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Whole blood samples (472) were collected during the period of 2006-2008 from 15 cattle farms in seven districts of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which is a major pastoral area and represents 1/6 of Chinese territory. Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was detected by nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-nPCR) and sequenced within the 5'-untranslated region of the genome. Approximately 43% (202 samples) were BVDV-positive. Of the positive samples, 24 were chosen for further sequencing, sequence comparisons, and phylogenetic reconstructions. The phylogenetic reconstructions demonstrated that these isolates clustered into either BVDV1b (18 samples) or BVDV1c (six samples) subgenotypes. None of the isolates sequenced showed any cytopathic effect in culture. Unlike previously published studies in Chinese cattle, no BVDV2 genotypes were detected. These results indicate that the predominant subgenotypes in Xinjiang are BVDV1b and BVDV1c. This finding can be useful for further BVDV epidemiological study in China.

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Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have the advantages of high specificity and stable expression, while avian IgY antibodies provide a series of advantages such as less interference with non-specific proteins in immunoassays, and stronger IgY production against highly conserved mammalian antigens. Monoclonal IgY (mIgY) is a new antibody development that combines advantages of IgY and mAbs. mIgY has great potential for immunological detection and diagnosis, for screening and validating biomarkers and drug targets, and for the production of Abs against conserved mammalian proteins. mIgY can be developed by hybridoma technology or phage display technology. However, the hybridoma technology is difficult in the chicken system due to the lack of a robust fusion partner. mIgY can be developed into Ab fragments, chimeric Abs and humanised Abs. The most successful examples are a series of anti-prion mIgY which demonstrate improved Ab titre and specificity.

Purpose To examine the status of spouses' burdens of caring for breast cancer survivors and explore the relationships between social support, family resilience, breast cancer survivors' individual resilience, and caregiver burden. Methods A cross-sectional study on 315 young and middle-aged breast cancer survivors and their spousal caregivers was conducted at eight comprehensive Southwest China hospitals. The caregivers completed the Chinese Version of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview, while breast cancer survivors completed the shortened Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the relationships among social support, family resilience, survivors' individual resilience, and caregiver burden. Results Caregiver burden (45.76 ± 14.66) was found to be severe. Social support, family resilience, and individual resilience were significantly negatively associated with caregiver burden (β = − 0.421, P < 0.001; β = − 0.208, P < 0.001; and β = − 0.444, P < 0.001, respectively). Individual resilience not only partially mediated the relationship between family resilience and caregiver burden (b = − 0.052; 95% confidence interval, − 0.110, − 0.018), but also partially mediated the relationship between support and caregiver burden (b = − 0.045; 95% confidence interval, − 0.102, − 0.011). Conclusions The findings suggest that higher social support, family resilience, and individual resilience tend to ease caregivers' burden. Healthcare workers should have an in-depth understanding of the care needs of survivors, actively contact social security departments and social organizations to provide financial, technical, and emotional support, and provide family-based care-skills training and psychological counseling to reduce spousal caregivers' burdens.