Prevalence and correlates of Mycoplasma genitalium infection among patients attending a sexually transmitted infection clinic in Guangdong, China: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) causes urogenital tract infections and is associated with reproductive morbidity. Although MG has been reported across many regions and population groups, it is not yet routinely tested for in China. Our study contributes to current research by reporting the prevalence and correlates of MG infection in patients attending a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic in Guangdong from Jan 2017-May 2018. METHODS: Urethral (from 489 men) and endo-cervical (from 189 women) samples, blood samples, and patient histories (via questionnaires) were collected. Doctors clinically diagnosed anogenital warts (GW) during the examination (n = 678). The presence of MG was evaluated using an in-house via polymerase chain reaction protocol. We also tested all participants for herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), syphilis and HIV. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to evaluate factors associated with MG. RESULTS: MG was detected in 7.2% (49/678) of the patients (men, 7.4%; women, 6.9%). The MG positivity rate was 14.2% among symptomatic patients, and 5.6% for asymptomatic patients, respectively. Only 36.7% (18/49) Mg positive patients were symptomatic. Among the MG-infected patients, 10.2% were co-infected with CT, 6.1% with NG, 8.2% with HSV-2, 4.1% with syphilis and 22.4% with GW. Presentation with clinical symptoms was significantly associated with MG infection [OR = 2.52 (2.03-3.13)]. In our analysis, MG was not associated with other STIs. CONCLUSIONS: MG is a relatively common infection among individuals attending an STI clinic in Guangdong Province. Routine testing of symptomatic patients may be necessary, and more epidemiological studies are needed to provide evidence for future testing guidelines.

Gonorrhea and chlamydia prevalence in different anatomical sites among men who have sex with men: a cross-sectional study in Guangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: A high rectal and oropharyngeal sexually transmitted infection (STI) burden has been reported among men who have sex with men (MSM) in many regions, but little data exists on rectal and oropharyngeal STIs among MSM in China. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of gonorrhea and chlamydia at different anatomic sites among MSM in Guangzhou, China. METHODS: We recruited a cross-sectional sample of MSM in one Chinese city and collected detailed information about socio-demographic characteristics and sexual behaviors. Men had urine, rectal, and pharyngeal swab samples tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia using nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to evaluate factors associated with gonorrhea and chlamydia. Among men without any STI symptoms, we also examined the prevalence of gonorrhea and chlamydia by anatomical site. RESULTS: We enrolled 463 men between January 2015 and March 2017. A total of 58/463 (12.5%) of men had gonorrhea and 84/463 (18.1%) had chlamydia. MSM with gonorrhea were more likely to have been recruited from the STI clinic (OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.94-5.99), living with HIV (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.18-4.92), diagnosed had STI co-infection (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.39-4.69). MSM with chlamydia were more likely to be students (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.99-3.39). Most gonorrhea (34/58, 59%) and chlamydia (64/84, 76%) infections were not associated with STI symptoms. CONCLUSION: Asymptomatic gonorrhea and chlamydia infection were common in this sample of Chinese MSM. Further research is necessary to determine optimal STI screening programs.

Vital role for primary healthcare providers: urgent need to educate the community about daily nutritional self-care to support immune function and maintain health.

The importance of self-care to improve health and social well-being is well recognised. Nevertheless, there remains a need to encourage people to better understand how their body works, and how to keep it healthy. Because of its important role, part of this understanding should be based on why the immune system must be supported. This highly complex system is essential for defending against pathogens, but also for maintaining health throughout the body by preserving homeostasis and integrity. Accordingly, the immune system requires active management for optimal functioning and to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. In addition to regular exercise, healthy sleeping patterns, cultivating mental resilience, adequate nutrition through healthy and diverse dietary habits is key to the daily support of immune function. Diet and the immune system are closely intertwined, and a poor diet will impair immunity and increase the risk of acute and chronic diseases. To help elucidate the roles of primary healthcare providers in supporting individuals to engage in self-care, an international group of experts reviewed the evidence for the roles of the immune system in maintaining health and for nutrition in daily immune support, and discussed implications for population health and clinical practice.

Influence of humic acid and fluvic acid on the altered toxicities of arsenite and arsenate toward two freshwater algae.

Arsenic pollution in freshwater poses a serious threat to aquatic organisms. However, dissolved organic matter (DOM) in water can modulate arsenic environmental toxicity by either suppressing or promoting its bioaccumulation. In this study, we investigated the toxicity, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation of inorganic arsenic (arsenite AsIII and arsenate AsV) combined with two types of DOM, i.e., humic acid (HA) and fulvic acid (FA), in the algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Ochromonas danica. C. reinhardtii has a cell wall and cannot bioaccumulate arsenic complexation, whereas O. danica has no cell wall. Without DOM, AsV was more toxic than AsIII for C. reinhardtii, and AsV was less toxic than AsIII for O. danica. HA and FA addition reduced AsV and AsIII toxicities; the larger molecular weight (Mw) of HA contributed to the reduction in toxicity to an even greater extent, and reduced arsenic accumulation while promoting the biotransformation ability of C. reinhardtii, which has a cell wall. However, HA and FA addition increased AsV and AsIII toxicities and arsenic accumulation while relatively enhancing the biotransformation ability of O. danica, which has no cell wall. Coupling toxicity, bioaccumulation, and biotransformation, DOM (HA and FA) contributed to the altered toxicity of freshwater algae to AsV and AsIII through reduced/increased arsenic accumulation and enhanced biotransformation. Overall, our study considered the combined toxicity of inorganic arsenic and DOM in phytoplankton, helping estimate the potential environmental risk of arsenic in aqueous environments.

Design analysis of miniature quartz resonator using two-dimensional finite element model.

This study focused on 2-D miniature quartz plates. By assigning appropriate boundary condition using finite element modeling (FEM), the vibration of a quartz plate was analyzed for converse piezoelectric effect. The quality and stability of the resonance of a quartz plate was determined by examining changes on the response curve of resonant frequency when the length of plate was decreased or increased. A graphical user interface (GUI) was adopted to assist the finite element software to calculate the frequency responses with different length of a large number of quartz plates, and to conclude a detailed curve of resonant frequency versus size. With this diagram, changes of the resonant mode for quartz plates caused by length variation can be easily observed. An optimum size of the quartz plate is obtained from the curve. Moreover, analyses were also conducted on the electrode coverage of a quartz plate and the mass-loading effect of metallic electrodes for this study, to discuss the influence on the resonant frequencies of quartz plates.