OBJECTIVETo explore the diagnostic value of the dual-energy technique with dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) for anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

METHODSThe clinical data of 8 patients with arthroscopic results were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent two- and three-dimensional imaging by multiplanar reconstruction, volume rendering, and tendon mode on DSCT. Dual-energy characteristics were compared with arthroscopic results.

RESULTSSix patients who were arthroscopically diagnosed as anterior cruciate ligament injuries, all of them were also correctly diagnosed by DSCT. Two patients who were arthroscopically diagnosed as normal, one was also diagnosed as normal by DSCT and the other was misdiagnosed. The overall agreement rate was 87.5% (7/8) . Under the dual energy tendon mode, the dual energy staining of the injured anterior cruciate ligament was lower than that of the contralateral normal cruciate ligament of the patient.

CONCLUSIONThe staining diminution in DSCT imaging may be a new feature that can be used to effectively diagnose anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; methods ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo understand the infectivity and pathogenicity of the plasma of hepatitis E virus (HEV) viremia to primate animals.

METHODSRNA fragment of HEV genotype IV was detected on one healthy donor who was positive for anti-HEV IgM and negative for anti-HEV IgG. Then 10 ml plasma from above donor was transfused to rhesus monkey to observe its infectivity and pathogenicity.

RESULTSAcute hepatitis E was developed in rhesus monkey who accept HEV RNA positive plasma. It was confirmed by virological, immunological, biochemical and histopathological data.

CONCLUSIONAcute hepatitis E can be induced by plasma transfusion of HEV viremia, which indicate the possibility of transfusion transmitted hepatitis E

Acute Disease ; Animals ; Blood Donors ; Hepatitis E ; transmission ; Hepatitis E virus ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Macaca mulatta ; RNA, Viral ; blood ; Transfusion Reaction

Squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 (SCCA1), a member of the ovalbumin family of serine protease inhibitors, includes several variants. It was reported that expression of two SCCA1 (BP and AJ515706) in cells results in increased binding of HBV to these cells by the interaction of the expressed BP and AJ515706 with HBV pre-S1 domain. In this study, a SCCA1 (A1) was isolated from HepG2, but it appears to lack this ability. A possible role of two mutants, A1-BP and BP-A1, constructed by interchanging the carboxyl terminal of A1 and BP, was investigated. Cells expressing A1-BP rather than BP-A1 showed an increased virus binding capacity. Comparison of A1 sequence with the sequence of BP indicated the presence of only three amino acid changes in the carboxyl terminal, two of them in the reactive site loop (RSL) of SCCA1. Primary structure analysis revealed that the hydrophobicity of BP and AJ515706 in this domain is higher than that of A1. Changing the aa349 of A1 from low hydrophobic glutamic acid to high hydrophobic valine enhanced HBV binding. In contrast, changing the aa349 of BP from valine to glutamic acid reduced HBV binding. Our finding suggests that the hydrophobicity of RSL of SCCA1 may play an important role in HBV binding to cells.
Antigens, Neoplasm ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Binding Sites ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; immunology ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Glutamic Acid ; chemistry ; Hepatitis B virus ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions ; Liver Neoplasms ; immunology ; pathology ; Protein Binding ; Receptors, Virus ; metabolism ; Serpins ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Valine ; chemistry

A quantitative real-time PCR assay was developed to measure the proviral load of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in peripheral blood. The technology utilizes special primers and Taqman MGB fluorescence probe to measure amplification products from the gag-pro-pol polyprotein gene of HTLV-I. HTLV-I copy number was normalized to the amount of cellular DNA by quantitation of the beta-actin gene, The amplification system was sensitive to detect 5 copy/microL. The standard curve had a good linearity when the quantity for the gene was between 10(3) and 10(7) copy/microL (R2 = 0.999). Good reproducibility was observed in each intra- and inter-assay. We also measured proviral load in peripheral blood in 12 HTLV-I seropositive former blood donors. Proviral load for HTLV-I infected donors ranged from 0.015 to 12.819 copy/cell in WBC with the mean of 3.116 copy/cell.
Gene Products, gag ; genetics ; Gene Products, pol ; genetics ; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Molecular Probes ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Viral Proteins ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo understand the characteristics of infections from blood donors with HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ in Xiamen area.

METHODSDonors in Xiamen area were assayed by routine ELISA and those with negative results were tested by nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT). HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ samples were tested by quantitative detection of HBV DNA. Epidemiological analysis and following up examination were conducted in HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ donors.

RESULTSOut of 130659 samples 113 were tested as HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ and with a rate of 0.09%. Among those, 62 samples were tested by quantitative detection of HBV DNA. All of the quantitative results were less than 1 × 10³ IU/ml and 93.5% (58/62) of which were less than 100 IU/ml. The possitive rate of HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ donors rose with ages. The possitive rate in male donors was higher than that in female and was lower in highly educated ones. Students and public servants had a lower positive rate.

CONCLUSIONThe possitive rate of HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ donors is higher in Xiamen and the distribution of possitive donors has certain epidemiological characteristics. It is necessary to mobilize and recruit more people with a lower rate of HBsAg⁻/HBV DNA⁺ infection.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Donors ; China ; epidemiology ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Hepatitis B ; epidemiology ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Male ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques

Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection status of blood donors in a southern city in China was investigated by immunological assays and nucleic acid testing. Overall, 17 (0.19%, 95% CI: 0.11%-0.30%) of the 9023 HBsAg negative samples were found to be positive for the presence of HBV DNA. "A" epitope sequences were obtained from 14 among them. Mutation(s) in aa124-aa147 existed in 6 (42.9%, 6/14) samples and 4 (66.7%, 4/6)were G145R mutation. Ratio of genotype C in occult donors (10/17) was statistically higher than HBs-positive donors (0/15, P<0.01), which implied that HBV genotype C leaded to occult infection more easily.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Donors ; China ; epidemiology ; DNA, Viral ; genetics ; Female ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B ; epidemiology ; immunology ; virology ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; genetics ; immunology ; Hepatitis B virus ; classification ; genetics ; immunology ; physiology ; Humans ; Immunologic Tests ; Male ; Mutation ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo estimate the prevalence of parvovirus B19 infection in Chinese Xiamen area blood donors.

METHODSBlood samples from blood donors were tested for detection of parvovirus B19 DNA and antibody. The direct sequencing and genetype analysis of B19 DNA positive samples were performed.

RESULTSSix out of 10452 samples were B19 DNA positive. The viral loads of the 6 samples were between 3.59×10-1.07×10IU/ml; the positive rate of B19-IgM was 4.64%(50/1078) and B19-IgG was 16.79%(181/1078). The positive rate of B19-IgG increased with ages, and was not related with the sex.

CONCLUSIONThe overall prevalence of parvovirus B19 infection in blood donors is lower in Chinese Xiamen area than that in other areas, however, there is still a certain percentage of viremia in donors and the attention should be paid to blood safety in the future work.

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*