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To investigate the influence of preservation methods and processes on the plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) stability.

Objective: Researches on the epidemiology of various respiratory pathogens at multiple testing points in the pediatric population are limited, and these are crucial for the prevention of respiratory tract infections in children. Methods: We obtained 1788 upper respiratory tract swabs from children exhibiting symptoms of respiratory infection (notably fever with a body temperature exceeding 38.5°C) across five hospitals in Guangdong between November 2020 and June 2022. We used the multiplex probe amplification (MPA) PCR testing to identify 11 respiratory viruses and subsequently analyzed the prevalence characteristics of these pathogens among febrile children in hospitals. Results: The overall detection rate of the pathogens was 58.1% (1039/1788). Human rhinovirus (HRV) exhibited the highest detection rate at 19.0% (339/1788), succeeded by human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), human adenovirus (HAdV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The positivity and coinfection rates were higher in children aged 5 years and below compared to those above 5 years. Moreover, a distinct pathogen spectrum was observed across different age groups. Hospitalized patients demonstrated a significantly higher positivity and coinfection rate compared to outpatients. During COVID‐2019, RSV appeared a counter‐seasonal trend. Conclusion: Respiratory viral infections in children display distinct characteristics concerning age, hospitalization status, and seasonality. Children under the age of 5 and minor patients admitted to hospitals at least be tested for RSV, HRV, HPIV, and HAdV. The epidemiological patterns of RSV in the post‐epidemic period require ongoing surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: T follicular helper (Tfh) cells drive humoral immunity by facilitating B cell responses, but the functional role of Tfh cells in the pathogenesis of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) remains unclear., Objectives: This study aimed to establish a rat experimental membranous nephropathy model, investigate the phenotypic characteristics of Tfh cells, and analyze a clinically significant correlation between Tfh cells., Material and Methods: Passive Heymann nephritis (PHN) rats were induced by immunizing Sprague Dawley rats with anti-Fx1A serum. The frequency of Tfh and B cell subsets was analyzed with flow cytometry (FC). The serum concentration of interleukin-21 (IL-21), the relative mRNA expression levels of IL-21 and B cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6) in spleen mononuclear cells (MNCs), and the kidney infiltration of CD4+ T cells and IL-21 were assessed. The potential correlations among these measures were analyzed., Results: In comparison with the control group, significantly increased percentages of Tfh cells, inducible T cell co-stimulator-positive (ICOS+) Tfh cells, and mRNA expression of Bcl-6 were detected in the spleen of PHN rats. Elevated IL-21 expression was detected in the serum and kidneys. Remarkably, the percentage of splenic ICOS+ Tfh cells was positively correlated with 24 h urine protein concentrations (r = 0.676, p = 0.011) in PHN rats., Conclusion: These data indicate that ICOS+ Tfh cells contribute to development of IMN, and they might be potential therapeutic targets for IMN.

Introduction: Thalassemia could interfere with some assays for haemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) measurement, therefore, it is useful to be able to screen for thalassemia while measuring HbA 1c . We used Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (Capillarys 2FP) HbA 1c programme to simultaneously measure HbA 1c and screen for thalassemia., Materials and Methods: Samples from 498 normal controls and 175 thalassemia patients were analysed by Capillarys 2FP HbA 1c programme (Sebia, France). For method comparison, HbA 1c was quantified by Premier Hb9210 (Trinity Biotech, Ireland) in 98 thalassaemia patients samples. For verification, HbA 1c from eight thalassaemia patients was confirmed by IFCC reference method., Results: Among 98 thalassaemia samples, Capillarys 2FP did not provide an HbA 1c result in three samples with HbH due to the overlapping of HbBart's with HbA 1c fraction; for the remaining 95 thalassaemia samples, Bland-Altman plot showed 0.00 ± 0.35% absolute bias between two systems, and a significant positive bias above 7% was observed only in two HbH samples. The HbA 1c values obtained by Capillarys 2FP were consistent with the IFCC targets (relative bias below ± 6%) in all of the eight samples tested by both methods. For screening samples with alpha (α-) thalassaemia silent/trait or beta (β-) thalassemia trait, the optimal HbA 2 cut-off values were ≤ 2.2% and > 2.8%, respectively., Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the Capillarys 2FP HbA 1c system could report an accurate HbA 1c value in thalassemia silent/trait, and HbA 2 value (≤ 2.2% for α-thalassaemia silent/trait and > 2.8% for β-thalassemia trait) and abnormal bands (HbH and/or HbBart's for HbH disease, HbF for β-thalassemia) may provide valuable information for screening., Competing Interests: Potential conflict of interest: None declared.

Introduction: Haemoglobin A 1c (HbA 1c ) is widely used in the management of diabetes. Therefore, the reliability and comparability among different analytical methods for its detection have become very important., Materials and Methods: A comparative evaluation of the analytical performances (precision, linearity, accuracy, method comparison, and interferences including bilirubin, triglyceride, cholesterol, labile HbA 1c (LA 1c ), vitamin C, aspirin, fetal haemoglobin (HbF), and haemoglobin E (Hb E)) were performed on Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (Capillarys 2FP) (Sebia, France), Tosoh HLC-723 G8 (Tosoh G8) (Tosoh, Japan), Premier Hb9210 (Trinity Biotech, Ireland) and Roche Cobas c501 (Roche c501) (Roche Diagnostics, Germany)., Results: A good precision was shown at both low and high HbA 1c levels on all four systems, with all individual CVs below 2% (IFCC units) or 1.5% (NGSP units). Linearity analysis for each analyzer had achieved a good correlation coefficient (R 2 > 0.99) over the entire range tested. The analytical bias of the four systems against the IFCC targets was less than ± 6% (NGSP units), indicating a good accuracy. Method comparison showed a great correlation and agreement between methods. Very high levels of triglycerides and cholesterol (≥ 15.28 and ≥ 8.72 mmol/L, respectively) led to falsely low HbA 1c concentrations on Roche c501. Elevated HbF induced false HbA 1c detection on Capillarys 2FP (> 10%), Tosoh G8 (> 30%), Premier Hb9210 (> 15%), and Roche c501 (> 5%). On Tosoh G8, HbE induced an extra peak on chromatogram, and significantly lower results were reported., Conclusions: The four HbA 1c methods commonly used with commercial analyzers showed a good reliability and comparability, although some interference may falsely alter the result., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Objective: To establish of blood beta hydroxybutyrate (βOHB) threshold for diagnosing type 2 diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) and explore the relationship between βOHB levels and the severity of DKA., Methods: Correlation analysis was performed between serum βOHB and [HCO(3)] in type 2 diabetic patients admitted in the emergency department in the past year. Regression equation was used to calculate the concentration of βOHB corresponding to a [HCO(3)] level of 18.0, 15, and 10.0 mmol/L, and βOHB concentration corresponding to a [HCO(3)] level of 18.0 mmol/l was used as the DKA diagnostic threshold., Results: The serum βOHB level and [HCO3] concentration showed a good correlation (R²=0.7023, P<0.001). βOHB concentrations that corresponded to a [HCO(3)] level of 18.0, 15, and 10.0 mmol/L were 3.0, 4.70, and 7.5 mmol/L, respectively, in accordance with the severity of DKA. Combined with the blood glucose concentration ≥ 13.9 mmol/L, a blood βOHB≥3.0 mmol/L showed a sensitivity of 99%, specificity of 86%, and total effectiveness of 92.81% for diagnosing DKA., Conclusion: A serum βOHB level above 3.0 mmol/L can be used as the diagnostic threshold of DKA. βOHB can serve as an index for assessing the severity of DKA.