Comprehensive risk factor predictions for 3-year survival among HIV-associated and disseminated cryptococcosis involving lungs and central nervous system.

BACKGROUND: The global mortality rate resulting from HIV-associated cryptococcal disease is remarkably elevated, particularly in severe cases with dissemination to the lungs and central nervous system (CNS). Regrettably, there is a dearth of predictive analysis regarding long-term survival, and few studies have conducted longitudinal follow-up assessments for comparing anti-HIV and antifungal treatments. METHODS: A cohort of 83 patients with HIV-related disseminated cryptococcosis involving the lung and CNS was studied for 3 years to examine survival. Comparative analysis of clinical and immunological parameters was performed between deceased and surviving individuals. Subsequently, multivariate Cox regression models were utilized to validate mortality predictions at 12, 24, and 36 months. RESULTS: Observed plasma cytokine levels before treatment were significantly lower for IL-1RA (p < 0.001) and MCP-1 (p < 0.05) when in the survivor group. Incorporating plasma levels of IL-1RA, IL-6, and high-risk CURB-65 score demonstrated the highest area under curve (AUC) value (0.96) for predicting 1-year mortality. For 1-, 2- and 3-year predictions, the single-factor model with IL-1RA demonstrated superior performance compared to all multiple-variate models (AUC = 0.95/0.78/0.78). CONCLUSIONS: IL-1RA is a biomarker for predicting 3-year survival. Further investigations to explore the pathogenetic role of IL-1RA in HIV-associated disseminated cryptococcosis and as a potential therapeutic target are warranted.

Research Progress in Interfacial Characteristics and Strengthening Mechanisms of Rare Earth Metal Oxide-Reinforced Copper Matrix Composites.

The existence of a small amount of rare earth metal oxides (REMOs) can greatly affect the structure and function of copper matrix composites owing to improvement of surface and interface properties between REMOs and metal matrix, and there are still some challenges concerning interfaces and complex interfacial reactions. This review summarizes the interfacial characteristics and strengthening mechanisms of REMO-reinforced copper matrix composites, including fabrication methods for solving rare earth metal oxide-dispersion problems and characterization of the microstructure and properties of REMO-reinforced copper matrix composites. In particular, the strengthening effects of various rare earth metal oxide-reinforced copper matrix composites are systematically summarized. The interface characteristics of composites from a thermodynamics standpoint and the strengthening mechanism are emphatically investigated and discussed in order to help unveil design principles and to provide reference for future research of REMO-reinforced copper matrix composites.

National Epidemiology and Evolutionary History of Four Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease-Related Enteroviruses in China from 2008 to 2016.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a major public health concern in China. The most predominant enteroviruses that cause HFMD have traditionally been attributed to enterovirus A71 (EVA71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CVA16). Since its first large outbreak in 2008, the dominant HFMD pathogens are constantly changing. In 2013 and 2015, CVA6 exceeded both EVA71 and CVA16 to become the leading cause of HFMD in some provinces. However, there still lacks a comprehensive overview on the molecular epidemiology and evolution of HFMD-related enteroviruses at the national level. In this study, we performed systematic epidemiological analyses of HFMD-related enteroviruses using the data of 64 published papers that met the inclusion criteria, and conducted phylogenetic analyses based on 12,080 partial VP1 sequences identified in China before 31st June 2018. We found that EVA71 prevalence has decreased sharply but other enteroviruses have increased rapidly from 2008 to 2016 and that one subtype of each enterovirus is represented during the epidemic. In addition, four genotypes EVA71_C4, CVA16_B1, CVA6_D and CVA10_C are the most predominant enterovirus strains and collectively they cause over 90% of all HFMD cases in China according to the phylogenetic trees using representative partial VP1 sequences. These four major enterovirus genotypes have different geographical distributions, and they may co-circulate with other genotypes and serotypes. These results suggest that more molecular epidemiological studies should be performed on several enteroviruses simultaneously, and such information should have implications for virological surveillance, disease management, vaccine development and policy-making on the prevention and control of HFMD.

High proportion of coxsackievirus B3 genotype A in hand, foot and mouth disease in Zhenjiang, China, 2011-2016.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is usually caused by EVA71 and CVA16 except for a few cases that are caused by non-EVA71 non-CAV16 enteroviruses. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is mostly associated with myocarditis, occasionally with HFMD. METHODS: The partial VP1 gene of enteroviruses were amplified and sequenced from 610 throat swabs from clinically confirmed HFMD children. All available CVB3 near full-length genomic and VP1 sequences were downloaded from GenBank. Phylogenetic and distance analyses were performed using MEGA 7.0. RESULTS: A total of 238 partial VP1 sequences were obtained, including 93 EVA71 (39%), 79 CAV16 (33%), 29 CVB3 (12%), 24 CVA6 (10%), and 13 other enterovirus serotypes (5.5%). CVB3 is classified into seven genotypes A-G according to phylogenetic and distance analyses. All CVB3 strains from Zhenjiang belonged to genotype A. In contrast to other genotypes that are prevalent in Europe and other regions of China, and often associated with aseptic meningitis and myocarditis, CVB3 genotype A strains identified in Zhenjiang were only detected among HFMD patients. CONCLUSIONS: This high prevalence of CVB3 genotype A among HFMD children has never been reported. This phenomenon has revealed a new epidemic trend of CVB3 among HFMD in China, and it has epidemiological implications for monitoring the epidemic risk of CVB3.

Altered respiratory virome and serum cytokine profile associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections in children.

Recurrent acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) affect a large population, yet the specific decisive factors are largely unknown. Here we study a population of 4407 children diagnosed with ARTI, comparing respiratory virome and serum cytokine profiles associated with multiple ARTIs and single ARTI during a six-year period. The relative abundance of Propionibacterium phages is significantly elevated in multiple ARTIs compared to single ARTI group. Serum levels of TIMP-1 and PDGF-BB are markedly increased in multiple ARTIs compared to single-ARTI and non-ARTI controls, making these two cytokines potential predictors for multiple ARTIs. The presence of Propionibacterium phages is associated with higher levels of TIMP-1 and PDGF-BB. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses show that the combination of TIMP-1, PDGF-BB and Propionibacterium phages could be a strong predictor for multiple ARTIs. These findings indicate that respiratory microbe homeostasis and specific cytokines are associated with the onset of multiple ARTIs over time.

The dynamics of the hand, foot and mouth disease epidemic from 2008 to 2016 in Zhenjiang city, China.

AIM: To investigate the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) epidemic in Zhenjiang, China from 2008 to 2016. MATERIALS & METHODS: A total of 37,202 HFMD cases were investigated and 3707 nasopharyngeal swabs were detected for enterovirus RNA using RT-quantitative PCR. RESULTS: We first reported a mixed pattern of HFMD seasonal epidemic with a combination of single-peak and two-peak patterns in alternate years, and the occurrence of sporadic and epidemic outbreaks of HFMD in kindergartens in Zhenjiang. Children younger than 4 years of age were highly vulnerable to HFMD, and home children and boys had higher risk to develop severe HFMD than nursery children and girls, respectively. Among tested samples, 1709 (46.1%) were detected as enterovirus RNA positive. CONCLUSION: This study first presents the dynamic of the HFMD epidemic in Zhenjiang from 2008 to 2016.

[Influence of Chemical Pre-oxidation on Chloral Hydrate Formation of Threonine].

The influences of different chemical pre-oxidants, including sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), chlorine dioxide (ClO2), permanganate (KMnO4), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ozone (O3) and ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2), on chloral hydrate (CH) formation were studied for threonine that has the highest special chloral hydrate formation potential (SCHFP). Suitable pre-oxidants and corresponding optimal doses were determined to provide guidance for controlling chloral hydrate (CH) formation during drinking water treatment. The results indicated that the pre-oxidants that could decrease CH formation for one day incubation time (CH1d) were H2O2, ClO2, KMnO4 and NaClO, and the corresponding suitable doses were 3, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.5 mg·L-1, and the corresponding CH1d removal rates were 61.54%, 47.63%, 29.77% and 10.94%, respectively. The pre-oxidants that could decrease CH formation potential (CHFP) were KMnO4, NaClO, H2O2 and ClO2, and the corresponding suitable doses were 0.6 mg·L-1, 0.5 mg·L-1, 3 mg·L-1 and 0.5 mg·L-1, and the corresponding CHFP removal rates were 41.01%, 33.38%, 8.36% and 2.40%, respectively. In addition, O3 and O3/H2O2 were not suitable for controlling CH in the conventional treatment process because they could increase CH1d and CHFP.

Complete Genome Sequence of Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus from Shanghai, China.

We report here the complete genome sequence of human respiratory syncytial virus isolated from an outpatient child with fever and respiratory symptoms in Shanghai, China, in 2014. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the full-length respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) genome sequence belongs to human RSV (HRSV) group A.