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Background Rotavirus (RV) is a principal cause of diarrhea. However, there is a limited understanding regarding alteration of the gut microbial community structure and abundance during RV infection. This study was to characterize any potential associations between RV infection and the intestinal microbiota. Methods Suckling mice were divided into normal group (NC) and infected group (RV) randomly. All of the suckling mice were euthanized four days post-RV infection. The virus titer was counted as fluorescent focus assay, and viral load was quantified by QPCR. Five sucking mice were randomly selected from each RV group and NC group for sample collection and pathological analysis. Mixed intestinal contents of the colon and rectum were collected from all of the suckling mice. To investigate the detailed relationship between RV infection and intestinal microbiota, the composition and distribution of intestinal microbiota from suckling mice were first analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Results The results of the pathological characteristics showed that vacuolar degeneration, vasodilation, hyperemia, and destruction of the intestinal epithelium were apparent in the RV group. Representative genera from Lactobacillus and Fusobacterium were enriched in the NC group, while the Enterococcus and Escherichia/Shigella genera were enriched in the RV group. Helicobacter, Alloprevotrlla, Brevundimonas, Paenibacillus, and Parabacteroides were completely undetectable in the RV group. The predicted intestinal flora metabolic function results showed that “carbohydrate metabolism” and “lipid metabolism” pathways were significantly enriched within the NC group. A significant difference has been observed in the gut microbiota composition between the two groups. Conclusions Our results demonstrated a significant difference in the gut microbiota composition in RV-infected suckling mice as compared to the RV un-infected suckling mice group. This work may provide meaningful information regarding the bacterial genera changed during RV infection. Moreover, the changes in these bacteria may be related with the replication and pathogenesis of RV infection.

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Objective: One-leg standing has been used exclusively for static balance testing and training purposes. We investigated the acute effects of one-leg standing with open or closed eyes on arterial stiffness in older women and explored the role of standing dose in arterial stiffness regulation.Methods: Eighteen older women (60 ± 2 years) underwent non-intervention control (CON), one-leg standing with open eyes for 2 × 3 min (SO2), and one-leg standing with closed eyes for 1 × 3 min (SC1), 2 × 3 min (SC2), and 3 × 3 min trials (SC3) in a randomized self-controlled crossover fashion. Arterial stiffness in the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) was measured at baseline (BL), immediately (0 min), and 10 and 20 min after standing. CAVI changes from BL in the same trial (⊿CAVI) were used for analysis.Results: ⊿CAVI of the non-standing and standing side did not change with time in CON and SO2 trials. In SC1, SC2, and SC3 trials, ⊿CAVI of the standing side decreased significantly at 0 min compared to their corresponding BL (p < 0.01) and reverted gradually to the BL level afterward, with ⊿CAVI of the non-standing side undergoing no changes. At the time point of 0 min, only in the SC2 trial, ⊿CAVI of the standing side was significantly lower than that of CON (p < 0.01).Conclusion: One-leg standing with closed eyes, but not with open eyes, resulted in transient arterial stiffness improvement in older women. The improvement was restricted to standing leg, and the moderate standing dose had maximal benefit on arterial stiffness.

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