Development of Rapid Detection Methods for Fusarium oysporum f. sp. melonis in Melon Seeds.

Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is a global commercial crop that is sensitive to seed-borne wilt infections caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis (Fom). To address the challenge of detecting Fom contamination, we designed a probe-based real-time PCR method, TDCP2, in combination with rapid or column-based DNA extraction protocols to develop reliable molecular detection methods. Utilizing TDCP2, the detection rate reached 100% for both artificially Fom-inoculated (0.25-25%) and pod-inoculated melon seeds in conjunction with DNA samples from either the rapid or column-based extraction protocol. We performed analyses of precision, recall, and F1 scores, achieving a maximum F1 score of 1 with TDCP2, which highlights the robustness of the method. Additionally, intraday and interday assays were performed, which revealed the high reproducibility and stability of column-based DNA extraction protocols combined with TDCP2. These metrics confirm the reliability of our developed protocols, setting a foundation for future enhancements in seed pathology diagnostics and potentially broadening their applicability across various Fom infection levels. In the future, we hope that these methods will reduce food loss by improving the control and management of melon diseases.

Latent curing systems stabilized by reaction equilibrium in homogeneous mixtures of benzoxazine and amine.

Latent curing systems are widely used in industrial thermosets in applications such as adhesion, coating, and composites. Despite many attempts to improve the practicality of this dormant reaction system, the majority of commercially available latent products still use particulate hardeners or liquid compounds with blocked active groups. These formulations generally lack fluidity or rapid reaction characteristics and thus are problematic in some industry applications. Here we describe a novel concept that stabilizes highly reactive benzoxazine/amine mixtures by reaction equilibrium. These new latent benzoxazine curing systems have a long storable lifetime but very short gel time at 150 °C. The reversible reaction between benzoxazine and amine is further demonstrated by FT-IR spectral measurements and rheological experiments, and it is shown that the overall characteristics of the latent system are promising for many industrial applications.

Influence of Helicobacter pylori infection on ghrelin levels in children.

AIM: To compare ghrelin levels in plasma and gastric mucosa before and after Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment in children with H. pylori-associated functional dyspepsia. METHODS: Children with H. pylori-associated functional dyspepsia were enrolled in this study. H. pylori infection was confirmed by positive bacterial culture results. All of the children received triple H. pylori eradication therapy (a 2 wk course of omeprazole, amoxicillin, and clarithromycin). The children were divided into two groups based on the success of the H. pylori treatment: group 1 (eradicated) - patients who had a negative 13C-urea breath test 2 mo after the end of therapy; and group 2 (non-eradicated) - patients who had a positive 13C-urea breath test. Plasma ghrelin, gastric ghrelin mRNA, and the body mass index were evaluated in both groups before and after the H. pylori treatment. The plasma ghrelin levels were measured by a radioimmunoassay. The expression of gastric ghrelin mRNA was determined by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: A total of 50 children with H. pylori-associated functional dyspepsia were treated with triple H. pylori eradication therapy. The mean age of the children was 5.52 ± 0.83 years, and there were 28 males and 22 females. Among the 50 H. pylori-positive children, 30 successfully achieved eradication, and 20 did not. The mean plasma ghrelin levels of group 1 were 22.17 ± 1.73 ng/L and 26.59 ± 2.05 ng/L before and after the treatment, respectively, which was a significant increase (P = 0.001). However, the mean plasma ghrelin level of group 2 before and after the H. pylori treatment was 21.34 ± 2.40 ng/L and 22.24 ± 2.10 ng/L (P = 0.785). The plasma ghrelin levels increased substantially after treatment in group 1 but showed only minor changes in group 2. Similarly, the gastric ghrelin mRNA expression in group 1 before treatment was 2.84 ± 0.08. After treatment, the level was 3.11 ± 0.65, which was significantly different (P = 0.023). The gastric ghrelin mRNA expression in group 2 did not change significantly during the treatment (2.82 ± 0.44 vs 2.79 ± 0.31, P = 0.875). The plasma ghrelin and gastric ghrelin mRNA levels in group 1 increased substantially after the treatment but did not do so in group 2. In addition, the body mass index the two groups did not differ significantly 2 mo before and after the H. pylori treatment. CONCLUSION: H. pylori eradication increases the plasma and tissue ghrelin levels in children with H. pylori-associated functional dyspepsia.

[Value of the liver function test in differential diagnosis of infantile hepatitis syndrome and biliary atresia].

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the value of the liver function test in the differential diagnosis of infantile hepatitis syndrome (IHS) and biliary atresia (BA) by analyzing seven conventional serological markers in this test using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. METHODS: Serum levels of seven conventional serological markers: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (TB), conjugated bilirubin (CB) and serum albumin (ALB) were measured in 103 children with IHS and 60 children with BA. ROC curves were used to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive and predictive values and optimal cut-off. The united tests (parallel test and serial test) of gamma-GT, TB and CB were performed to elevate diagnostic efficiency. RESULTS: Compared with the IHS group, the BA group had significantly increased serum ALT, AST, gamma-GT, TB and CB levels (p<0.01). The area under ROC (AUCROC) of AST, gamma-GT, CB and TB was 0.77, 0.881, 0.841 and 0.87, respectively. gamma-GT showed the highest AUCROC, specificity, positive predictive value and positive likelihood ratio in the diagnosis of BA, followed by CB, TB and AST in turn. The negative predictive value of CB was the highest, followed by TB. The negative likelihood ratio of CB was the lowest but its Youden index was the highest. The Youden index of gamma-GT and TB was lower than that of CB. After the parallel tests, the sensitivity and negative predictive value of gamma-GT, CB and TB increased to 100%. After the serial tests, the specificity of gamma-GT, CB and TB increased to 90.4% and the positive predictive value increased to 87.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The measurement of gamma-GT, TB and CB levels are valuable in the differential diagnosis of BA and IHS. An imaging examination is required in the parallel test positive patients.

[Relationship between the types of Helicobacter pylori strains and chronic upper gastrointestinal diseases in children].

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship of the types of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) strains with the classification and the severity of chronic gastro-duodenal diseases in children. METHODS: One hundred and fifteen children with chronic upper gastrointestinal symptoms who were diagnosed as H. pylori infection by gastroscopy were enrolled in this study. H. pylori strains were serotyped by immunoblot technique. The gastric biopsy specimens of all patients were studied histologically. RESULTS: Type I H. pylori strains were confirmed in 84 cases (73.0%), intermediate type strains in 21 cases (18.3%), and type II strains in 10 cases (8.7%). Type I H. pylori strains infection caused a moderate gastric mucosal inflammation in 83 cases and a severe inflammation in 1 case. Intermediate type H. pylori strains infection caused a moderate gastric mucosal inflammation in 21 cases. Type II H. pylori strains infection caused a mild gastric mucosal inflammation in 2 cases and a moderate inflammation in 8 cases. Different types of H. pylori strains resulted in different severity of gastric mucosal inflammation (x2=15.444, P < 0.01). The gastric mucosal inflammation due to type I H. pylori strains was the most severe, while the inflammation due to type II H. pylori strains was relatively mild. The incidence of nodulus lymphaticus of gastric mucosa due to type I, type II and intermediate type H. pylori strains infection was 76.2%, 47.6% and 40.0%, respectively (x2=10.171, P < 0.01). The classification of chronic gastro-duodenal diseases was not associated with the types of H. pylori strains. CONCLUSIONS: Type I strains were the leading cause of H. pylori infection in children. All of types of H. pylori strains can cause pathohistologic changes of gastric mucosa. Type I H. pylori strains infection can result in the most severe gastric mucosal inflammation and the highest incidence of nodulus lymphaticus. The immunoblot serotyping of H.pylori strains may be useless for the classification of chronic upper gastrointestinal diseases but it is helpful for the evaluation of the severity of the diseases in children.

[Etiology and treatment of eating disorders in adolescents: a report of 6 cases].

The occurrence of eating disorders in Chinese adolescents is increasing. However the cause, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of this disorder are rarely reported by pediatricians. This paper investigated the cause and treatment of six cases of eating disorders in adolescent patients. The medical data of six cases of eating disorders in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center from January 2003 to September 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were 5 girls and 1 boy, whose onset ages ranged from 12.4 to 15.8 years. They were initially referred to the clinic between 12.9 to 16.7 years, with a course of disease varying from three to twelve months. The patients' body mass index (BMI) varied from 9.07 to 17.0. Four out of the six patients were hospitalized because of low temperature, low blood pressure, bradycardia, dehydration and multiple systems damages. The other two were treated in the out-patient clinic. Based on the medical history and physical examination as well as laboratory findings, five of them were diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and the other one were bulimia nervosa. All of the patients were under the care of a team consisting of pediatricians, dietitians, psychiatrists and nurses. When the patients whose vital signs were unstable, medical treatment focused on life sustention and they were kept on beds compulsively and given nutrition transfusion. Meanwhile cognition and behavior therapy was administered to help the patients find out the internal and environmental factors related to the development of this disorder, establish a new conception of healthy weight, and correct their abnormal eating behaviors. The patients who had a severe distortion of body image and a big resistance to the treatment were additionally administered with psychiatry drugs. After treatment, three patients set up a healthy eating behavior, their body weights gradually recovered and they had no relapse during a 1-year follow-up. The other three patients retained some abnormal eating behaviors and their body weights were always below normal. It was found that eating disorders in adolescents may be triggered by some environmental factors, such as comments on body shape from their peers, fashion influence, academic pressures, and problems in communication. Since the patients' abnormal eating behaviors were masked or neglected by parents at the early stage of the disease and the clinical presentations were related to multiple systems, it is difficult to make an early diagnosis and treatment. It is important to improve the pediatricians' knowledge of eating disorders of adolescents and perform cooperation between a multidisciplinary team for the early diagnosis and treatment of this disorder.