Defining RSV epidemic season in southwest China and assessing the relationship between birth month and RSV infection: A 10-year retrospective study from June 2009 to May 2019.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). However, only limited information is available regarding its seasonality and its relationship with birth month. A retrospective hospital-based study was carried out from June 2009 to May 2019 in Chongqing, southwest of China. LRTI cases under 5 years were enrolled in this study and PCR was used to detect 8 respiratory viruses. RSV seasonality was determined using "average annual percentage" (AAP) and "percent positivity" method. A total of 6991 cases were enrolled in this study, with an RSV positivity of 34.5%. From June 2009 to May 2019, we analyzed RSV epidemic season during 10 RSV epidemic years in Chongqing using two methods. The result of AAP method was similar to that of percent positivity method with a 30% threshold, which showed an epidemic season of roughly October to March in the subsequent year, with a small peak in June. On average, the RSV epidemic season in RSV-A dominant years typically started earlier (week 42 for RSV-A vs. week 46 for RSV-B), ended earlier (week 12 for RSV-A vs. week 14 for RSV-B), lasted longer (24 weeks for RSV-A vs. 22 weeks for RSV-B), and reached its peak earlier (week 2 for RSV-A vs. week 3 for RSV-B) than in RSV-B dominant years. The proportion of severe LRTI was higher in cases of single infection with RSV-A compared to those of single infection with RSV-B (26.3% vs. 22.3%, p = 0.024). Among infants under 1 year, those born in May and August through December were more likely to be infected with RSV. Infants born 1-2 months before the epidemic season were relatively more susceptible to RSV infection. In Chongqing, the RSV epidemic was seasonal and usually lasted from October to March of next year with a small peak in summer. Infants born 1-2 months before the epidemic season were relatively more susceptible to RSV infection and this population should be targeted while developing RSV immunization strategies.

Lipid nanoparticle encapsulated oleic acid induced lipotoxicity to hepatocytes via ROS overload and the DDIT3/BCL2/BAX/Caspases signaling in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: To date, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver disease associated with clinical complications. Dietary fatty acids have been suggested to be involved in preventing or reversing the accumulation of hepatic fat. However, contradicting roles of monounsaturated fatty acids to the liver have been implicated in various human and murine models, mainly due to the insolubility nature of fatty acids. METHODS: High pressure homogenization methods were used to fabricate oleic acid embedded lipid nanoparticles (OALNs). The in vitro and in vivo models were used to validate the physiological effect of this OALNs via various cellular and molecular approaches including cell viability essay, fluorescent staining, electron microscope, RNAseq, qPCR, Western blots, and IHC staining. RESULTS: We successfully fabricated OALNs with enhanced stability and solubility. More importantly, lipid accumulation was successfully induced in hepatocytes via the application of OALNs in a dose-dependent manner. Overload of OALNs resulted in ROS accumulation and apoptosis of hepatocytes dose-dependently. With the help of transcriptome sequencing and traditional experimental approaches, we demonstrated that the lipotoxic effect induced by OALNs was exerted via the DDIT3/BCL2/BAX/Caspases signaling. Moreover, we also verified that OALNs induced steatosis and subsequent apoptosis in the liver of mice via the activation of DDIT3 in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: In all, our results established a potential pathogenic model of NAFLD for further studies and indicated the possible involvement of DDIT3 signaling in abnormal steatosis process of the liver.

Impact of continuous quality improvement initiatives on clinical outcomes in peritoneal dialysis.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the role of a quality improvement initiative in improving clinical outcomes in peritoneal dialysis (PD). METHODS: In a retrospective analysis of 6 years of data from a hospital registry, the period between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2008 (control group) provided baseline data from before implementation of systemic outcomes monitoring, and the period between 1 July 2008 and 30 June 2011 [continuous quality improvement (CQI) group] represented the time when a CQI program was in place. Peritonitis incidence, patient and technique survival, cardiovascular status, causes of death, and drop-out were compared between the groups. RESULTS: In the 370 patients of the CQI group and the 249 patients of the control group, the predominant underlying kidney diseases were chronic glomerulonephritis and diabetic nephropathy. After implementation of the CQI initiative, the peritonitis rate declined to 1 episode in 77.25 patient-months from 1 episode in 22.86 patient-months. Ultrasound parameters of cardiac structure were generally unchanged in the CQI group, but significant increases in cardiothoracic ratio and interventricular septal thickness were observed in the control group (both p < 0.05). Patient survival at 1, 2, and 3 years was significantly higher in the CQI group (97.3%, 96.3%, and 96.3% respectively) than in the control group (92.6%, 82.4%, and 67.3% respectively, p < 0.001). Implementation of the CQI initiative also appeared to significantly improve technique survival rates: 95.6%, 92.6%, and 92.6% in the CQI group compared with 89.6%, 79.2%, and 76.8% in the control group (p < 0.001) after 1, 2, and 3 years respectively. CONCLUSION: Integration of a CQI process into a PD program can significantly improve the quality of therapy and its outcomes.