The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG) antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic people in Wuhan. This was a cross-sectional study, which enrolled 18,712 asymptomatic participants from 154 work units in Wuhan. Pearson Chi-square test,
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies, Viral/blood* ; COVID-19/immunology* ; Carrier State/immunology* ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China/epidemiology* ; Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins/immunology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood* ; Immunoglobulin M/blood* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupations/classification* ; Phosphoproteins/immunology* ; SARS-CoV-2/immunology* ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus/immunology* ; Young Adult

Inflatable penile prostheses are an important tool in the treatment of medically refractory erectile dysfunction. One of the major complications associated with these prostheses is infections, which ultimately require device explanation and placement of a new device. Over the past several decades, significant work has been done to reduce infection rates and optimize treatment strategies to reduce patient morbidity. This article reviews the current state of knowledge surrounding penile prosthesis infections, with attention to the evidence for methods to prevent infection and best practices for device reimplantation.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Anti-Infective Agents, Local/therapeutic use* ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis/methods* ; Bandages ; Carrier State/drug therapy* ; Chlorhexidine/therapeutic use* ; Coated Materials, Biocompatible ; Device Removal ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology* ; Erectile Dysfunction/surgery* ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/therapy* ; Hair Removal/methods* ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host/immunology* ; Male ; Penile Implantation/methods* ; Penile Prosthesis ; Preoperative Care/methods* ; Prosthesis-Related Infections/therapy* ; Reoperation ; Risk Factors ; Spinal Cord Injuries/epidemiology* ; Staphylococcal Infections/therapy* ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Surgical Drapes ; Surgical Instruments ; Surgical Wound Infection/therapy*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of the present study were to determine the outcomes of inactive hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers over a 10-year study period and to elucidate the HBV serological profile of their family members. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical files of inactive HBsAg carriers followed up at the Department of Infectious Diseases of Kocatepe University Medical Faculty Hospital between March 2001 and January 2011. RESULTS: In total, 438 inactive HBsAg carriers were enrolled in this trial. The follow-up period was 33.7+/-22.5 months (mean+/-SD). Anti-hepatitis-B surface antibody seroconversion occurred in 0.7% of cases, while chronic hepatitis B was found in 0.5%. The anti-hepatitis-D virus (HDV) status was evaluated in 400 patients and anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 430. It was found that 1% and 0.2% were positive for anti-HDV and anti-HCV, respectively. HBV serology was investigated in at least 1 family member of 334/438 (76.3%) patients. The HBsAg positivity rate was 34.6% in 625 family members of 334 patients. A comparison of the HBsAg positivity rates in terms of HBV DNA levels in index cases revealed that HBsAg seropositivity rates were higher in family members of HBV DNA-negative patients than in family members of HBV DNA-positive cases (P=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The HBsAg positivity rate was higher in family members of inactive HBsAg carriers than in the general population; these family members therefore have a higher risk of HBV transmission. Furthermore, despite negative HBV DNA levels, transmission risk was not reduced in these patients, and horizontal transmission seems to be independent of the HBV DNA value.
Adult ; Antibodies/blood ; Carrier State ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; Family Health ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/*blood ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics/immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/*diagnosis/transmission/virology ; Hepatitis Delta Virus/immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo investigate nasopharyngeal carriage rate, antimicrobial resistance and serotype distribution of Streptococcus pneumoniae among children with upper respiratory infection.

METHODSNasopharygeal swabs were collected from children with upper respiratory infection visiting the outpatient department of Beijing Children′s Hospital between March 2013 and February 2014. The antibiotic susceptibility was tested by Etest method, and the serotype was determined by Quellung reaction.

RESULTSThe nasopharyngeal carriage rate for Streptococcus pneumoniae was 23.8% (699/2 941). One hundred isolates were randomly chosen for antimicrobial susceptiblity test and serotyping. Up to 98.0% isolates were susceptible to parenteral penicillin. The susceptible rate against oral penicillin, however, was 33.0%. The non-susceptible rate to erythromycin and azithromycin was 97.0%. The multi-drug resistance rate was up to 86.0%. The common serotypes were 6A(12.0%), 19F(12.0%), 6B(10.0%), 23F(9.0%) and 14(8.0%). The coverage rates of 7-, 10- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine were 41.0%, 42.0% and 59.0% respectively.

CONCLUSIONSAbout 25% of children with upper respiratory infection are nasopharyngeal colonized by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The isolates show a high antimicrobial resistance. The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine covers about 60.0% of the isolates.

Adolescent ; Carrier State ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Nasopharynx ; microbiology ; Pneumococcal Vaccines ; immunology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; microbiology ; Serotyping ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; classification ; drug effects ; isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo explore Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome distribution of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers in immunotolerant phase (ITP).

METHODSOne hundred and eighty-five chronic HBV carriers in ITP, seen in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from May 2009 to December 2010, were admitted in an observational study under the guidance of CM. Patients' CM symptoms and signs, demographics, liver biochemistries, and qualitative HBV DNA were recorded in the questionnaires. CM syndromes were then differentiated to 15 detailed types and analyzed by generalization. Lastly, the location, pathogenic factors and nature of the disease were also assessed.

RESULTSWhen CM syndrome patterns were differentiated to 15 types, there were 27 (15%) no syndrome cases, 94 (50%) single syndrome cases and 64 (35%) compound syndromes cases. The main detailed syndromes included Liver (Gan)-qi depression (LQD), Kidney (Shen)-qi deficiency (KQD), Spleen (Pi)-qi deficiency (SQD) and Kidney-yang deficiency (KYAD). After CM syndromes generalized to five types, their frequency was Spleen-Kidney deficiency (SKD)>LQD>inner dampness-heat retention (IDHR)>Liver-Kidney deficiency (LKD)>blood stasis blocking collateral (BSBC). SKD and LQD occupied 64%. The disease location included Liver, Gallbladder (Dan), Spleen, Stomach (Wei) and Kidney. The pathogenic factors were mainly qi stagnation, qi deficiency, yang deficiency, concurrently dampness-heat and blood stasis. The deficiency syndrome was more than excess syndrome in its nature.

CONCLUSIONSMost of chronic HBV carriers in ITP have their CM syndrome, and the most common types are SKAD, LQD. This study suggests that the natural history may be improved through breaking the state of immune tolerance or shorten the time of ITP by strengthening Spleen-Kidney and reliving Liver qi.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Carrier State ; immunology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatitis B virus ; physiology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; immunology ; pathology ; virology ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Liver ; immunology ; pathology ; virology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Syndrome ; Viscera ; pathology ; Young Adult

To confirm the effect of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), pneumococcal nasopharyngeal (NP) carriage was compared between vaccinated (3 + 1 doses PCV7) and non-vaccinated children. Vaccinated subjects were recruited from highly vaccinated regions (> or = 60%), Seoul and Incheon whereas control subjects were recruited from Jeju Island where vaccination rates are low (< 15%). NP swabs were obtained from 400 children aged 18-59 months. Serotype and antibiotic susceptibility was analyzed. Pneumococcal carriage rate was 18.0% (36/200) and 31.5% (63/200) for the vaccinated and control group, respectively. Among those vaccinated, 41.7% (15/36) of the serotypes were vaccine-related type (VRT: 6A, 6C, 19A) with the most common serotype 6C. The next common type was non-typable/non-capsule 30.6% (11/36) followed by non-vaccine type 16.7% (6/36) and vaccine type (VT) serotypes were found in only 11.1% (4/36). In contrast, 52.4% (33/63) of the isolates in the control group were VT. Resistance rates for penicillin and erythromycin were lower in the vaccine group (vaccine vs control; penicillin 45.2% vs 71.4%, erythromycin 74.2% vs 90.5%, P < 0.05). Multi-drug resistance was also lower in vaccinated subjects (vaccine vs control; 45.2% vs 69.8%, P < 0.05). PCV7 reduces carriage in VT which leads to replacement of pneumococci by antibiotic susceptible VRT or non-vaccine type strains.
Adult ; Carrier State/*immunology/prevention & control ; Child ; *Child Day Care Centers ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; *Immunization ; Infant ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Nasopharynx ; Pneumococcal Infections/*epidemiology/immunology/*prevention & control ; Pneumococcal Vaccines/*administration & dosage ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Serotyping ; Streptococcus pneumoniae/*isolation & purification

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of HBV antigens and pathological mechanism of chronic HBV infection by analyzing the cellular immune function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from HBsAg carriers.

METHODSPBMCs were prepared from individuals with chronic asymptomatic HBV infection and cultured in the presence of different antigens and/ or cytokines. The levels of cytokines in culture supernatants were detected by ELISA method. The phenotype of the cells was detected by FACS.

RESULTSThe levels of IFN y secreted by PBMCs from HBsAg carriers were (48.3+/-19.8) pg/ml, significantly lower than that from healthy controls (t = 3.023, P less than 0.05); The IFN y produced by PBMCs from HBeAg positive patients due to HBsAg and HBcAg stimulation were (50.4+/-51.6) pg/ml and (63.2+/-36.9) pg/ml, significantly lower than that of HBeAg negative patients (t = 2.468 and 3.184, P less than 0.05, respectively). The IL-12p70 secreted by PBMCs from HBeAg positive patients was also significantly lower than that of HBeAg negative patients (P less than 0.05); Exogenous IL-12 promoted significantly PBMCs to secrete IFN y (P less than 0.01) and IL-12 combined with HBV antigens activated CD8+CD45RA+CCR7+ and CD8+CD45RA-CD62L+ cells. IL-12 secreted by PBMCs decreased in HBeAg positive patients, which may be the crucial reason of viral persistence in chronic HBV carriers. Exogenous IL-12 combined with specific HBV antigen could promote the central memory CD8+ T cells to produce IFN y.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Carrier State ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Case-Control Studies ; Hepatitis B ; blood ; immunology ; Hepatitis B Antigens ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; immunology ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukin-12 ; blood ; immunology ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; Young Adult

Adult ; Carrier State ; blood ; immunology ; virology ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; blood ; virology

Adult ; Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Carrier State ; immunology ; virology ; DNA, Viral ; blood ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Hepatitis B ; immunology ; virology ; Hepatitis B virus ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunologic Memory ; Interleukin-7 Receptor alpha Subunit ; immunology ; metabolism ; Male

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells are associated with serum TGF beta 1 in patients with hepatitis B.

METHODSPatients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic asymptomatic carriers (AsC), normal subjects (NS) and the resolved from HBV infection (Resolved) were recruited in this study. Flow cytometric analysis was used to detect the frequency and phenotype of peripheral CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells, and Foxp3 gene expression were examined by real time PCR. Serum TGF beta 1 levels were measured by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).

RESULTSPatients with CHB or AsC exhibited significantly higher frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells compared to healthy controls. CD4+CD25+ T cells derived from patients with CHB and AsC expressed higher level of Foxp3-mRNA. Furthermore, the frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells was correlated with serum HBV DNA copy numbers in patients with CHB and AsC. Our results indicated that the serum TGF beta was increased in CHB and AsC patients compared to control patients, and that serum TGF beta was correlated with the expression of Foxp3-mRNA and the frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in patients with CHB and AsC.

CONCLUSIONSThe findings have important implication in the understanding of the role and mechanism of aberrant CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in the maintenance of chronicity in hepatitis B patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; CD4 Antigens ; immunology ; metabolism ; Carrier State ; blood ; immunology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Forkhead Transcription Factors ; immunology ; metabolism ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; blood ; immunology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; immunology ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit ; immunology ; metabolism ; Male ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; immunology ; virology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; blood ; Viral Load ; Young Adult