Real-World Clinical Characteristics, Management, and Outcomes of 44 Paediatric Patients with Hypopigmented Mycosis Fungoides.

Hypopigmented mycosis fungoides is a rare form of mycosis fungoides that is characterized by achromic lesions, early onset of disease, a predilection for darker skinned populations, and a predominance of CD8+ T cells. Due to the rarity and heterogeneous presentation of hypopigmented mycosis fungoides, there are no criteria that clearly define the clinical characteristics and treatment regimens for this condition. This retrospective study of 44 paediatric patients with hypopigmented mycosis fungoides aimed to summarize their epidemiological and clinical characteristics and assess the effectiveness and safety of different treatment regimens. Clinical manifestations were further classified into 3 morphological groups: hypopigmented lesions, papules overlying hypopigmented lesions, and erythematous plaques overlying hypopigmented lesions. In addition, the results of this study suggest that interferon alpha might be an effective and well-tolerated therapy that could shorten the treatment time to complete response compared with other treatments. Maintenance therapy and long-term follow-up reduced the recurrence rate.

Genomic Elucidation of a COVID-19 Resurgence and Local Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Guangzhou, China.

While China experienced a peak and decline in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases at the start of 2020, regional outbreaks continuously emerged in subsequent months. Resurgences of COVID-19 have also been observed in many other countries. In Guangzhou, China, a small outbreak, involving less than 100 residents, emerged in March and April 2020, and comprehensive and near-real-time genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 was conducted. When the numbers of confirmed cases among overseas travelers increased, public health measures were enhanced by shifting from self-quarantine to central quarantine and SARS-CoV-2 testing for all overseas travelers. In an analysis of 109 imported cases, we found diverse viral variants distributed in the global viral phylogeny, which were frequently shared within households but not among passengers on the same flight. In contrast to the viral diversity of imported cases, local transmission was predominately attributed to two specific variants imported from Africa, including local cases that reported no direct or indirect contact with imported cases. The introduction events of the virus were identified or deduced before the enhanced measures were taken. These results show the interventions were effective in containing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and they rule out the possibility of cryptic transmission of viral variants from the first wave in January and February 2020. Our study provides evidence and emphasizes the importance of controls for overseas travelers in the context of the pandemic and exemplifies how viral genomic data can facilitate COVID-19 surveillance and inform public health mitigation strategies.

Driving role of climatic and socioenvironmental factors on human brucellosis in China: machine-learning-based predictive analyses.

BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is a common zoonotic infectious disease in China. This study aimed to investigate the incidence trends of brucellosis in China, construct an optimal prediction model, and analyze the driving role of climatic factors for human brucellosis. METHODS: Using brucellosis incidence, and the socioeconomic and climatic data for 2014-2020 in China, we performed spatiotemporal analyses and calculated correlations with brucellosis incidence in China, developed and compared a series of regression and Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average X (SARIMAX) models for brucellosis prediction based on socioeconomic and climatic data, and analyzed the relationship between extreme weather conditions and brucellosis incidence using copula models. RESULTS: In total, 327,456 brucellosis cases were reported in China in 2014-2020 (monthly average of 3898 cases). The incidence of brucellosis was distinctly seasonal, with a high incidence in spring and summer and an average annual peak in May. The incidence rate was highest in the northern regions' arid and continental climatic zones (1.88 and 0.47 per million people, respectively) and lowest in the tropics (0.003 per million people). The incidence of brucellosis showed opposite trends of decrease and increase in northern and southern China, respectively, with an overall severe epidemic in northern China. Most regression models using socioeconomic and climatic data cannot predict brucellosis incidence. The SARIMAX model was suitable for brucellosis prediction. There were significant negative correlations between the proportion of extreme weather values for both high sunshine and high humidity and the incidence of brucellosis as follows: high sunshine, [Formula: see text] = -0.59 and -0.69 in arid and temperate zones; high humidity, [Formula: see text] = -0.62, -0.64, and -0.65 in arid, temperate, and tropical zones. CONCLUSIONS: Significant seasonal and climatic zone differences were observed for brucellosis incidence in China. Sunlight, humidity, and wind speed significantly influenced brucellosis. The SARIMAX model performed better for brucellosis prediction than did the regression model. Notably, high sunshine and humidity values in extreme weather conditions negatively affect brucellosis. Brucellosis should be managed according to the "One Health" concept.

Virologic and clinical characteristics of HBV genotypes/subgenotypes in 487 Chinese pediatric patients with CHB.

BACKGROUND: The association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes/subgenotypes with clinical characteristics is increasingly recognized. However, the virologic and clinical features of HBV genotypes/subgenotypes in pediatric patients remain largely unknown. METHODS: Four hundred and eighty-seven pediatric inpatients with CHB were investigated, including 217 nucleos(t)ide analog-experienced patients. HBV genotypes/subgenotypes and reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations were determined by direct sequencing. The stage of fibrosis and degree of inflammatory activity were evaluated by the Metavir score system. RESULTS: Among 487 enrolled pediatric patients, HBV genotype C2 and B2 were the most two prevalent (73.7% and 21.1%). Comparing with HBV/B2 infected patients, no significant difference was observed in the incidence rate and mutant patterns of lamivudine- or adefovir-resistant mutations in HBV/C2 infected patients (P > 0.05). Importantly, we found that the degree of hepatic inflammation degree, fibrosis stage and ALT level were significantly higher in HBV/C2-infected HBeAg positive patients than it was in HBV/B2-infected ones. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatric patients with HBV/C2 infection might be more susceptible to develop severe liver pathogenesis.

Quarantine methods and prevention of secondary outbreak of pandemic (H1N1) 2009.

During the 2009 influenza (H1N1) pandemic, some countries used quarantine for containment or mitigation. Of 152 quarantined university students we studied, risk for illness was higher for students quarantined in a room with a person with a confirmed case; we found no difference between students quarantined in double or single rooms.

The synergy of diammonium glycyrrhizinate remarkably reduces the toxicity of oxymatrine in ICR mice.

Most traditional Chinese medicine prescription dosages are imprecise. This study analyzes the toxicities and adverse effects of a combination the active ingredients of licorice and Kushen medicine: oxymatrine (OMT) and diammonium glycyrrhizinate (DG). The median lethal dose (LD50) and mortality were analyzed in single-dose OMT (or DG) intraperitoneally injected mice with or without combination DG (or OMT). Body weight changes as well as levels of serum sodium and potassium, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), creatinine, and urea were measured in mice treated with a daily dose of OMT and/or DG for 14days. This study showed that the LD50 of OMT for males and females were 347.44 and 429.15mg/kg, respectively. The LD50 of DG were 525.10 and 997.26mg/kg for males and females, respectively. DG significantly decreased the mice LD50-induced mortality of the OMT, however OMT did not succeed in reducing the LD50-induced mortality rate of DG. The combination of OMT and DG obviously attenuated the changes of the body weight, serum sodium, and potassium induced by DG or OMT alone. These results suggested that toxicity and adverse effects of the OMT was significantly attenuated by DG. The OMT neutralized the adverse effects of the DG, but not the toxicity.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell traffic plays a crucial role in mother-to-infant transmission of hepatitis B virus.

The role of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in HBV intrauterine infection is not fully defined. Particularly the origin of PBMCs in HBV-infected neonates remains to be addressed. We carried out a population-based nested case-control study by enrolling 312 HBsAg-positive mothers and their babies. PBMC HBV DNA as well as serum HBsAg and HBV DNA was tested in cohort entry samples. Totally, 45.5% (142/312) of the newborns were found to be infected with HBV in perinatal transmission. 119 mother-infant pairs were identified to be different in the genetic profile of maternal and fetal PBMCs by AS-PCR and hemi-nested PCR. Among them, 57.1% (68/119) of the maternal PBMCs in index cases were positive for HBV DNA while 83.8% (57/68) of the HBV DNA positive maternal PBMCs passed the placental barrier and entered the fetus. Furthermore, maternal PBMC HBV infection was significantly associated with newborn infants HBV infection. PBMC traffic from mother to fetus resulted in a 9.5-fold increased risk of HBV infection in PBMC HBV DNA positive newborn infants. These data indicate that maternal PBMCs infected with HBV contribute to HBV intrauterine infection of newborn infants via PBMC traffic from mother to fetus.

[Virulence genes and pathogenicity of Shigella flexneri Xv isolated in Beijing].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the biochemical characteristics, virulence genes and pathogenicity of Shigella flexneri Xv isolated in Beijing. METHODS: 61 strains of S. flexneri Xv isolated from diarrhea patients in Beijing were systematically determined through biochemical reactions and serological tests. Application of PCR technique in detection of virulence genes on ipaH, sen, virF, ial and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to identify the related characteristics and on rat lung slices to determine its pathogenicity. RESULTS: All of the S. flexneri Xv could ferment glucose, mannitol, melibiose and arabinose. Using serum agglutination, we found that the antigen structure was (IV: 7, 8). IpaH, sen, virF and ial that carried rates of virulence genes appeared to be 100%, 81.97%, 75.41% and 80.30%, respectively. Among 61 strains of S. flexneri Xv, the PFGE typing of Shigella bacteria could be divided into 25 belt types while the results from rat lung slices showed inflammatory change of Xv. CONCLUSION: S. flexneri Xv was found that it carried high rate of Shigella virulence genes, exhibiting genetic polymorphism and highly invasive.

DNA probe functionalized QCM biosensor based on gold nanoparticle amplification for Bacillus anthracis detection.

The rapid detection of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax disease, has gained much attention since the anthrax spore bioterrorism attacks in the United States in 2001. In this work, a DNA probe functionalized quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) biosensor was developed to detect B. anthracis based on the recognition of its specific DNA sequences, i.e., the 168 bp fragment of the Ba813 gene in chromosomes and the 340 bp fragment of the pag gene in plasmid pXO1. A thiol DNA probe was immobilized onto the QCM gold surface through self-assembly via Au-S bond formation to hybridize with the target ss-DNA sequence obtained by asymmetric PCR. Hybridization between the target DNA and the DNA probe resulted in an increase in mass and a decrease in the resonance frequency of the QCM biosensor. Moreover, to amplify the signal, a thiol-DNA fragment complementary to the other end of the target DNA was functionalized with gold nanoparticles. The results indicate that the DNA probe functionalized QCM biosensor could specifically recognize the target DNA fragment of B. anthracis from that of its closest species, such as Bacillus thuringiensis, and that the limit of detection (LOD) reached 3.5 × 10(2)CFU/ml of B. anthracis vegetative cells just after asymmetric PCR amplification, but without culture enrichment. The DNA probe functionalized QCM biosensor demonstrated stable, pollution-free, real-time sensing, and could find application in the rapid detection of B. anthracis.

Association between the frequency of class II HLA antigens and the susceptibility to intrauterine infection of hepatitis B virus.

Multiple factors determine the susceptibility to intrauterine hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. These factors include the HBV structure, HBV mutation, HBV DNA level, placental barrier, the immune status of the mother, and the genetic make-ups of the newborn infants. Since HLA system is an integral component of the immune response, we hypothesized that the highly polymorphic HLA genes are the key determinants of intrauterine HBV infection. In this study, we selected newborn infants of HBsAg-positive mothers, and divided the infants into 2 groups: intrauterine infection group and non-intrauterine infection group according to the status whether or not they were infected at birth. Each infected infant was compared with 2 controls from the same birth cohort. HLA-DR allele typing was performed using a PCR-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) for 24 subjects with intrauterine infection and 48 controls without infection. We found that, among the fifteen (15) HLA-DR alleles assessed, HLA-DRB1*07 was the one, and the only one, significantly in excess (OR = 6.66, P = 0.004) in the intrauterine infection group compared to the non-intrauterine infection group. Our findings thus suggest that high frequency of HLA class II molecules, e.g. HLA-DRB1*07, is associated with the susceptibility of the infants to intrauterine HBV infection.