Clinical types and fungal pathogens of children′s tinea capitis analysis of 542 cases in a tertiary first-class hospital of Wuhan / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective To investigate the clinical types of children's tinea capitis and the distribution of fungal pathogens in Wuhan from 2011 to 2020, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of children's tinea capitis. Methods Laboratory data of children with tinea capitis in outpatient and inpatient department of dermatology in Wuhan No.1 Hospital from January 2011 to December 2020 were collected. A total of 542 cases of pediatric tinea capitis were included, with 239 male cases and 303 female cases. Microscopic examination of fungi and culture identification were performed on the affected skin lesions of the children. Chi-square test was used to analyze the differences in pathogen spectrum of children with different age groups and clinical type. Results Among the pediatric tinea capitis patients, the age group with the highest prevalence was preschool children（3 to <7 years old), accounting for 48.52%（263/542). The top three pathogenic fungi were Trichophytes violaceum（49.26%, 267/542), Microsporum canis（31.55%, 171/542) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes （9.96%, 54/542). Trichophyton violaceum was the main pathogen in all ages, followed by Microsporum canis. The infection rate of Microsporum canis in children over 7 years old was lower than that in children under 7 years old, and the infection rate of Trichophyton rubrum in infants was higher than that in other ages. The distribution of Trichophytes violaceum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Nannizzia gypseum and Microsporum ferrugineum was uniform in all age groups. Trichophytes violaceum and Trichophyton tousurans mainly caused black-dot ringworm, Microsporum canis mainly caused tinea alba, Trichophyton mentagrophytes,Nannizzia gypseum and Trichophytonrubrum mainly caused kerion. Except for Microsporum ferrugineum, the composition ratios of other fungi species showed statistically significant differences among different clinical types of tinea capitis（P<0.05). Conclusions Preschool children are the most commonly affected age group by pediatric tinea capitis, and black-dot ringworm caused by Trichophytes violaceum is the main clinical type. Analysis of the high-riskage group, pathogenic fungi and clinical types of tinea capitis in children can enhance the understanding of its epidemiological characteristics, which is helpful for early diagnosis and targeted standardized treatment of pediatric tinea capitis.

Tinea faciei por Trichophyton violaceum: primer caso alóctono reportado en Chile / Tinea faciei due to Trichophyton violaceum: first allochthonous case reported in Chile

Trichophyton violaceum es un dermatofito antropofílico endémico en África, Europa, Centroamérica y China. El incremento de los fenómenos de movilidad humana ha contribuido a su aparición en áreas no endémicas. Su principal manifestación clínica es la tinea capitis, seguida por la tinea corporis. En la población pediátrica afecta con mayor frecuencia el cuero cabelludo; y en adultos, la piel glabra. Presentamos el primer caso en Chile de tinea causada por T violaceum. Correspondió a una mujer chilena de 21 años que presentó placas faciales de un mes de evolución después de un viaje a Tanzania, África, sin respuesta a tratamientos médicos previos. Se sospechó una dermatofitosis alóctona y mediante cultivos especiales, se identificó una colonia de crecimiento lento, coloración violeta-negruzca, superficie cerosa y rugosa, con vellosidades aterciopeladas; compatible con T violaceum. Se confirmó mediante secuenciación de ADN ribosomal amplificando la región ITS. Se trató con terbinafina oral con respuesta clínica completa.

Trichophyton violaceum is an anthropophilic dermatophyte endemic in Africa, Europe, Central America and China. The increase in human mobility has recently contributed to the appearance in non-endemic areas. The main clinical manifestation is tinea capitis followed by tinea corporis. We present the first case in Chile of tinea caused by T violaceum. The case was a 21 year-old Chilean woman who presented asymptomatic facial plaques one month after arriving from Tanzania, Africa, with no clinical response to previous medical treatments. An allochthonous dermatophytosis was suspected and with special cultures, a slow-growing colony was identified with a violet-blackish color, waxy and rough surface, and velvety villi; all characteristics of T violaceum. The diagnosis was confirmed by ribosomal DNA sequencing amplifying the ITS region. She was treated with oral terbinafine obtaining a complete clinical response.

Corchorus olitorius aqueous extract attenuates quorum sensing-regulated virulence factor production and biofilm formation

Objective:To investigate the effect of Corchorus olitorius aqueous fraction (COAF) on quorum sensing (QS)-regulated virulence factors and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1). Methods:The preliminary screening of the anti-QS effect of COAF was performed by evaluating the anti-pathogenic activity against Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 biosensor strain. Next, the inhibitory effects of COAF on QS-regulated pyocyanin production, proteolytic and elastolytic activities, swarming motility, and biofilm formation were evaluated in PAO1.Results:The results showed that the treatment of COAF significantly decreased the biofilm biomass, attenuated virulence factors, and inhibited swarming motility of PAO1 without affecting the growth of the bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. COAF at 2000 μg/mL significantly decreased Las B elastase activity in PAO1 culture, exopolysaccharide production, swarming motility, pyocyanin level, and biomass of PAO1 by 55％ (P<0.05), 60％ (P<0.01), 61％ (P<0.01), 65％(P<0.01) and 73％ (P<0.01), respectively. In addition, the production of violacein was decreased by 62％ (P<0.01) with the treatment of a high dose of COAF. Conclusions:These findings indicate that COAF can be a potential source of anti-QS agents.

Assay of 18 amino acids in Chuanmingshen violaceum roots by pre-column derivative HPLC / 中国中药杂志

The roots of Chuanmingshen violaceum is a commonly used Chinese herb and food, which contains rich amino acids. However, the kinds and amounts of amino acids are variety in this herb among the geographical location and ecological environment. Therefore, this study firstly developed a new pre-column derived HPLC method to quantify the levels of 18 amino acids in Ch. violaceum roots. Then 24 Ch. violaceum samples were harvested from its main cultivating areas in Sichuan, China. These samples were divided into 4 producing areas based on their geographical sites. The 18 kinds of amino acids were quantified in these sample by the developed method. The differences of these amino acids were further analyzed among these herbal samples and the 4 producing areas by t-test and principal component analysis(PCA). The result indicated the peaks of the 18 kinds of amino acids were separated well in 70 min.The correlation coefficients between peak areas and concentration of these amino acids were more than 0.999 1(n=6). All of their recoveries were in the range of 97.38%-101.3%(n=6).Their detection limit was in the range of 0.003-0.379 μg·mL~(-1).It demonstrates that the developed HPLC method can accurately quantify the amounts of multi-amino acids in this herb. The results of t-test analysis showed the contents of histidine, cystine, leucine, valine, tryptophan, phenylalanine and threonine were significantly different(P<0.05) among the 4 producing areas. But the differences of other amino acids were not significant.The first five factors were extracted by PCA to calculate the comprehensive score. The order of comprehensive score for the 4 producing areas was B(0.603, n=10), C(0.206, n=3), A(-0.283, n=7) and D(-1.167, n=4). The total content of amino acids in Ch. violaceum collected in B producing area was largest(12.5 mg·g~(-1)). It is concluded the Ch. violaceum contains multi-kinds of amino acids. On the basis of amino acid amount, Langzhong city and Cangxi county in Sichuan province(producing area B) is the suitable areas for cultivating Ch. violaceum.

Chromobacteriosis (Chromobacterium violaceum) in a calf from Brazil - case report / Cromobacteriose (Chromobacterium violaceum) em um bezerro do Brasil - relato de caso

Chromobacterium violaceum is a rare opportunistic pathogen that causes highly fatal infections in domestic animals and humans. This report describes a fatal case suggestive of septicemia in a four-day-old female calf with chromobacteriosis. The calf had suppurative omphalophlebitis, suppurative fibrinous polyarthritis, anterior uveitis with bilateral fibrin deposition, fibrinous peritonitis, lymph node abscess and multifocal lymphocytic and neutrophilic encephalitis with multifocal hemorrhages. C. violaceum was isolated from the spleen and peri-renal lymph node and its identity was confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The pathogen was sensitive to azithromycin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, marbofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, sulphazotrim, fluorfenicol, tetracycline and doxycycline as well as resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, amoxicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, cephalothin, cephalexin, oxacillin, B polymyxin, neomycin and bacitracin. This is the first report of chromobacteriosis in a calf from Brazil.(AU)

Chromobacterium violaceum é um patógeno oportunista raro, que causa infecção fatal em animais domésticos e em humanos. Este relato descreve um caso fatal suspeito de septicemia em um bezerro de quatro dias, fêmea, infectado por C. violaceum. O bezerro apresentava onfaloflebite supurativa, poliartrite supurativa fibrinosa, uveíte anterior com deposição bilateral de fibrina, peritonite fibrinosa, abscesso de linfonodos e encefalite multifocal linfocítica e neutrofílica com áreas hemorrágicas multifocais. C. violaceum foi isolado no baço e no linfonodo, e sua identidade foi confirmada por PCR e sequenciamento. O patógeno foi sensível aos antibióticos azitromicina, gentamicina, enrofloxacina, norfloxacina, marbofloxacina, ciprofloxacina, eritromicina, sulfazotrim, florfenicol, tetraciclina, doxiciclina e foi resistente à penicilina, ampicilina, vancomicina, amoxicilina, amoxicilina + ácido clavulânico, cefalotina, cefalexina, oxacilina, polimixina B, neomicina e bacitracina. Este é o primeiro relato de cromobacteriose em bezerro no Brasil.(AU)

Septicemia por Chromobacterium Violaceum en pediatría / Septicemia due to Chromobacterium Violaceum in pediatrics

Chromobacterium violaceum es una bacteria gram negativa anaerobia facultativa, que se encuentra ampliamente distribuida en el agua y el suelo en regiones tropicales y subtropicales, que se asocia con infecciones respiratorias, gastrointestinales, abscesos hepáticos, meningitis, endocarditis, síndrome hemofagocítico y sepsis fulminante. Se presentan 2 casos en niños: el primero es un varón de 8 años con lesiones en piel, fiebre y adenitis inguinal, que ingresó con un cuadro de sepsis severa, síndrome de distrés respiratorio agudo (SDRA) y falleció a las 3 h del ingreso. De los hemocultivos se aisló Chromobacterium violaceum. El segundo caso, es una niña de 12 años con antecedente de fiebre y adenopatía inguinal secundaria a herida cortopunzante en el pie homolateral, que ingresó con un cuadro de sepsis, con desarrollo de abscesos múltiples profundos. De la colección obtenida de piel y partes blandas y de un aspirado traqueal se aisló Chromobacterium violaceum. Recibió tratamiento antibiótico adecuado y posteriormente fue dada de alta. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de esta infección en niños y se encontraron 44 casos en todo el mundo. Algunos de éstos, se relacionaron con inmunodeficiencia de base, como la enfermedad granulomatosa crónica. La infección por esta bacteria es rara y se presenta como un cuadro grave que no responde a antibióticos habituales de uso empírico y tiene una alta tasa de mortalidad (AU)

Chromobacterium violaceum is a facultative anaerobic Gramnegative bacillus, widely distributed in water and soil in tropical and subtropical regions and associated with respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, liver abscesses, meningitis, endocarditis, hemophagocytic syndrome, and fulminant sepsis. Here two pediatric cases are presented: The first was an 8-year-old boy with skin lesions, fever, and inguinal adenitis, who was admitted with severe sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and died three hours after. Chromobacterium violaceum was isolated from blood cultures. The second case was a 12-year-old girl with a history of fever and inguinal adenopathy secondary to a wound in the homolateral foot, who was admitted because of sepsis and multiple deep abscesses. From samples collected from the skin and soft tissues as well as tracheal aspirate Chromobacterium violaceum was isolated. Adequate antibiotic treatment was started and the patient was subsequently discharged. In a review of the literature, 44 cases worldwide were identified. Some of these cases were related to underlying immunodeficiency, such as chronic granulomatous disease. Infection with this bacterium is rare and presents with severe manifestations that do not respond to the common empirical antibiotics and are associated with a high mortality rate (AU)

Romipeptides A and B, two new romidepsin derivatives isolated from Chromobacterium violaceum No.968 and their antitumor activities in vitro / 中国天然药物

Romipeptides A and B (1 and 2), two new romidepsin derivatives, and three known compounds, chromopeptide A (3), romidepsin (4) and valine-leucine dipeptide (5) were isolated from the fermentation broth of Chromobacterium violaceum No. 968. Their structures were elucidated by interpretation of their UV, HR-ESI-MS and NMR spectra. The absolute configuration of compound 1 and 2 were established by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 1-5 were evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines, SW620, HL60, and A549. The results showed most of these compounds exhibited antitumor activities in vitro, in which compound 2 displayed potent cytotoxicity to SW620, HL60 and A549 cell lines, with IC of 12.5, 6.7 and 5.7 nmol·L, respectively.

Anti-Candida and anti-quorum sensing activity of airborne microorganisms detected by a rapid method

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Introducing new antibiotics to the clinic is critical. METHODS: We adapted a plate method described by Kawaguchi and coworkers in 20131 for detecting inhibitory airborne microorganisms. RESULTS: We obtained 51 microbial colonies antagonist to Chromobacterium violaceum, purified and retested them, and of these, 39 (76.5%) were confirmed. They comprised 24 bacteria, 13 fungi, and 2 yeasts. Among the fungi, eight (61.5%) produced active extracts. Among the bacterial, yeast, and fungal strains, 17 (44.7%) and 12 (31.6%) were active against Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed screening method is a rapid strategy for discovering potential antibiotic producers.

Effects of combined application of N, P, and K on yield and quality of Chuanmingshen violaceum / 中草药

Objective The best combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and application amount of fertilizer were studied to provide technical support and theoretical basis for rational fertilization in the production of Chuanmingshen violaceum. Methods The effects of N, P and K application on yield and main effective components of C. violaceum were studied by L9(34) orthogonal experiment design. Results Reasonable N, P, and K application could significantly increase the yield of C. violaceum, and was beneficial to the accumulation of total polysaccharides and the content of imperatorin. Among them, the yield of 75.22 kg/hm2 under the combination of N2P1K2 was the highest, the increase rate was 60.67%, the total polysaccharide content was 25.46%, and the content of imperatorin was 0.489 mg/g. The yield of 44.82 kg/hm under the combination of N3P2K2 was the lowest, the total polysaccharide content was 2.40%, and the content of imperatorin was 0.379 mg/g. The effects sequence of N, P, and K fertilizers on the yield of C. violaceum were N > P > K. The nitrogen fertilizer had the most obvious effect on the yield of C. violaceum, followed by phosphate fertilizer, and potassium fertilizer had the worst effect. Conclusion Under the conditions of this experiment, the best combination of fertilization was N2P1K2 or N2P3K1. The optimum amount of fertilization of N, P2O5, and K2O were 1.08, 0.73, and 0.83 kg/hm2, respectively; or 1.08, 1.10, and 0.50 kg/hm2, respectively.

Comprehensive evaluation of yield and quality of Chuanmingshen violaceum based on principal component and cluster analysis / 中草药

Objective: To comprehensively compare and evaluate the yield and quality of Chuanmingshen violaceum and provide a basis for breeding and high-yield cultivation. Methods: The principal component analysis of eight main agronomic characters and two quality characters from 25 cultivated populations of C. violaceum came from different origins in Sichuan Province were analyzed, and the comprehensive evaluation and cluster analysis were carried out. Results: The results showed that fresh and dry weight of stem and leaf, fresh and dry weight of root and polysaccharide content had greater coefficients of variation among species, while plant height, length, and diameter of taproot had smaller coefficients of variation. Principal component analysis showed that the 10 main traits might be represented by four principal components, and the cumulative contribution rate was 87.304%, and induced that high yield factor, quality factor, plant type factor, and plant height factor respectively. The comprehensive score of sample 1 was the highest, which was the low-height, high-yield, and good-quality material, and the comprehensive score of sample 13 was the lowest, which was the high-height and high-quality and low-yield material. The test materials could be divided into five types by cluster analysis, namely, long-term and high-yield and high-quality material, heavy-root and poor-quality material, low-yield and poor-quality material, high-height and low-yield and good-quality material, and dwarf and high-yield and good-quality material. Conclusion: The comprehensive evaluation method is reliable by the principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The resource of C. violaceum in Sichuan is rich. We can choose some high quality resources among them to provide the basis for the selection of new varieties of Sichuan Province.

Reporte de dos casos de inusual infección no letal por Chromobacterium violaceum. Revisión literaria / Report two cases non lethal infectious diseases for Chromobacterium violaceum. Review of the literature

Chromobacterium violaceum es una bacteria gramnegativa anaeróbica facultativa, que habita en el suelo y el agua de las áreas tropicales y subtropicales. La infección en seres humanos es rara. A continuación se presentan dos casos; una lactante mayor, indígena, quien posterior a baño de inmersión en aguas estancadas comienza a presentar fiebre con aumento de volumen y limitación funcional y gonalgia izquierda, se realiza lavado articular, se toma muestra para cultivo con crecimiento para Chromobacterium violaceum. Un escolar masculino de 7 años de edad con antecedente de Leucemia Linfoblastica Aguda con recaída en sistema nervioso central, cumpliendo esquema de altas dosis de metotrexate; quien comienza a presentar fiebre y signos de flogosis en sitio de colocación de cáteter de vía central, el cual es retirado y cultivado con crecimiento para Chromobacterium violaceum. Esta infección en humanos es una enfermedad grave y sistémica con una alta tasa de mortalidad.

Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic bacterium, which lives in the soil and water of subtropical and tropical areas. Infection in humans is rare. Here we present two cases. One was in one indigenous newborn, who after one immersion in stagnant waters presented fever and increase in the volume of testicle and limitation in movility of the left limb. After arthrocentesis of left knee and culture of the sinovial liquid, growth of Cromabacterium violaceum was reported. Another case was a male school of 7 years old with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse in the central nervous system, that completed his high dose methotexate scheme. Some days after he presented fever and edema at the site of central venous catheterization. The catheter was retired and it was obtained growth of Chromobacterium violaceum. Human infection with Chromobacterium violaceum is a severe and systemic disease with a high mortality rate.

Antifungal effects of three medicinal crops on Phytophthora nicotianae / 中国中药杂志

Tobacco black shank is one of the most harmful soil-borne diseases infected by Phytophthora parasitica. In order to probe the control method to this disease, in this study, the mycelial growth rate method was employed to investigate the antifungal effects of extracts from stem-leaf and root, root exudates, and their combination of Scrophularia ningpoensis, Chuanmingshen violaceum and Pinellia ternata The results showed that: ①Stem-leaf and root extracts of S. ningpoensis, C. violaceum and P. ternata exhibited different antifungal activities, and the inhibition increased with the increase of extract concentration. The antifungal effect of S. ningpoensis extracts at 0.5 g•mL⁻¹ was the strongest than other medicinal plants, the inhibition rate of steam-leaf and root extracts reached 74.88%, 69.27%, respectively. The inhibitory effect of C. violaceum and P. ternata was relatively lower, however, there is a significant gain effect after combination of steam-leaf and root extracts of C. violaceum. ②The root exudates of S. ningpoensis, C. violaceum and P. ternata showed fungistasis to Phytophthora nicotianae, and fungistasis was enhanced with the increase of root exudate concentration. The antifungal effect in the order of C. violaceum > S. ningpoensis > P. ternata. ③The antifungal activity of combination of extract and root exudate from S. ningpoensis was similar with the effect of C. violaceum, they were both stronger than P. ternata, and the antifungal activity for three combination were located between the antifungal activity of their extracts and root exudates. S. ningpoensis and C. violaceum can be potentially applied to prevent and control the tobacco black shank.

Recent research advances on Chromobacterium violaceum

Chromobacterium violaceum is a gram-negative bacterium, which has been used widely in microbiology labs involved in quorum sensing (QS) research. Among the QS-regulated traits of this bacterium, violacein production has received the maximum attention. Violacein production in this organism, however is not under sole control of QS machinery, and other QS-regulated traits of this bacterium also need to be investigated in better detail. Though not often involved in human infections, this bacterium is being viewed as an emerging pathogen. This review attempts to highlight the recent research advances on C. violaceum, with respect to violacein biosynthesis, development of various applications of this bacterium and its bioactive metabolite violacein, and its pathogenicity.

Recent research advances on Chromobacterium violaceum

Chromobacterium violaceum is a gram-negative bacterium, which has been used widely in microbiology labs involved in quorum sensing (QS) research. Among the QS-regulated traits of this bacterium, violacein production has received the maximum attention. Violacein production in this organism, however is not under sole control of QS machinery, and other QS-regulated traits of this bacterium also need to be investigated in better detail. Though not often involved in human infections, this bacterium is being viewed as an emerging pathogen. This review attempts to highlight the recent research advances on C. violaceum, with respect to violacein biosynthesis, development of various applications of this bacterium and its bioactive metabolite violacein, and its pathogenicity.

Influence of tobacco-Chuanminshen violaceum rotation on microbe community in soil / 中国中药杂志

Soil microbes are the important indicator of soil quality. For exploring Chuanminshen violaceum planting to microbial effects in tobacco soil, this paper adopted Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing to research the change of bacteria and fungi at the phylum and genus in the soil. The results showed that the Ch. violaceum planting increased the biodiversity of bacteria and fungi. The influence on fungi was greater than that on bacteria. It greatly increased the sequence of fungi, it obtained 32 978 16S rDNA and 32 229 18S rDNA sequence number. There was no change of the top three phylums in bacteria, but the content changed, Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria reduced by 1.73% and 1.4% respectively, and Actinobacteria increased by 0.65%. The advantage phylum Ascomycete in tobacco reduced by 27.99% to be second advantage phylum after Ch. violaceum planting, and the second advantage phylum Basidiomycete increased by 23.69% to become the first dominant fungi. At the genus, Ch. violaceum planting changed the order of dominant genus and the abundance was also changed. Some changed largely such as uncultured Acidobacteriaceae Subgroup-1, Gemmatimonas, Subgroup-2,uncultured Nitrosomonadaceae for bacteria, norank Sordariales, norank Agaricomycetes, Phialophora for fungi. Especially the rotation increased antagonistic microbes and physiological microbes and decreased pathogenic microbes. So the Ch. violaceum planting can improve the microbe community in tobacco soil.

Genetic diversity of Chuanmingshen violaceum by SRAP markers / 中草药

Objective: In order to correctly identify the different germplasm resources of Chuanmingshen violaceum and gain the excellent germplasm resources, SRAP molecular marker was used to analyze the genetic diversity of C. violaceum. Methods: C. violaceum was collected from seven different areas, which included 24 samples, the DNA fingerprint of C. violaceum was constructed with SRAP molecular marker, and the genetic diversity was analyzed. Results: Totally 374 bands were amplified by 37 primer pairs, of which 283 bands were polymorphic, and the polymorphic percentage was 75.67%. The SRAP-based genetic similarity coefficient of all samples ranged from 0.7267 to 0.9239, with a mean of 0.8150. The analysis of molecular variance showed higher percentages of genetic variation within population. All the accessions could be distinguished by SRAP markers. The cluster analysis results showed that 63 accessions were classified into seven groups, which were correlated with the geographical distribution of the accessions to some degree. The accessions from Langzhong and Jintang had higher diversity. Conclusion: There actually exists plentiful genetic diversity among the genetic resources of C. violaceum. SRAP marker is a useful method for analyzing the genetic diversity among C. violaceum accessions.

Determination of heavy metal elements in Chuanmingshen violaceum by ICP-MS / 中草药

Objective: To quantify the contents of heavy metal elements in the roots of Chuanmingshen violaceum (Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix, and Chuanmingshen) and to evaluate its safety. Methods: An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) method was developed to quantify six heavy metal elements, i.e. lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), and chromium (Cr) in Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix. A total of 33 Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix samples were collected from eight counties/districts in Sichuan province of China, processed and then quantified for the contents of these elements. Moreover, the eight counties/districts were divided into four cultivation areas of Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix based on the geographical location and ecological environment. The differences of heavy metals were compared by statistical analysis. Results: The total content of each element in the 33 samples of Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix were Pb ≤ 0.256 μg/g, Cd ≤ 0.235 μg/g, Hg ≤ 0.123 μg/g, Cu ≤ 3.963 μg/g, and Cr ≤ 2.145 μg/g; As below the detection limit, the findings were in line with the "Green Trade Standards of Importing and Exporting Medicinal Plants and Preparations" in China. Comparing the amount of heavy metal elements in the samples of Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix, it was found that the contents of the six heavy metal elements were varied among the four cultivation areas. Except for the difference of Pb content which was significant between the two cultivation areas (P < 0.05), other heavy metal elements in these samples among the four cultivation areas were not significantly different. Conclusion: The developed ICP-MS method is suitable to accurately quantify the content of heavy metal elements in the samplesof Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix. On the basis of the level of heavy metal elements, Chuanmingshinis Violacei Radix is considered safe and the current cultivation areas are suitable for the cultivation of C. violaceum.

Tinea corporis due to Trichophyton violaceum: A report of two cases.

Dermatophytes are Fungi which infect keratinized tissues, that is, skin epidermis, hair and nails. Trichophyton violaceum is an anthropophilic, cosmopolitan dermatophyte. It primarily causes tinea capitis and less commonly tinea corporis and tinea unguium. We present a report of two cases of tinea corporis due to T. violaceum in children. Infections due to T. violaceum are important because of its transmissibility within families and community and its potential to spread and establish in new geographical areas.

Effect of Chuanmingshen violaceum polysaccharides and its sulfated derivatives on immunosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide in mice / 中国免疫学杂志

Objective:In oder to investigate the effect of Chuanmingshen violaceum polysaccharides ( CVP) and Solfated Chua-nmingshen violaceum polysaccharides ( SCVP) on immunosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide ( CY) in mice.Methods: CY were used to induce immunosuppression in mice;Spleen and thymus indexes were used to evaluate the immune organs indexes;the [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltet-razolium bromide,MTT] method was used to detect the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes of each group;the concentrations of IFN-γand IL-2 were assayed by ELISA kit.Results: SCVP and CVP could resist immunosuppression by promoting lymphocyte proliferation, increasing the contents of IFN-γ and IL-2, promoting immune organs development in immunosuppressive mice induced by CY.Conclusion:SCVP and CVP exhibited the potential to used as immunopotentiator.

Composition, anti-quorum sensing and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from Lippia alba

Many Gram-negative pathogens have the ability to produce N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) as signal molecules for quorum sensing (QS). This cell-cell communication system allows them to coordinate gene expression and regulate virulence. Strategies to inhibit QS are promising for the control of infectious diseases or antibiotic resistant bacterial pathogens. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anti-quorum sensing (anti-QS) and antibacterial potential of five essential oils isolated from Lippia alba on the Tn-5 mutant of Chromobacterium violaceum CV026, and on the growth of the gram-positive bacteria S. aureus ATCC 25923. The anti-QS activity was detected through the inhibition of the QS-controlled violacein pigment production by the sensor bacteria. Results showed that two essential oils from L. alba, one containing the greatest geranial:neral and the other the highest limonene:carvone concentrations, were the most effective QS inhibitors. Both oils also had small effects on cell growth. Moreover, the geranial/neral chemotype oil also produced the maximum zone of growth inhibition against S. aureus ATCC 25923. These data suggest essential oils from L. alba have promising properties as QS modulators, and present antibacterial activity on S. aureus.