Jean Lu has completed her PhD from North Carolina State University and postdoctoral studies from Duke University in USA. She is a professor and a researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Kennesaw State University. She has published more than 20 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute.

Salmonella is one of the most common foodborne bacterial pathogens throughout the world. In the United States, Salmonella causes over one million foodborne illnesses and billions of dollar loss to the society yearly. Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson is one of the common serovars causing Salmonellosis. Effective control of S. Thompson as well as other Salmonella serivars is essential to public health. Using bacteriophages (phages) to control foodborne bacterial pathogens, especially those antibiotic resistant Salmonella, is a promising novel biocontrol method. The objectives of this study were to isolate and to characterize the isolated phage infecting Salmonella enterica Thompson. A phage (designated as ΦEnt) infecting S. Thompson was isolated from turkey. The phage forms medium-size clear plaques on its host bacterial lawn. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that ΦEnt belongs to Siphoviridae family. One-step growth kinetics study (at a multiplicity of infection of 0.02) showed that the latent period of ΦEnt was about 40 min (including 10 min for adsorption), the rise period was 30 min, and the average burst size was 32 phage particles per infected cell. Host range study showed that the phage was also able to infect a few other Salmonella serovars including S. Infantis. Protein analysis revealed that the phage has several structural proteins in the range from 30 to 70 KDa. The phage infection in a model food system resulted in rapid cell lysis. These results indicated that ΦEnt has a high potential for use as a biocontrol agent against Salmonella in food systems.

Adriano Pereira is a teacher in the areas of health and biological sciences at São Camilo University, São Paulo, Brazil. He is a Master degree in Veterinary Medicine and PhD student in Environmental and Experimental Pathology. His research involves studying microsporidia with a focus on biology and immune response against this emerging and opportunistic pathogen

Microsporidia are unicellular organisms that infect a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Encephalitozoon cuniculi is one of the most common microsporidian species in human. These pathogens were considered protozoa but recently have been reclassified phylogenetically as fungi. Our knowledge about the immunity during microsporidiosis is not fully understood and we decided to study in vitro the role of B-1 cells and cytokines involved in the immune response against E. cuniculi infection. Supernatants from cultures of Adherent Peritoneal Cells (APerC) from BALB/c mice and APerC from XID mice (B-1 cells deficient) infected and not with E. cuniculi after 30 min, 1h, 48h, 96h and 144h was collected and cytokines were measured. In the supernatants of APerC from BALB/c mice there were levels of MCP-1 and TNF detected and they decreased after 48 hours in both groups (uninfected and infected with E. cuniculi). Besides that, increased levels of IL-6 were observed in infected group in 96 and 144 hours and IL-10 in 144 hours. In supernatants of APerC from XID there were low levels of MCP-1 and TNF in both groups and levels of TNF decreased after 96 hours and MPC-1 were not found after this time. There was an increased in levels of IL-10 in the infected group with 30 minutes and 1 hour. The cytokine IL-12 was tested but detectable levels were not found. These preliminary results of our research can help to better understand the role of B-1 cell and cytokines envolved in the pathogenesis of E.cuniculi infection.

Tamar Shamatava has completed his PhD at the age of 50 years from 2010—2015 of st. Andrew the First Called Georgian University of the Patriarchate of Georgia. She is the research scientist in Georgian Technical University, Biotechnology Center. She has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals.She has a great experience in agriculture and biotechnology field.

In this study the effect of eucalyptus extract and calcium chlorid (CaCl2) on grape storage ability was investigated. The treatment include control (Sulfur dioxide (SO2) 20-30 minutes exposure, once a month) and two combinations: I. 1% CaCl2+0.5% eucalyptus extract; II. 2% CaCl2+ 1% eucalyptus extract. Two grape varieties: ,,Italia” and ,,Alphonse Levallée” were selected for the study, which are the most popular cultivars among consumers in Georgia. After the treatments grape were stored at 0-10C, relative humidity of 85-90%. Evolution of qualitative features such as percentage of decay caused by microbiological and physiological diseases was done in the middle of the storage (60 days) and at the end of the storage (120 days). Results showed that the loss caused by microbiological and physiological diseases in the middle stage of the storage (60 days) on two species grape was unimportant- Control- 0.9%; with the 1% CaCl2+0.5% eucalyptus extract-1.5% and 2% CaCl2+1% eucalyptus extract -1%. Therefore at the end of the storage (120 days) control loss was 6.1%; on condition 1% CaCl2+0.5% eucalyptus extract-11.4% and 2% CaCl2+ 1% eucalyptus extract -7.3% . Thus, 2% CaCl2 + 1% eucalyptus extract solution showed the best result from the combined compounds, loss after storage was 7.3%. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) condition loss was less but it is noteworthy that the solution of 2% CaCl2 + 1% eucalyptus extract is an ecologically pure mix and the stored grapevines are ecologically pure products, which is a key factor in choosing a storage facility.

Guliko Dvali has completed her PhD at the age of 40 years from Ivane Javajishvili Tbilisi State University, specialist- Microbiology. She is the head of microbiology research group in Georgian Technical University, Biotechnology Center. She has published more than 19 papers in reputed journals and has been a great experience in plant microbiology field.

The research aim was to study influence of biological preparate “Biocatena” and fungicide”Ridomil Gold”on pathogens which caused fungal diseases of tomato variety- ,,Slivka’’ root and rhizosphere. Seedling‘s root systems were treated by biological preparate -2% “Biocatena” before planting during vegetation stage 2-4times 15-20day intervals.The soil was fertilized by"Organica" before planting.For comparison 2.5 kg/h fungicide-“Ridomil Gold” was used.Working solution was 300-500l/h,7-10 day intervals. It was relieved that total number of microbes:fungi,bacteria,actinomycetes were accordingly-500, 180 and 210thousand in uncultivated soil,but pathogenic fungi-400000 in gram absolutely dry soil.Microbiological analysis was carried out by I.M.Vozniakovskaya method.For microbes cultivation has been used as artificial and natural solid areas:chapeck, suslo, potato with different concentration 10-2,10-3,10-4,10-5.The total number of microbial colonies in the root and rhizosphere was estimated by thousands of grams on dry soil.The pure cultures of pathogenic fungi have been isolated from the rhizosphere and root of tomato, it was found that the fungal diseases were caused by phytophthora infestans and Fusarium oxysporum. Thus, the bio preparate "Biocatena" produced in Georgia had positive effect.Number of pathogen fungi( 25000 )on the plants root systems was decreased by ,,Biocatena’’and rizosfere-28000 in the flowering phase, using fungicide pathogen fungi were decreased to about 30000, rhizosphere- 36 000. It should be noted that the development total number of microbes using fungicide “Ridomil Gold” were inhibited, but development of useful microorganisms using “Bio catena” were not delayed, which helps to maintain a healthy environment and active development for the plant in the flowering phase.

Reham has completed his PhD at the age of 29 years from University of Liverpool. She is assistance Prof in King Saud University for Health Science for Microbiology. organization.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant human pathogen responsible for life-threating diseases such as pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis. Of the nearly 100 distinct pneumococcal serotypes, pneumococcal serotype 1 is described as one of main causes of invasive disease worldwide. One highly enigmatic feature of serotype 1 resides in its being rarely detected in human nasopharyngeal specimens. The aim of this project was to compare serotype 1 lineage A (ST306) and C (ST615) with respect to their immunological and virulence properties using both in vitro and in vivo tools, as well as their differential gene expression profile. A series of in vitro experiments were performed to assess the ability of serotype 1 to adhere and invade epithelial cells, and to determine its ability to inhibit phagocytosis and gain insight into the mechanisms involved. In parallel, three in vivo standardized mouse models of pneumococcal infection were exploited to examine the virulence properties of ST306 and ST615 and their ability to colonise the nasopharyngeal tissue. Finally, RNA-seq analysis of in vitro cultures of ST306 and ST615 was carried out in an attempt to identify differential expression patterns. ST615 serotype 1 was determined to be highly virulent, causing the death of 80-100% of infected mice by around 48h post-infection, while all mice infected with ST306 survived when using pneumococcal doses inductive of invasive pneumonia model. In a nasopharyngeal carriage mouse model, ST306 serotype 1 was shown to be able to establish colonisation persisting up to 28 day post-administration, although at a much lower density compared to ST615. While ST615 was capable of establishing nasopharyngeal colonization, clearance occurred earlier at day 14 compared to ST306. RNA gene expression analysis focused on virulence factors and critical biological functions determined that ST615 serotype 1 presented a profile consistent with its weak colonisation and its invasive properties. The genes associated with capsule synthesis were not differentially expressed between ST615 and ST306 but that other virulence factors such as psp, pavA, ply and cpbD were differentially expressed.

Sungbae Park is from Clinical laboratory science, The Graduate School of Catholic University of Pusan, South Korea

Although the prevalence of tuberculosis(TB) has been continuously decreased in worldwide, TB remains the most important health problem in the Republic of Korea. However, there is lack of biomarkers for developing gold standard latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) diagnostic assays. In the present study, in order to understand profiles of main TB and LTBI host biomarkers, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4, IP-10, CXCL11, CCL11, GM-CSF, TNF-αR and IL-2R in human tissues, a total of 52 human FFPE tissues containing lung, lymph node, tendon, colon, appendix, etc. were used. gDNA and total RNA was extracted from all FFPE tissues after then gDNA was used for identification of Mycobacterium species with PCR-REBA, and total RNA was used for analyzing cytokine mRNA expressions with real-time RT-PCR TaqMan assay. In conclusion, PCR-REBA was better tool for identifying Mycobacterium species in human FFPE tissues with higher sensitivity and specificity than other molecular assays. IFN-γ, TNF-α, IP-10, and CXCL11 mRNA expression levels in MTB positive tissues were significantly higher than MTB negatives. Data from the correlation curve analysis shows that the mRNA expression of IFN-γ was inversely proportional to that of IP-10, and the mRNA expressions between IFN-γ and TNF-α and CXCL11 were well correlated proportionally. Furthermore, although mRNA expression patterns of cytokines might be changeable in different MTB infection status, their expressions seem to highly correlate and they can be simultaneously used for diagnosis of LTBI very usefully. Moreover, further study with large number of clinical samples is needed to understand the pathogenesis of MTB.

Jinyoung Bae id from Clinical laboratory science, The Graduate School of Catholic University of Pusan, South Korea

Tuberculosis (TB) is the major health problem worldwide. Even, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is still one of the main causative agent for TB, however, the incidence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection has been gradually increased for those both in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. Precise and rapid detection and identification of MTB and NTM is especially important for both anti-TB therapy and TB control. Molecular diagnostic methods based on PCR are known to be rapid, sensitive and specific compared to conventional acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear and culture. In the present study, the clinical usefulness of three commercial molecular assays was evaluated with a total of 92 respiratory specimens including 22 AFB smear positive, 67 negative and 3 unchecked samples and those were collected from the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Maryknoll Medical Center, Busan, Korea. As a result, the overall positivity for detection of MTB and NTM was the highest with TB PCR than other assays in AFB smear and culture positive samples however the overall negativity was the highest with Real MTB-ID in AFB smear and culture negative samples. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of three molecular assays compared to conventional diagnostic assays were different however REBA Myco-ID has advantage for detection of polymicrobial infections (5 cases). In order to evaluate their accuracy, further analysis such as DNA sequencing is required

Mahbuhe Sadat Chalavi has completed bachelor of azad Islamic University in tehran north (2009) in Microbiology master started in 2011 in azad Islamic of zanjan. She has two years of experiment in pastor institute of Iran. Experiencing vaccine development and drug diversity method by applying Nano particle and adjuvant. she is studying her PhD in QOM university

Influenza is a major viral respiratory infection of humans. Vaccination is the most effective means for the prevention of influenza infection.. Influenza whole-inactivated (WIV) vaccine is one of the commercially available vaccines that have been used for a number of years. In order to increase the vaccine efficiency aluminum hydroxide (alum) was added as an adjuvant to WIV formulation. Aluminum adjuvant mainly induces a Th2 immune response. For balancing the immunity system and inducing the Th1 response CpG was added to mix of WIV and alum.A/PR/8/1934 H1N1 (PR8) influenza viruses were grown on MDCK cells. Virus purified by sucrose gradient Ultracentrifugation and inactivated by Ultraviolet (UV) . Mice were divided into four groups then immunized with different vaccines (WIV with or without aluminum hydroxide and CpG). Control mice were injected with phosphate buffer only. Four weeks after vaccination mice were anesthetized and challenged intranasally with 10 lethal dose (LD50) of PR8 virus. Mice were monitored twice a day for signs of clinical illness by weighing the animals and observing their appearance and activity for two weeks.our result have been shown that mice that received alum and CpG together adjuvant did not have weight loss in comparison to other groups. Whereas mice have received alum and CpG adjutants separately have shown significant weight loss.Conclusion: formulation of alum and CpG adjuvant together with WIV vaccines could be protective against lethal challenge and more beneficial for achieving a better immune response.

Chia-Yen Dai has completed his M.D., Master and PhD from Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He is the Director of Health Management Center and visiting staff of Hepatology, Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, and the full Professor of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University. He has published more than 240 papers in reputed journals with more than 50 papers being the first author.

The prevalence of mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) has been reported to be 15-50% in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. We aimed to reveal the prevalence of serum cryoglobulinemia in Taiwan population and to determine the association between presence of serum cryoglobulinemia and liver fibrosis in CHC patients with liver biopsy. We have entolled totally 1,135 treatment naïve patients retrospectively in our study. All patients received liver biopsy and the histology was diagnosed with Metavir system. Serum cryoglobulinemia precipitation, and laboratory parameters were assessed and collected. Three hundred sixty four (32%) out of 1,135 liver biopsy patients were positive for serum cryoglobulinemia. Multivariate analysis revealed that male gender, HCV RNA, platelet and advanced fibrosis (OR-1.40, 95% CI – 1.05-1.87, p=0.021) were significantly associated with the presence of cryoglobulinemia in CHC patients. The presence of serum cryoglobulinemia (OR-1.43, 95% CI – 1.04-1.96, p=0.026) was associated with advanced liver fibrosis (F3 and F4) by multivariate logistic regression analysis. We concluded that the prevalence of the presence of serum cryoglobulinemia is 32% in Taiwanese naïve CHC patients and cryoglobulinemia was associated with advanced fibrosis proven by the liver biopsy.