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Bats have been identified as the hosts of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in recent years and bats HBV can infect human hepatocyte. We investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of HBV in bats in China. In this study, a total of 197 insectivorous bats belonging to 10 bat species were captured from karst caves in Mengyin County, Shandong Province and Xianning City, Hubei Province, China. PCR amplification indicated that in total 6.6% (13/197) bats were positive to HBVs. The HBV positive rate in bats was 7.1% (9/127) and 5.7% (4/70) in Shandong Province and Hubei Province, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that HBV from the two places were in the same cluster with 90.5%-99.5% homology, but distinct from bat HBVs from other places in China and other countries. We concluded that HBV was prevalent and genetic diversified in bats, supporting the hypothesis that bats may be the origin of primate hepadnaviruses., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Although bats were considered as a major host of trypanosomatid flagellates, information of trypanosomes in bats is unknown in China. We collected bats in 2015 from Shandong Province of China and used PCR to amplify the Trypanosoma glycosomal glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) gene and 18S rRNA gene from the bat blood samples and heart tissues. The results showed that 10.3% (13/126) of bats (Eptesicus serotinus and Myotis pequinius) were positive for trypanosomatid DNA and DNA sequencing showed that all PCR amplified Trypanosoma DNA belonged to T. dionisii. We concluded that T. dionisii had a infection rate in bats from China. For the first time, Trypanosoma infections were detected in bats from China, providing valuable information on the prevalence of these parasites in Asia. This is also the first report of Trypanosoma dionisii in Myotis pequinius, suggesting that Trypanosoma dionisii has a broad host species., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Anaplasma are tick-borne obligatory intracellular bacteria, which infect humans and other animals. The Anaplasma species carried by ticks in China are not well studied. We collected 3145 questing Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks including 120 larvae, 2460 nymphs and 565 adults from vegetation in Jiaonan County, Shandong Province, China from 2013 to 2015. All ticks were examined for the presence of Anaplasma species by nested PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. For further differentiation of A. capra from A. centrale, gltA and msp2 genes were sequenced for A. capra. Three Anaplasma species were detected in the nymph and/or adult ticks with the minimum infection rate of ticks as follows: 1.55% for A. bovis, 0.10% for A. phagocytophilum, and 0.03% for A. capra. These results indicated that the H. longicornis tick in Jiaonan County carried multiple Anaplasma species, which may be a challenge for public health in the studying area., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Background: Previous studies of an association between physical activity and inflammatory bowel disease have yielded conflicting results., Aim: This meta-analysis was conducted to clarify whether there is an association between physical activity and inflammatory bowel disease., Methods: The PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant studies published up to October 2015. Data were extracted and the summary relative risks (RRs) were calculated using a random effects or a fixed-effects model, according to heterogeneity., Results: Seven studies were included in the analysis. Relative to individuals with low physical activity, those who participated in high physical activity had an RR of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.50-0.79) for developing Crohn's disease. In stratified analyses, a significantly lower risk for Crohn's disease was associated with high physical activity in Europeans only (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.43-0.91); population-based control studies (RR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.41-0.76); and case-control studies (RR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.41-0.75). The data of 6 studies were pooled to analyze the effect of physical activity on the risk of ulcerative colitis, and no significant association was found (RR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-1.00)., Conclusions: The pooled results of observational studies support that physical activity has a protective effect against Crohn's disease., (Copyright © 2016 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Polymerization of the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) has been identified as a major feature of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Inhibition of the formation of these toxic polymers of Abeta has emerged as an approach for developing therapeutics for AD. NMR and CD spectra were used to investigate the interaction between cyclodextrin and Abeta(12-28) peptide, which was reported to be an important region for forming amyloid fibrils. CD spectral analyses show that of the alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins only beta-cyclodextrin inhibits the aggregation of Abeta(12-28) at pH 5.0. Analysis of the one-dimensional proton NMR spectra of Abeta(12-28) and the mixture of Abeta(12-28) with beta-cyclodextrin clearly indicates that there are chemical shift changes in the aromatic ring of Phe19 and the methyl groups of Val18 in the peptide. The NOESY spectra show cross-peaks between H-3 and H-5 of beta-cyclodextrin and the aromatic protons of Phe19 and Phe20. These chemical shift differences and NOEs demonstrate that there is an interaction between Abeta(12-28) and beta-cyclodextrin. Analysis of the cross-peak intensity in the NOESY spectra reveals that the aromatic rings of Phe19 and 20 are generally inserted into beta-cyclodextrin at the broad side and are oriented toward the narrow side of the cavity.