Objective:To investigate the trajectories of intrinsic capacity in older adults and explore the impact of leisure activities on the decline of intrinsic capacity.Methods:This study is a prospective cohort study conducted in a community in Beijing, China.A convenience sampling method was used to select 284 cases of older adults from November to December 2020.The purpose of the study was to gather information on the general conditions, intrinsic abilities(including cognitive, vitality, motor, psychological, and sensory dimensions), and participation in leisure activities of older adults.A 2.5-year follow-up of the respondents was conducted.Results:A total of 243(85.6%, 243/284)respondents completed the 2.5-year follow-up.The follow-up intrinsic capacity score decreased from a baseline level of 4(3, 4)to 3(3, 4)( Z=-4.667, P<0.001).Among the respondents, 113(46.5%, 113/243)older adults showed a decrease in intrinsic capacity, with more significant decreases observed in the locomotor and psychometric dimensions( χ2=16.953, 23.510, both P<0.001).The number of declines in intrinsic ability was higher in the low group of leisure activities compared to the high group[62.2%(56/90) vs.37.3%(57/153), χ2=14.199, P<0.001].There was a positive correlation between leisure activity scores and the follow-up intrinsic capacity score( r=0.200, P=0.002), as well as with the value of change in the score of intrinsic capacity( r=0.146, P=0.023).The results of Logistic regression analysis indicated that leisure activities( OR=0.644, 95% CI: 0.507 to 0.818, P<0.001), physical leisure activities( OR=0.565, 95% CI: 0.395 to 0.809, P=0.002), and intellectual leisure activities( OR=0.742, 95% CI: 0.555 to 0.992, P=0.044)independently influenced the decline of intrinsic ability in the elderly, even after accounting for demographic information, number of diseases, and type of medicine taken. Conclusions:The decline in intrinsic abilities is a common occurrence among the elderly population.Engaging in leisure activities has been found to be effective in reducing this decline.It is important to emphasize the impact of leisure activities on the overall health of older individuals.

Objective:To investigate age-related characteristics of gait parameters in the elderly.Methods:From February 2023 to August 2023, a convenient sampling method was used to investigate the elderly over 60 years old in communities in Beijing.General characteristics and anthropometric data were collected.Gait parameters of the subjects during normal speed walking were measured using a wearable gait analyzer.Comparisons were made of the basic characteristics, physical status and gait parameters in different age groups.Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the changes of physical status and gait parameters with age, with the 60-69-year-old group as the baseline standard.Results:A total of 670 elderly people were included, including 324(48.4%)aged 60-69 years, 285(42.5%)aged 70-79 years, and 61(9.1%)aged ≥80 years.Linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors, with increasing age, skeletal muscle mass index(SMI)( β=-0.018, 95% CI: -0.029--0.007), calf circumference( β=-0.096, 95% CI: -0.142--0.051), upper limb flexibility( β=-0.200, 95%, 95% CI: -0.355--0.046), lower limb flexibility( β=-0.244, 95% CI: -0.377--0.111), grip strength( β=-0.397, 95% CI: -0.491--0.303), the Short Physical Performance Battery(SPPB)( β=-0.080, 95% CI: -0.100--0.060)decreased( P<0.05), and the gait parameter such as speed( β=-0.010, 95% CI: -0.014--0.007), cadence( β=-0.398, 95% CI: -0.634--0.162), step length/height( β=-0.002, 95% CI: -0.003--0.002), stride length( β=-0.009, 95% CI: -0.011--0.007), swing power( β=-0.009, 95% CI: -0.012--0.006), ground impact( β=-0.020, 95% CI: -0.026--0.014), foot fall( β=-0.050, 95% CI: -0.064--0.036), pre-swing angle( β=-0.545, 95% CI: -0.714--0.377)all decreased( P<0.05), while stride time( β=0.005, 95% CI: 0.001-0.009), single limb support time( β=1.566, 95% CI: 0.499-2.633), terminal double limb support time( β=0.609, 95% CI: 0.084-1.134), swing duration( β=1.288, 95% CI: 0.024-2.552), single step time( β=2.417, 95% CI: 0.462-4.372)and support phase time( β=1.935, 95% CI: 0.421-3.449)all increased( P<0.05). Conclusions:The walking ability tends to decline with age in older people in the community who walk at a normal walking speed.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most important opportunistic viral pathogen in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients.The Korean guideline for the prevention of CMV infection in SOT recipients was developed jointly by the Korean Society for Infectious Diseases and the Korean Society of Transplantation. CMV serostatus of both donors and recipients should be screened before transplantation to best assess the risk of CMV infection after SOT. Seronegative recipients receiving organs from seropositive donors face the highest risk, followed by seropositive recipients. Either antiviral prophylaxis or preemptive therapy can be used to prevent CMV infection. While both strategies have been demonstrated to prevent CMV infection post-transplant, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. CMV serostatus, transplant organ, other risk factors, and practical issues should be considered for the selection of preventive measures. There is no universal viral load threshold to guide treatment in preemptive therapy. Each institution should define and validate its own threshold.Valganciclovir is the favored agent for both prophylaxis and preemptive therapy. The evaluation of CMV-specific cellmediated immunity and the monitoring of viral load kinetics are gaining interest, but there was insufficient evidence to issue recommendations. Specific considerations on pediatric transplant recipients are included.

Malaria is a global disease affecting a large portion of the world’s population. Although vaccines have recently become available, their efficacies are suboptimal. We generated virus-like particles (VLPs) that expressed either apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) or microneme-associated antigen (MIC) of Plasmodium berghei and compared their efficacy in BALB/c mice. We found that immune sera acquired from AMA1 VLP- or MIC VLP-immunized mice specifically interacted with the antigen of choice and the whole P. berghei lysate antigen, indicating that the antibodies were highly parasite-specific. Both VLP vaccines significantly enhanced germinal center B cell frequencies in the inguinal lymph nodes of mice compared with the control, but only the mice that received MIC VLPs showed significantly enhanced CD4+ T cell responses in the blood following P. berghei challenge infection. AMA1 and MIC VLPs significantly suppressed TNF-α and interleukin-10 production but had a negligible effect on interferon-γ. Both VLPs prevented excessive parasitemia buildup in immunized mice, although parasite burden reduction induced by MIC VLPs was slightly more effective than that induced by AMA1. Both VLPs were equally effective at preventing body weight loss. Our findings demonstrated that the MIC VLP was an effective inducer of protection against murine experimental malaria and should be the focus of further development.

COVID-19/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Public Facilities ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; Workplace

Background: Remdesivir is widely used for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but controversies regarding its efficacy still remain. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effect of remdesivir on clinical and virologic outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients from June to July 2020. Primary clinical endpoints included clinical recovery, additional mechanical ventilator (MV) support, and duration of oxygen or MV support. Viral load reduction by hospital day (HD) 15 was evaluated by calculating changes in cycle threshold (Ct) values. Results: A total of 86 severe COVID-19 patients were evaluated including 48 remdesivirtreated patients. Baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Remdesivir was administered an average of 7.42 days from symptom onset. The proportions of clinical recovery of the remdesivir and supportive care group at HD 14 (56.3% and 39.5%) and HD 28 (87.5% and 78.9%) were not statistically different. The proportion of patients requiring MV support by HD 28 was significantly lower in the remdesivir group than in the supportive care group (22.9% vs. 44.7%, P = 0.032), and MV duration was significantly shorter in the remdesivir group (average, 1.97 vs. 5.37 days; P = 0.017). Analysis of upper respiratory tract specimens demonstrated that increases of Ct value from HD 1–5 to 11–15 were significantly greater in the remdesivir group than the supportive care group (average, 10.19 vs. 5.36; P = 0.007), and the slope of the Ct value increase was also significantly steeper in the remdesivir group (average, 5.10 vs. 2.68; P = 0.007). Conclusion The remdesivir group showed clinical and virologic benefit in terms of MV requirement and viral load reduction, supporting remdesivir treatment for severe COVID-19.

Background: Remdesivir is widely used for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but controversies regarding its efficacy still remain. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effect of remdesivir on clinical and virologic outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients from June to July 2020. Primary clinical endpoints included clinical recovery, additional mechanical ventilator (MV) support, and duration of oxygen or MV support. Viral load reduction by hospital day (HD) 15 was evaluated by calculating changes in cycle threshold (Ct) values. Results: A total of 86 severe COVID-19 patients were evaluated including 48 remdesivirtreated patients. Baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Remdesivir was administered an average of 7.42 days from symptom onset. The proportions of clinical recovery of the remdesivir and supportive care group at HD 14 (56.3% and 39.5%) and HD 28 (87.5% and 78.9%) were not statistically different. The proportion of patients requiring MV support by HD 28 was significantly lower in the remdesivir group than in the supportive care group (22.9% vs. 44.7%, P = 0.032), and MV duration was significantly shorter in the remdesivir group (average, 1.97 vs. 5.37 days; P = 0.017). Analysis of upper respiratory tract specimens demonstrated that increases of Ct value from HD 1–5 to 11–15 were significantly greater in the remdesivir group than the supportive care group (average, 10.19 vs. 5.36; P = 0.007), and the slope of the Ct value increase was also significantly steeper in the remdesivir group (average, 5.10 vs. 2.68; P = 0.007). Conclusion The remdesivir group showed clinical and virologic benefit in terms of MV requirement and viral load reduction, supporting remdesivir treatment for severe COVID-19.

Toxoplasma gondii ME49 infections are typically diagnosed by serological tests. However, serological diagnosis of RH strain-induced toxoplasmosis remains unknown. In order to develop seradiagnosis of above 2 kinds of infections, we generated recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs) displaying the T. gondii rhoptry protein 4 (ROP4) and evaluated their potential in T. gondii ME49 or RH strain infection diagnostics. Mice were orally infected with either the tachyzoites of T. gondii (RH) or cysts of T. gondii (ME49) at various dosages, and sera were collected at regular intervals. ELISA-based serological tests were performed to assess IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody responses against ROP4 VLP antigen and tissue lysate antigen (TLA). Compared to TLA, IgG, IgM, and IgA levels to ROP4 VLP antigen were significantly higher in the sera of T. gondii RH-infected mice 1 and 2 week post-infection (PI). T. gondii-specific IgG antibody was detected at 1, 2, 4, and 8 week PI in the T. gondii ME49-infected mice with infection dose-dependent manner. These results indicated that the ROP4 VLP antigen was highly sensitive antigens detecting T. gondii RH and ME49 antibodies at an early stage.

Methods: The study involved 226 people who participated in the Korean Early Psychosis Cohort Study, and we divided the participants into two groups according to the degree of trauma.Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) were compared at the start of the study and at 12 months after the treatment using paired t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance. Results: At the beginning of the study, there was no significant difference between the two groups. But after 12 months of treatment, the high trauma group showed less improvement in PANSS negative score, general psychopathological score, total score, and SOFAS than the low trauma group. Conclusion In patients with early psychosis and at least moderate severity of premorbid trauma, negative symptoms, general psychopathological, and social and occupational functional improvements after treatment are less.