In 2011, as part of the World Health Organization global reporting tool to collect data on the progress of improving the health sector response to HIV/AIDS towards universal access, a questionnaire was sent to ministries of health of Western Pacific Region Member States on the scope and functioning of their HIV surveillance systems. Of the 17 countries that responded, 13 were low- to middle-income countries and four were high-income countries. Regular serosurveillance surveys are conducted with female sex workers in all lower- and middle-income countries that responded to the survey but less so with people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men. Furthermore, there are no surveillance activities of the key populations in most of the Pacific island countries. It is recommended that estimations of high-risk populations be conducted in priority Pacific island countries and tailored surveillance systems be designed. Efforts should also be made to gather and accumulate data from sufficient geographic coverage to allow the HIV epidemic to continue to be monitored.

Objective To detect food-specific IgE and IgG in patients with psoriasis.Methods Serum samples were collected from 102 patients with psoriasis,30 patients with chronic eczema,30 patients with chronic urticaria,and 30 healthy check-up examinees.Food-specific IgE and IgG were detected by commercial kits in these samples.Results No significant difference was observed in the detection rate of food-specific IgE or IgG among patients with psoriasis,patients with chronic eczema and patients with chronic urticaria (both P ＞ 0.05).Meanwhile,the detection rate of food-specific IgE and IgG in healthy examinees were statistically different from those in the three groups of patients (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Food allergens seem to be implicated in the development of psoriasis.Moreover,the sources and kinds of food allergens in patients with psoriasis differ from those in patients with chronic eczema and patients with chronic urticaria,which deserves further research.

Disease-associated autoantibodies (AAB) are important for the diagnosis of respective autoimmune diseases (AID).Autoantibodies can also be used for monitoring of response to therapy and for prognostic purpose.However,significant biological heterogeneity of autoantibody response,the difficulty in simultaneously improving detection sensitivity and specificity of autoantibodies and the lack of standardization in detection methods lead to limitations in its clinical applications and some difficulties in explaining the test results.It is important to search for novel autoantibodies in sera,to establish and standardize automated detection platforms with good quality and to perform well-designed clinical evaluation in the future research and clinical applications of autoantibodies.

Problem:Size estimates of key populations at higher risk of HIV exposure are recognized as critical for understanding the trajectory of the HIV epidemic and planning and monitoring an effective response, especially for countries with concentrated and low epidemics such as those in Asia. Context:To help countries estimate population sizes of key populations, global guidelines were updated in 2011 to reflect new technical developments and recent field experiences in applying these methods. Action:In September 2013, a meeting of programme managers and experts experienced with population size estimates (PSE) for key populations was held for 13 Asian countries. This article summarizes the key results presented, shares practical lessons learnt and reviews the methodological approaches from implementing PSE in 13 countries. Lessons learnt:It is important to build capacity to collect, analyse and use PSE data; establish a technical review group; and implement a transparent, well documented process. Countries should adapt global PSE guidelines and maintain operational definitions that are more relevant and useable for country programmes. Development of methods for non-venue-based key populations requires more investment and collaborative efforts between countries and among partners.

ObjectiveTo understand the difference in characteristics between juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and adult dermatomyositis (ADM).Methods Sixty-one cases of JDM were retrospectively analyzed and compared with 30 cases of ADM. Results The rashes were presented as the initial symptom in all expect one JDM patients. Gottron’s papules were presented in 90% JDM patients and 67% ADM patients. Calcium deposition was presented in 7% JDM patients and none of the ADM patients. The cardiovascular system was involved in 7 % JDM patients and 23% ADM patients. Cancer occurred in none of JDM patients and 13% ADM patients. In JDM and ADM patients, the ratio of elevated muscle enzymes from highest to lowest was LDH, hy-droxybutyric acid enzyme, CK-MB, AST, and CK. The positive ratio of magnetic resonance (MRI) all exceeded 80% in JDM and ADM groups. Two cases died in each group.Conclusions The clinical presentation of JDM is basically the same as that of ADM. The most common initial symptoms in JDM are skin rashes and Gottron's papules. Cardiovascular disease and cancer are less in JDM than in ADM. MRI is valuable in the diagnosis of DM.

Objective To explore susceptibility of praziquantel(PQT) against Schistosoma japonicum in the repeated chemotherapy areas in Dongting Lake region of China. Methods Sixty mice were divided into two groups, and infected respectively by cercariae released from the infected snails which were collected from new and old endemic areas. After 5 weeks, the mice in each group were divided into control groups and treatment groups (PQT group). The mice in each PQT group were treated with a single oral dose of praziquantel (600 mg/kg). Three weeks post treatment, mice were dissected, and the number of adults, the stool eggs per gram (EPG), the liver EPG and the hatching rates were observed. Results The worm reduction rates of the PQT groups of new and old epidemic areas were 98.24% and 98.71% respectively, and the stool egg reduction rates 99.94% and 99.64%, the liver egg reduction rates 75.85% and 73.10%,and there were no significant differences between the new and old endemic areas. The stool hatching test was positive in the control groups, and negative in the PQT groups. Conclusion Susceptibility of praziquantel against Schistosoma japonicum does not decrease in repeated chemotherapy areas in Dongting Lake region.

Objective: To explore the feasibility of high-throughput texture analysis in the distinction of single brain metastases (SBM) from high-grade gliomas (HGG) and validate the established model. Methods: A total of 86 patients who were histologically diagnosed with SBM or HGG were retrospectively collected, including 43 patients with SBM and 43 with HGG. All of patients were performed preoperative conventional head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. A total of 236 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLALR) images containing the information of tumors were selected from the MRI images and each image was considered as an object. The training set had 200 images, including 106 from SBM group and 94 from HGG group, whereas the validation set had 36 images, including 19 from SBM group and 17 from HGG. After images preprocessing, images segmentation, features extraction, and features selection, a radiomic diagnostic model was finally established using the training set. The diagnostic performance of the diagnostic model was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Hierarchical clustering analysis was used to evaluate the quality of the extracted feature data and the classification effect of the model. The model was further validated using the independent validation set. Results: A total of 629 features were extracted and quantified from each sample, and 41 features were selected to establish feature subsets and the diagnostic model. The classification decision function of the model is f(x)=sign and the kernel function of the model is K(x, x_i)=exp. In the training set, the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 0.845, 0.849, 0.840, 0.857 and 0.832, respectively. The area under the ROC curve reached to 0.939. Similar results were obtained in the validation set. Conclusion The high-throughput texture analysis shows high accuracy in differentiating SBM from HGG.

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic systemic autoimmune disease, is characterized by synovitis and progressive damage to the bone and cartilage of the joints, leading to disability and reduced quality of life. This study was a randomized clinical trial comparing the outcomes between withdrawal and dose reduction of tofacitinib in patients with RA who achieved sustained disease control. METHODS: The study was designed as a multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial. Eligible patients who were taking tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily) and had achieved sustained RA remission or low disease activity (disease activity score in 28 joints [DAS28] ≤3.2) for at least 3 months were enrolled at six centers in Shanghai, China. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to one of three treatment groups: continuation of tofacitinib (5 mg twice daily); reduction in tofacitinib dose (5 mg daily); and withdrawal of tofacitinib. Efficacy and safety were assessed up to 6 months. RESULTS: Overall, 122 eligible patients were enrolled, with 41 in the continuation group, 42 in the dose-reduction group, and 39 in the withdrawal group. After 6 months, the percentage of patients with a DAS28-erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) of <3.2 was significantly lower in the withdrawal group than that in the reduction and continuation groups (20.5%, 64.3%, and 95.1%, respectively; P  < 0.0001 for both comparisons). The average flare-free time was 5.8 months for the continuation group, 4.7 months for the dose reduction group, and 2.4 months for the withdrawal group. CONCLUSION: Withdrawal of tofacitinib in patients with RA with stable disease control resulted in a rapid and significant loss of efficacy, while standard or reduced doses of tofacitinib maintained a favorable state. TRIAL REGISTRATION Chictr.org, ChiCTR2000039799.
Humans ; Quality of Life ; China ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Piperidines/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome ; Antirheumatic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Pyrroles/therapeutic use*