The nucleotide sequences of the 39 end of the 16S rDNA and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of 40 Bacillaceae species were determined. These included 21 Bacillus, 9 Paenibacillus, 6 Brevibacillus, 2 Geobacillus, 1 Marinibacillus and 1 Virgibacillus species. Comparative sequence analysis of a 220 bp region covering a highly conserved 150 bp sequence located at the 39 end of the 16S rRNA coding region and a conserved 70 bp sequence located at the 59 end of the 16S-23S ITS of the 40 species and six sequences available in GenBank were used to infer the phylogenetic relationships between all 46 taxa. When a maximal distance (D max , where D refers to the number of nucleotide substitutions per site) of 0?31 was introduced as a threshold to determine groupings, 10 phylogenetically distinct clusters were revealed. Twenty-six Bacillus species were separated in seven groups (I, II, III, IV, V, VI and X), but Bacillus circulans remained ungrouped. All six Brevibacillus species under study were in Group VII. The nine Paenibacillus species fell into two distinct groups (VIII and IX). Species with D max values within 0?05 were considered to be very closely related. These were Bacillus psychrophilus and Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus in Group II; 'Bacillus maroccanus' and Bacillus simplex in Group II; Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus atrophaeus, Bacillus mojavensis and Bacillus subtilis in Group VI; Bacillus fusiformis and Bacillus sphaericus in Group VI; Brevibacillus brevis and Brevibacillus formosus in Group VII; Paenibacillus gordonae and Paenibacillus validus in Group VIII; and Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus mycoides and Bacillus thuringiensis in Group X. The phylogenetic classification presented here is, in general, in agreement with current classifications based on phenotypic and molecular data. Our findings suggest, however, that in some cases, further divisions or, conversely, further groupings might be warranted. Should current classifications be re-examined in the light of our results, D max values of 0?31 and 0?05, as exemplified here, may prove useful threshold values for the grouping of Bacillaceae into taxa akin to genera and species, respectively. These D max thresholds may also reveal, in a different way, bacterial species for which further characterization might be warranted for proper classification and/or reassignment.

Maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy elevates the risk of SGA and LBW infants in a Chinese population.

Increasing evidence demonstrates that melatonin has an anti-apoptotic effect in somatic cells. However, whether melatonin can protect against germ cell apoptosis remains obscure. Cadmium (Cd) is a testicular toxicant and induces germ cell apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of melatonin on Cd-evoked germ cell apoptosis in testes. Male ICR mice were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with melatonin (5 mg/kg) every 8 hr, beginning at 8 hr before CdCl(2) (2.0 mg/kg, i.p.). As expected, acute Cd exposure resulted in germ cell apoptosis in testes, as determined by terminal dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Melatonin significantly alleviated Cd-induced testicular germ cell apoptosis. An additional experiment showed that spliced form of XBP-1, the target of the IRE-1 pathway, was significantly increased in testes of mice injected with CdCl(2). GRP78, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone, and CHOP, a downstream target of the PERK pathway, were upregulated in testes of Cd-treated mice. In addition, acute Cd exposure significantly increased testicular eIF2α and JNK phosphorylation, indicating that the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway was activated by CdCl(2). Interestingly, melatonin almost completely inhibited Cd-induced ER stress and the UPR in testes. In addition, melatonin obviously attenuated Cd-induced heme oxygenase (HO)-1 expression and protein nitration in testes. Taken together, these results suggest that melatonin alleviates Cd-induced cellular stress and germ cell apoptosis in testes. Melatonin may be useful as pharmacological agents to protect against Cd-induced testicular toxicity.

In this hospital-based case-cohort study, we found that serum urea nitrogen, TBIL, LDH and AST/ALT ratio, several markers of extrapulmonary organ injuries, were positively correlated with death risk of COVID-19 patients. We provide evidence for the first time that multiple organ damage on admission influences the prognosis of COVID-19 patients. Early hospitalization is beneficial for elevating the survival rate of COVID-19 patients especially critical ill patients. AbstractBackground. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) triggered by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been widely pandemic all over the world. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence factors of death risk among 200 COVID-19 patients. Methods. Two hundred patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were recruited. Demographic data and clinical characteristics were collected from electronic medical records. Biochemical indexes on admission were measured and patient's prognosis was tracked. The association of demographic data, clinical characteristics and biochemical indexes with death risk was analyzed. Results. Of 200 COVID-19 patients, 163 (81.5%) had at least one of comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, hepatic disease, cardiac disease, chronic pulmonary disease and others. Among all patients, critical cases, defined as oxygenation index lower than 200, accounted for 26.2%. Severe cases, oxygenation index from 200 to 300, were 29.7%. Besides, common cases, oxygenation index higher than 300, accounted for 44.1%. At the end of follow-up, 34 (17%) were died on mean 10.9 day after hospitalization. Stratified analysis revealed that older ages, lower oxygenation index and comorbidities elevated death risk of COVID-19 patients. On admission, 85.5%COVID-19 patients were with at least one of extrapulmonary organ injuries.Univariable logistic regression showed that ALT and TBIL, two indexes of hepatic injury, AST, myoglobin and LDH, AST/ALT ratio, several markers of myocardial injury, creatinine, urea nitrogen and uric acid, three indexes of renal injury, were positively associated with death risk of COVID-19 patients. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that AST/ALT ratio, urea nitrogen, TBIL and LDH on admission were positively correlated with death risk of COVID-19 patients. : medRxiv preprint significance to prevent multiple organ damage and improve the survival of COVID-19 patients. : medRxiv preprint RR was 3.698 (95% Cl: 0.825, 16.574; P=0.062) in COVID-19 patients between 50 and 59 years old, 2.907 (95% Cl: 0.632, 13.359; P=0.145) in patients between 60 and 69 years old, and 10.679 (95% Cl: 2.624, 43.459; P＜0.001) in patients over 70 years old, respectively. The relationship between oxygenation index and death risk of COVID-19 patients was analyzed. As shown in Table 1, the fatality rate was 52.9% in critical ill cases, 6.90% in severe cases, and 3.49% in common cases, respectively. The RR was 15.176 (95% Cl: 4.847, 47.519; P＜0.001) in critical ill cases with COVID-19 and 4...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a newly emerged infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has been pandemic all over the world. This study described acute kidney injury (AKI) at early stage of COVID-19 and its clinical significance. Three-hundred and fifty-five COVID-19 patients with were recruited and clinical data were collected from electronic medical records. Patient's prognosis was tracked and risk factors of AKI was analyzed. Of 355 COVID-19 patients, common, severe and critical ill cases accounted for 63.1%, 16.9% and 20.0%, respectively. On admission, 56 (15.8%) patients were with AKI. Although AKI was more common in critical ill patients with COVID-19, there was no significant association between oxygenation index and renal functional indices among COVID-19 patients with AKI. By multivariate logistic regression, male, older age and comorbidity with diabetes were three important independent risk factors predicting AKI among COVID-19 patients. Among 56 COVID-19 patients with AKI, 33.9% were died on mean 10.9 day after hospitalization. Fatality rate was obviously higher among COVID-+19 patients with AKI than those without AKI (RR=7.08, P<0.001). In conclusion, male elderly COVID-19 patients with diabetes are more susceptible to AKI. AKI at early stage may be a negative prognostic indicator for COVID-19.