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Abstract Background Previous studies showed that soluble IL-2Rα is an important marker of cellular immune activation and might be a marker of treatment efficacy for children with brucellosis. However, data regarding adult patients with brucellosis were unknown. The aim of study was to explore the potential role of serum sIL-2Rα evaluating treatment responses in adult patients with brucellosis, and T cell immune status was also examined. Methods During January 2016–April 2017, 30 patients with acute brucellosis from the Third People’s Hospital of Linfen in Shanxi Province and Beijing Di Tan Hospital, and 28 healthy controls were included in this study. Peripheral blood samples were collected before and after six weeks of antibiotic treatment. Serum sIL-2Rα levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the percentage of Th1, Th2, Tc1, Tc2, and Tregs was detected by flow cytometry after intracellular staining for cytokines (interferon-γ and interleukin-4) and Foxp3 in T lymphocytes from peripheral blood. The obtained data were analyzed with Wilcoxon ranked sum tests for paired values, Mann-Whitney U-tests for comparisons between patients and healthy controls, and Spearman rank tests for correlation analyses. Results Serum sIL-2Rα levels were significantly higher in patients than in controls (P = 0.001). A significant decline was observed in patients after the cessation of treatment (P 0.05). Th1, Tc1, Th2, and Tc2 cell frequencies were higher in patients than in healthy subjects (P

BACKGROUND: Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is an emerging infectious disease in immunocompromised hosts. However, the clinical characteristics of these patients are poorly understood in mainland China. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of PCP from 2008 to 2012. Information was collected regarding clinical manifestations, hospitalization, and outcome. A prognostic analysis was performed using a Cox regression model. RESULTS: 151 cases of PCP were included; 46 non-HIV and 105 HIV cases. All-cause mortality (15.2% vs. 12.4%, p = 0.64) and the results of time-to-event analysis (log-rank test, p = 0.62) were similar between non-HIV and HIV infected cases, respectively. From 2008 to 2012, time from admission to initial treatment in non-HIV infected PCP patients showed declining trend [median (range) 20 (9-44) vs. 12 (4-24) vs. 9 (2-23) vs. 7 (2-22) vs. 7 (1-14) days]. A similar trend was observed for all-cause mortality (33.3% vs. 20.0% vs.14.3% vs. 14.3% vs. 6.7%). Patients with four or more of the following clinical manifestations (cough, dyspnea, fever, chest pain, and weight loss) [adjusted HR (AHR) 29.06, 95% CI 2.13-396.36, P = 0.01] and admission to intensive care unit (ICU) [AHR 22.55, 95% CI 1.36-375.06, P = 0.03] were independently associated with all-cause mortality in non-HIV infected PCP patients. Variables associated with mortality in HIV infected PCP patients were admission to ICU (AHR 72.26, 95% CI 11.76-443.87, P

Several real-time analyses are conducted to explain the various clinical characteristics of the initial cases, where in the patients were suspected to be affected by the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. The results demonstrate the presence of a mild illness in these analyzed cases.

To the Editor: Japanese encephalitis (JE) epidemics have occurred only in Asia. More than 50,000 cases of JE with ≅ 10,000 deaths have been reported since 1998 (1,2). The People's [...]

Abstract Room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of purely organic materials is easily quenched with unexpected purposes because the excited triplet state is extremely susceptible to external stimuli. How to stabilize the RTP property of purely organic luminogens is still challenging and considered as the bottleneck in the further advancement of the bottom‐up approach. Here, we describe a gated strategy that can effectively harness RTP by employing complexation/dissociation with proton. Due to the order‐disorder transition orientation of intermolecular packing, the RTP of organic molecules 2,4,6‐tris(4′‐bromo‐[1,1′‐biphenyl]‐4‐yl)‐1,3,5‐triazine (Br‐TRZ) will easily vanish upon mechanical force. Impressively, by enhancing its intramolecular charge transfer effect, the protonated Br‐TRZ stubbornly possesses an obvious RTP under external grinding, whatever in the ordered or disordered intermolecular arrangement state. Consequently, the “Lock” gate of RTP was achieved in the protonated Br‐TRZ molecule. Combined with theoretical calculation analysis, the enhanced charge transfer effect can narrow the singlet−triplet energy gap significantly, and stabilize the RTP property of triazine derivative sequentially. Furthermore, the locked RTP can be tuned via proton and counterions repeatedly and show excellent reversibility. This gated RTP concept provides an effective strategy for stabilizing the RTP emission of purely organic systems.

The development of non-invasive, rapid responsive phosphorescence is highly desirable but has rarely been described. Herein, the authors designed and prepare a series of molecular rotors containing a room temperature phosphorescence active triazine core and three bromobiphenyl units acting as rotors and demonstrate light stimulus triggered phosphorescence.

In remote sensing image processing, the traditional fusion algorithm is based on the Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) transformation. This method does not take into account the texture or spectrum information, spatial resolution and statistical information of the photos adequately, which leads to spectrum distortion of the image. Although traditional solutions in such application combine manifold methods, the fusion procedure is rather complicated and not suitable for practical operation. In this paper, an improved IHS transformation fusion algorithm based on the local variance weighting scheme is proposed for remote sensing images. In our proposal, firstly, the local variance of the SPOT (which comes from French "Systeme Probatoire d'Observation dela Tarre" and means "earth observing system") image is calculated by using different sliding windows. The optimal window size is then selected with the images being normalized with the optimal window local variance. Secondly, the power exponent is chosen as the mapping function, and the local variance is used to obtain the weight of the I component and match SPOT images. Then we obtain the I' component with the weight, the I component and the matched SPOT images. Finally, the final fusion image is obtained by the inverse Intensity-Hue-Saturation transformation of the I', H and S components. The proposed algorithm has been tested and compared with some other image fusion methods well known in the literature. Simulation result indicates that the proposed algorithm could obtain a superior fused image based on quantitative fusion evaluation indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Observational studies from Asia suggest that maxingshigan–yinqiaosan may be effective in the treatment of acute H1N1 influenza. Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of oseltamivir and maxingshigan–yinqiaosan in treating uncomplicated H1N1 influenza. Design: Prospective, nonblinded, randomized, controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00935194) Setting: Eleven hospitals from 4 provinces in China. Patients: 410 young adults aged 15 to 59 years with laboratoryconfirmed H1N1 influenza. Intervention: Oseltamivir, 75 mg twice daily; maxingshigan– yinqiaosan decoction (composed of 12 Chinese herbal medicines, including honey-fried Herba Ephedrae), 200 mL 4 times daily; oseltamivir plus maxingshigan–yinqiaosan; or no intervention (control). Interventions and control were given for 5 days. Measurements: Primary outcome was time to fever resolution. Secondary outcomes included symptom scores and viral shedding determined by using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Results: Significant reductions in the estimated median time to fever resolution compared with the control group (26.0 hours [95% CI, 24.0 to 33.0 hours]) were seen with oseltamivir (34% [95% CI, 20% to 46%]; P < 0.001), maxingshigan–yinqiaosan (37% [CI, 23% to 49%]; P < 0.001), and oseltamivir plus maxingshigan– yinqiaosan (47% [CI, 35% to 56%]; P < 0.001). Time to fever resolution was reduced by 19% (CI, 0.3% to 34%; P = 0.05) with oseltamivir plus maxingshigan–yinqiaosan compared with oseltamivir. The interventions and control did not differ in terms of decrease in symptom scores (P = 0.38). Two patients who received maxingshigan–yinqiaosan reported nausea and vomiting. Limitations: Participants were young and had mild H1N1 influenza virus infection. Missing viral data precluded definitive conclusions about viral shedding. Conclusion: Oseltamivir and maxingshigan–yinqiaosan, alone and in combination, reduced time to fever resolution in patients with H1N1 influenza virus infection. These data suggest that maxingshigan– yinqiaosan may be used as an alternative treatment of H1N1 influenza virus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this study is to assess 1) the relationship between plasma antipsychotic drug concentration, serum prolactin levels and the clinical efficacy of risperidone, 2) the relationship between the CYP2D6 polymorphisms and metabolizing of risperidone and 3) the role of 9-hydroxyrisperidone in elevating prolactin levels. One-hundred and eighteen Chinese schizophrenia patients (40 males, 78 females, age 15-60 years) were given risperidone at dosages ranging from 2-8 mg/day for 8 weeks. Clinical efficacy was determined using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scores (BPRS). Serum prolactin levels were assayed before and after the 8 week treatment and plasma risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone levels were also measured at the end of the 8-week treatment. The results showed there was no significant correlation between the concentration of active moiety and clinical response. Risperidone treatment significantly increased serum prolactin levels. Furthermore, changes of prolactin levels were not correlated with the clinical response. For the risperidone/ 9-hydroxyrisperidone ratio, there was a statistically significant difference among the CYP2D6*1/*1, *1/*10, *10/*10 genotypes (Kruskal-Wallis test, p = 0.012). No significant differences were found in the concentration of 9-hydroxyrisperidone and active moiety among the genotypes. In addition, the concentration of 9-hydroxyrisperidone was not significantly correlated with the increase of serum prolactin. In conclusion, our study has, for the first time, produced evidence that in Chinese schizophrenic patients, the metabolism of risperidone is dependent on CYP2D6. Neither changes in serum prolactin levels nor plasma concentration of active moiety were significantly correlated with clinical efficacy of risperidone. 9-hydroxyrisperidone may not play a predominant role in elevating serum prolactin level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that in the pathogenesis of mental retardation (MR), both genetic and environmental factors (particularly iodine deficiency) appear to play a critical role. Transthyretin (TTR) transports between 20% and 30% of serum thyroxine in normal individuals and it is the main T4–binding protein in CSF. Variability in the TTR gene may influence risk for iodine–deficiency–based MR. The SNPs we selected from dbSNP were detected and identified using ARMS–PCR and sequencing methods, and we identified five novel sequence variants. Singular–locus association analysis indicated no association between the TTR gene and MR. In haplotype analysis, however, we found a haplotype CGTG+ (rs723744/G+6649C/T+6690C/rs2276382/del9) showed a weak positive association with MR ( χ 2 = 6.699, p = 0.035). Finally, we concluded that the weak positive result is more likely to be due to sampling error and the small size of this haplotype resulting from its relative low frequency. Our negative results provide no evidence that variants of TTR gene influence susceptibility to MR in the iodine–deficient areas of China and suggest that there may be a compensatory mechanism(s) in humans and mice, which work(s) to compensate the effect ofmutation in the TTR gene on MR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The immunoregulatory functions of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the development and progression of some chronic infectious diseases are mediated by immune checkpoint molecules and immunosuppressive cytokines. However, little is known about the immunosuppressive functions of Tregs in human brucellosis, which is a major burden in low-income countries. In this study, expressions of immune checkpoint molecules and Treg-related cytokines in patients with acute and chronic Brucella infection were evaluated to explore their impact at different stages of infection. Methods Forty patients with acute brucellosis and 19 patients with chronic brucellosis admitted to the Third People’s Hospital of Linfen in Shanxi Province between August 2016 and November 2017 were enrolled. Serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from patients before antibiotic treatment and from 30 healthy subjects. The frequency of Tregs (CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ T cells) and expression of CTLA-4, GITR, and PD-1 on Treg cells were detected by flow cytometry. Levels of Treg-related cytokines, including IL-35, TGF-β1, and IL-10, were measured by customised multiplex cytokine assays using the Luminex platform. Results The frequency of Tregs was higher in chronic patients than in healthy controls (P = 0.026) and acute patients (P = 0.042); The frequency of CTLA-4+ Tregs in chronic patients was significantly higher than that in healthy controls (P = 0.011). The frequencies of GITR+ and PD-1+ Tregs were significantly higher in acute and chronic patients than in healthy controls (P 0.05). Serum TGF-β1 levels were higher in chronic patients (P = 0.029) and serum IL-10 levels were higher in acute patients (P = 0.033) than in healthy controls. We detected weak correlations between serum TGF-β1 levels and the frequencies of Tregs (R = 0.309, P = 0.031) and CTLA-4+ Tregs (R = 0.302, P = 0.035). Conclusions Treg cell immunity is involved in the chronicity of Brucella infection and indicates the implication of Tregs in the prognosis of brucellosis. CTLA-4 and TGF-β1 may contribute to Tregs-mediated immunosuppression in the chronic infection stage of a Brucella infection.

Hemorrhagic fevers (HF) caused by viruses and bacteria are a major public health problem in China and characterized by variable clinical manifestations, such that it is often difficult to achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment. The causes of HF in 85 patients admitted to Dandong hospital, China, between 2011-2012 were determined by serological and PCR tests. Of these, 34 patients were diagnosed with Huaiyangshan hemorrhagic fever (HYSHF), 34 with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), one with murine typhus, and one with scrub typhus. Etiologic agents could not be determined in the 15 remaining patients. Phylogenetic analyses of recovered bacterial and viral sequences revealed that the causative infectious agents were closely related to those described in other geographical regions. As these diseases have no distinctive clinical features in their early stage, only 13 patients were initially accurately diagnosed. The distinctive clinical features of HFRS and HYSHF developed during disease progression. Enlarged lymph nodes, cough, sputum, and diarrhea were more common in HYSHF patients, while more HFRS cases presented with headache, sore throat, oliguria, percussion pain kidney area, and petechiae. Additionally, HYSHF patients displayed significantly lower levels of white blood cells (WBC), higher levels of creations kinase (CK) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), while HFRS patients presented with an elevation of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CREA). These clinical features will assist in the accurate diagnosis of both HYSHF and HFRS. Overall, our data reveal the complexity of pathogens causing HFs in a single Chinese hospital, and highlight the need for accurate early diagnosis and a better understanding of their distinctive clinical features.