The results indicated that S. Enteritidis infection led to a decrease in the average body weight at d 7, 14, and 21 (p<0.05). Chickens fed the Gln showed improved average body weights in comparison with the SCC group (p<0.05). At d 4, 7, 14, and 21, the Gln groups increased digestive enzyme (trypsin, lipase and amylase (except the amylase activity of jejunum at d 14 and d 21)) activities in the intestine (p<0.05), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (at d 14 jejunum; except at d 4, ileum) and catalase (CAT) (at d 4, and d 21, jejunum; d 4, ileum) activity in the serum (except at d 14) and intestinal mucosa (p<0.05), and the mRNA expression of SOD, CAT and nuclear respiratory factor 2 (Nrf2) of the intestinal mucosa compared with the SCC group (p<0.05). These results suggest that Gln as a feed additive could be effective for reducing the detrimental effects of S. Enteritidis infection of broilers.

This study aimed to test the diagnostic performance of a fully quantitative fibrosis assessment tool for liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). A total of 117 patients with liver fibrosis were included in this study, including 50 patients with CHB, 49 patients with PBC and 18 patients with NASH. All patients underwent liver biopsy (LB). Fibrosis stages were assessed by two experienced pathologists. Histopathological images of LB slices were processed by second harmonic generation (SHG)/two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy without staining, a system called qFibrosis (quantitative fibrosis) system. Altogether 101 quantitative features of the SHG/TPEF images were acquired. The parameters of aggregated collagen in portal, septal and fibrillar areas increased significantly with stages of liver fibrosis in PBC and CHB (P<0.05), but the same was not found for parameters of distributed collagen (P>0.05). There was a significant correlation between parameters of aggregated collagen in portal, septal and fibrillar areas and stages of liver fibrosis from CHB and PBC (P<0.05), but no correlation was found between the distributed collagen parameters and the stages of liver fibrosis from those patients (P>0.05). There was no significant correlation between NASH parameters and stages of fibrosis (P>0.05). For CHB and PBC patients, the highest correlation was between septal parameters and fibrosis stages, the second highest was between portal parameters and fibrosis stages and the lowest correlation was between fibrillar parameters and fibrosis stages. The correlation between the septal parameters of the PBC and stages is significantly higher than the parameters of the other two areas (P<0.05). The qFibrosis candidate parameters based on CHB were also applicable for quantitative analysis of liver fibrosis in PBC patients. Different parameters should be selected for liver fibrosis assessment in different stages of PBC compared with CHB.

AIM: To investigate the mutation in the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA in cervical cancer and its influence on the changes of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell cycle. METHODS: The D-loop region was amplified by PCR and sequenced. Reactive oxygen species and cell cycle were detected by flow cytometry in 40 specimens from cervical cancer and adjacent normal tissues. According to the sequence results, gastric cancer tissue was divided into mutation group and control group. Reactive oxygen species, apoptosis and proliferation in the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Among the 40 cervical cancer specimens, 21 mutations were identified in 12 patients, the mutation rate being 30%. There were four microsatellite instabilities in the mutations. No mutation was found in the adjacent tissues. Reactive oxygen species, apoptosis and proliferation in the mutation group were all significantly higher than those in the control group. CONCLUSION: Mutation in the D-loop region plays a role in the genesis and development of cervical cancer.

OBJETIVO: Investigar la mutación en la región D-loop del ADN mitocondrial en el cáncer cervical y su influencia en los cambios de las especies reactivas de oxígeno (ROS) y el ciclo celular. MÉTODOS: La región D-loop fue amplificada mediante PCR y secuenciada. Las especies reactivas de oxígeno y el ciclo celular fueron descubiertos mediante citometría de flujo en 40 espécimenes de cáncer cervical y los tejidos normales adyacentes. Según los resultados de la secuencia, el tejido canceroso gástrico fue dividido en un grupo de mutación y un grupo control. Se compararon las especies reactivas de oxígeno reactivo, la apoptosis y la proliferación en los dos grupos. RESULTADOS: Entre los 40 especimenes de cáncer cervical, se identificaron 21 mutaciones en 12 pacientes, para una tasa de mutación del 30%. En las mutaciones se presentaron cuatro inestabilidades de microsatélite. No se encontró mutación alguna en los tejidos adyacentes. Las especies reactivas de oxígeno, la apoptosis y la proliferación en el grupo de mutación fueron todas significativamente mayores a las del grupo de control. CONCLUSIÓN: La mutación en la región D-loop desempeña un papel en la génesis y desarrollo del cáncer cervical.

The yield and speed of detection of Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi A from the blood of patients with suspected paratyphoid fever A in 13 500 paired aerobic and anaerobic bottles (AEB, ANB) that were each filled with 5 ml of blood by the BacT/ALERT 3D system were compared, and the blood bacterial counts of 1 000 probable patients were estimated by pour plate method. A total of 4 060 isolates were recovered, of these, 3 149 were recovered from both AEB and ANB, 461 from the AEB only, and 450 from the ANB only. The estimating median bacterial count in blood from 400 patients was 0.5 CFU/ml. The research findings demonstrate that the blood volume drawn is an important factor determining the yields from blood cultures. Growth of significantly more isolates was detected earlier in AEB.