Determining Existing Human Population Immunity as Part of Assessing Influenza Pandemic Risk.

Zoonotic influenza infections continue to threaten human health. Ongoing surveillance and risk assessment of animal viruses are needed for pandemic preparedness, and population immunity is an important component of risk assessment. We determined age-stratified hemagglutinin inhibition seroprevalence against 5 swine influenza viruses circulating in Hong Kong and Guangzhou in China.

Role of sST2 in predicting recurrence of atrial fibrillation after radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Introduction: Atrial fibrosis is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after ablation. This study aims to determine the relationship between soluble ST2 (sST2), a profibrotic biomarker, and AF recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA).

Methods: AF patients referred for RFCA were consecutively included from October 2017 to May 2019.

Microbial infection pattern, pathogenic features and resistance mechanism of carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacilli during long-term hospitalization.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) have become an important cause of nosocomial infections of hospitalized patients.

Methods: To investigate the microbial infection patterns and molecular epidemiology characteristics of the carbapenem-resistant GNB isolates from a long-term hospitalized patient, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotypic screening test for carbapenemase production, PCR screening and DNA sequencing of carbapenemase genes, repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-based PCR (REP-PCR), multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) and genetic environment analysis were performed.

Results: Twelve strains with carbapenemase genes were detected from 63 carbapenem-resistant isolates, including two bla-carrying Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one bla-carrying Citrobacter freundii, three bla-carrying Klebsiella pneumoniae and six bla-carrying K.

Emergence and Plasmid Analysis of Klebsiella pneumoniae KP01 Carrying blaGES-5 from Guangzhou, China.

Klebsiella pneumoniae strain KP01 carrying blaGES-5 was identified from a patient in Guangzhou, China. High-throughput sequencing assigned blaGES-5 to a 28.5-kb nonconjugative plasmid, pGES-GZ.

Clinical and epidemiological features of the 2014 large-scale dengue outbreak in Guangzhou city, China.

Background: Dengue virus is transmitted by mosquito around the tropical and sub-tropical regions. There was a large-scale dengue epidemic in Guangdong province, China during 2014 and around fifty thousands dengue fever cases, including six deaths, have been reported. In this study, we aimed to understand the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed dengue virus (DENV) infection and determined the origin of the virus from the outbreak.

A novel peptide with potent and broad-spectrum antiviral activities against multiple respiratory viruses.

A safe, potent and broad-spectrum antiviral is urgently needed to combat emerging respiratory viruses. In light of the broad antiviral activity of β-defensins, we tested the antiviral activity of 11 peptides derived from mouse β-defensin-4 and found that a short peptide, P9, exhibited potent and broad-spectrum antiviral effects against multiple respiratory viruses in vitro and in vivo, including influenza A virus H1N1, H3N2, H5N1, H7N7, H7N9, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The antiviral activity of P9 was attributed to its high-affinity binding to viral glycoproteins, as well as the abundance of basic amino acids in its composition.

Clinical, virological and immunological features from patients infected with re-emergent avian-origin human H7N9 influenza disease of varying severity in Guangdong province.

Background: The second wave of avian influenza H7N9 virus outbreak in humans spread to the Guangdong province of China by August of 2013 and this virus is now endemic in poultry in this region.

Methods: Five patients with H7N9 virus infection admitted to our hospital during August 2013 to February 2014 were intensively investigated. Viral load in the respiratory tract was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and cytokine levels were measured by bead-based flow cytometery.

resistome analysis of Enterobacter cloacae CY01, an extensively drug-resistant strain producing VIM-1 metallo-β-lactamase from China.

Resistome analysis of clinical VIM-1-producing Enterobacter cloacae strain CY01 from China revealed the presence of multiple resistance determinants. Two resistance plasmids were identified in CY01. The pCY-VIM plasmid was 14 kb in size and possessed a replicase gene (repA), a gene cluster encoding the partitioning function (parABC), and a carbapenemase gene (blaVIM-1).

Predicting cardioembolic stroke with the B-type natriuretic peptide test: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the value of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in differentiating cardioembolic (CE) stroke from other subtypes of ischemic stroke.

Methods: We searched the EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane databases and reference lists of relevant articles published in April 2013. We selected original studies reporting the performance of BNP or N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in diagnosing CE stroke and summarized test performance characteristics using forest plots, hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curves, and bivariate random-effect models.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus accessory protein 9b is a virion-associated protein.

Eight accessory proteins have been identified in severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). They are believed to play roles in the viral life cycle and may contribute to the pathogenesis and virulence. ORF9b as one of these accessory proteins is located in subgenomic mRNA9 and encodes a 98 amino acid protein.

Delayed antiviral plus immunomodulator treatment still reduces mortality in mice infected by high inoculum of influenza A/H5N1 virus.

The mortality of human infection by influenza A/H5N1 virus can exceed 80%. The high mortality and its poor response to the neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir have been attributed to uncontrolled virus-induced cytokine storm. We challenged BALB/c mice with 1,000 LD50 of influenza A/Vietnam/1194/04.

[Detection of the mRNA expression of human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 as a SARS coronavirus functional receptor in human femoral head].

Objective: To investigate the mRNA expression of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-COV) functional receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), in human femoral head and conjunctiva, and explore the possible entry route of SARS-COV in human femoral head.

Methods: ACE2 mRNA in human femoral head was detected by nested RT-PCR with human beta actin gene as the positive control.

Results: The mRNA of human beta actin gene could be amplified efficiently in all the tissue samples.

Food markets with live birds as source of avian influenza.

A patient may have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, at a food market that had live birds. Virus genes were detected in 1 of 79 wire cages for birds at 9 markets. One of 110 persons in the poultry business at markets had neutralizing antibody against H5N1.

[Quantitative analysis of serum troponin I and myoglobin in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Objective: To investigate the clinical implications of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), myoglobin (Mb), creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: The serum concentrations of cTnI and Mb were determined in 50 patients with AMI 2 to 4 h after chest pain onset and compared with those measured in 50 age-matched healthy subjects.

Results: The serum levels of cTnI, CK-MB and CK in patients with AMI were significantly higher than those in the control group.

The adamantane-derived bananins are potent inhibitors of the helicase activities and replication of SARS coronavirus.

Bananins are a class of antiviral compounds with a unique structural signature incorporating a trioxa-adamantane moiety covalently bound to a pyridoxal derivative. Six members of this class of compounds: bananin, iodobananin, vanillinbananin, ansabananin, eubananin, and adeninobananin were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of the SARS Coronavirus (SCV) helicase. Bananin, iodobananin, vanillinbananin, and eubananin were effective inhibitors of the ATPase activity of the SCV helicase with IC50 values in the range 0.

[Determination of serum acute phase reaction protein in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome].

Objective: To study the diagnostic value of determinations of serum acute phase reaction protein, such as complement 3 (C3), complement 4 (C4), prealbumin (PA) and C-reactive protein (CRP), etc., in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Methods: Serum levels of C3, C4, PA and CRP were determined by turbidimetry in 54 cases of SARS, 20 of other pneumonia and 30 normal persons.