Effectiveness of containment strategies in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Background: Despite substantial resources deployed to curb SARS-CoV-2 transmission, controlling the COVID-19 pandemic has been a major challenge. New variants of the virus are frequently emerging leading to new waves of infection and re-introduction of control measures. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of containment strategies implemented in the early phase of the pandemic.

Cytological Immunostaining of HMGA2, LRP1B, and TP63 as Potential Biomarkers for Triaging Human Papillomavirus-Positive Women.

Background: Since human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing has been promoted as primary screening strategy, the triage method has also evolved from morphological testing to a molecular biomarker detection to improve screening efficiency. In this study, we investigated the performance of three HPV integration hot-spots, HMGA2, LRP1B, and TP63, as potential triage markers in HPV screening tests.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to December 2017 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

Sacral Nerve Stimulation for Neurogenic Bladder.

Neurogenic bladder refers to dysfunction of the urinary bladder secondary to diseases of the nervous system that result in problems with urine storage, micturition, or both. The most common causes are multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. Patients commonly present with recurrent UTIs, obstructive uropathies, and urinary retention.

Risk of imported Ebola virus disease in China.

Background: More than 600,000 annual arrivals from Africa, 1.4 billion population and developing health care systems render China at non-negligible risk of imported Ebola virus disease (EVD).

Method: According to the natural history of EVD, we constructed a deterministic SEIR model.

A comparative analysis of behaviors and sexual affiliation networks among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, men who have sex with men (MSM) account for a significant proportion of HIV infections. While perceived as a hidden population, they constitute a distinct social network shaped by their differential use of unique channels for sex partnership. To characterize their pattern of connectivity and association with high-risk sexual behaviors, 311 MSM were recruited via saunas and the internet to participate in a questionnaire survey.

A new perspective on sexual mixing among men who have sex with men by body image.

Background: "Casual sex" is seldom as non-selective and random as it may sound. During each sexual encounter, people consciously and unconsciously seek their casual sex partners according to different attributes. Influential to a sexual network, research focusing on quantifying the effects of physical appearance on sexual network has been sparse.

Predictive value of the HAS-BLED score for the risk of recurrent intracranial hemorrhage after first spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage.

Background: Patients who survive intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) are at high risk of recurrence. The Hypertension, Abnormal Renal/Liver Function, Stroke, Bleeding History or Predisposition, Labile INR, Elderly (Age >65 years), Drugs/Alcohol Concomitantly (HAS-BLED) score has recently been developed to assess bleeding risk.

Methods: This observational study was aimed to investigate the prognostic performance of the HAS-BLED score in predicting recurrent ICH.

Pilot study on evaluation of any correlation between MR perfusion (Ktrans) and diffusion (apparent diffusion coefficient) parameters in brain tumors at 3 Tesla.

Purpose: To assess any correlation of volume transfer constant (Ktrans) with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in different brain tumor types at 3 T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Materials And Methods: Thirteen patients with brain tumors (8 men, 5 women; mean age 54.6±17.

Full genome analysis of an emerging cluster of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype B infection in Hong Kong.

With considerable capacity for genetic diversification, new HIV-1 genotypes have been reported over the years. Three HIV-1 isolates previously genotyped as B using gag and env sequences were completely sequenced and reanalyzed. Several amino acid mutations were found in vif, rev, and nef genes but not in gag or env sequences.

Characterization of murine interferon-alpha 12 (MuIFN-alpha12): biological activities and gene expression.

Interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) belongs to the type I interferon family and consists of multiple subtypes in many species. In the mouse, there are at least 14 IFN-alpha genes and 3 IFN-alpha pseudogenes, the most recently identified of which are murine interferon-alpha 12 (MuIFN-alpha12), MuIFN-alpha13 and MuIFN-alpha14. To further study the biological activities of MuIFN-alpha12, we have produced a recombinant MuIFN-alpha12 (rMuIFN-alpha12) protein using COS-1 cells.