Objective: To analyze hepatitis B serologic tests and the current prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among pregnant and postpartum women in China from 2021 to 2023. Methods: Data on managing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis were retrieved from the National Information System. A positive serum HBsAg test was used to define HBV infection. The χ(2) test was used to compare the coverage rate of the hepatitis B serologic test across different years, in early-stage pregnancy, and the current HBV infection in pregnant and postpartum women. A two-sided P value of <0.05 was considered a statistically significant difference. Results: The coverage rate for hepatitis B serological detection in pregnant (including intrapartum) and postpartum women and early-stage pregnancy rose from 99.68% (10 463 059/10 496 883) and 82.96% (8 707 765/10 496 883) to 99.94% (8 678 777/8 684 387, P < 0.001) and 88.87% (7 717 857/8 684 387, P < 0.001) in China between 2021 and 2023. The current prevalence rate of HBV infection decreased from 4.98% (521 479/10 463 059) in 2021 to 4.56% (396 148/8 678 777) in 2023 among pregnant and postpartum women (P < 0.001). The current prevalence rate of HBV infection ranged from 1.53% to 10.39% among pregnant and postpartum women in various provinces of China in 2023. Conclusion: The coverage rate for hepatitis B serologic tests in China increased significantly between 2021 and 2023 in pregnant and postpartum women. Therefore, the current prevalence rate of HBV infection has decreased significantly in pregnant and postpartum women, but a regional difference still exists.
目的： 分析2021-2023年中国孕产妇乙型肝炎血清学检测和乙型肝炎病毒（HBV）现症感染情况。 方法： 数据来自国家预防艾滋病、梅毒和乙型肝炎母婴传播管理信息系统。HBV现症感染被定义为血清HBsAg检测阳性。使用χ(2)检验比较不同年份的孕产妇乙型肝炎血清学检测覆盖率、孕早期乙型肝炎血清学检测覆盖率和孕产妇HBV现症感染率，双侧P < 0.05为差异有统计学意义。 结果： 2021-2023年，我国孕产妇乙型肝炎血清学检测覆盖率（包括孕期和产时）和孕早期乙型肝炎血清学检测覆盖率分别从99.68%（10 463 059/10 496 883）和82.96%（8 707 765/10 496 883）上升至99.94%（8 678 777/8 684 387，P< 0.001）和88.87%（7 717 857/8 684 387，P值均<0.001）。孕产妇HBV现症感染率从2021年的4.98%（521 479/10 463 059）下降至2023年的4.56%（396 148/8 678 777，P< 0.001）。2023年，我国各省份孕产妇HBV现症感染率范围为1.53%～10.39%。 结论： 2021-2023年中国孕产妇乙型肝炎血清学检测覆盖率显著提升，孕产妇HBV现症感染率显著下降，但仍存在地区差异。.

OBJECTIVE: With remarkable progress in the field of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prophylaxis, it is critical to understand population immunity against RSV. We aim to describe the RSV pre-F IgG antibodies across all age groups in Southern China and to evaluate the risk factors associated with lower antibody levels.
METHODS: We performed a community-based cross-sectional sero-epidemiological study in Anhua County, Hunan Province, Southern China, from July 15, 2021, to November 5, 2021. Serum samples were tested for IgG antibodies against the RSV prefusion F (pre-F) protein using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We estimated the geometric mean titres (GMTs) and seropositivity rates across all age groups. The generalized linear models were built to identify factors associated with antibody levels.
RESULTS: A total of 890 participants aged 4 months to older than 89 years were enrolled. The lowest RSV pre-F IgG GMTs were observed in infants and toddlers aged 4 months to younger than 2 years (3.0; 95% CI, 2.6-3.5). With increasing age, the RSV pre-F IgG GMT increased to 4.3 (95% CI, 4.1-4.4) between the ages of 2 and younger than 5 years and then stabilized at high levels throughout life. All the children had serological evidence of RSV infection by the age of 5 years. Age was associated with RSV pre-F antibody levels in children, with an estimated 1.8-fold (95% CI, 1.1-2.9) increase in titre per year before 5 years of age, although it was not significantly associated with antibody levels in adults aged older than 60 years.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings could provide a comprehensive understanding of the gaps in RSV immunity at the population level and inform the prioritization of immunization platforms.

UNASSIGNED: To investigate the correlation of serum changes and markers of brain injury (BI) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in patients with cerebral aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH).
UNASSIGNED: 120 patients diagnosed with aSAH were included. 3 months after surgery, these patients were divided into a normal cognition group and a cognitive dysfunction (CD) group relying on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Scale.
UNASSIGNED: The correlations were analysed between the serological changes and the levels of BI markers, such as neurofilament-light (NF-L) protein, Ubisquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1(UCH-L1), Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP), and neuron specific enolase (NSE) in patients after surgery. Hunt-Hess grading standard was employed to determine the severity of aSAH in patients. The mean values of NF-L, UCH-L1, GFAP, and NSE were (8.2 ± 4.3) pg/mL, (0.7 ± 0.3) ng/mL, (2.2 ± 0.4) ng/mL, and (48.5 ± 10.9) ng/mL in patients with severe aSAH, which were remarkably higher than those in patients with mild aSAH [(3.5 ± 0.7) pg/mL, (0.5 ± 0.2) ng/mL, (1.3 ± 0.7) ng/mL, (30.7 ± 8.2) ng/mL]. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the combined prediction of four detections for POCD were 90.80%, 84.20%, and 82.80%, respectively, which were greatly higher than those of four independent predictions (p < 0.05). The combined prediction effect of the four items, with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.938 and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.851-0.926.
UNASSIGNED: BI markers NF-L, UCH-L1, GFAP, and NSE could be utilized as predictors of POCD in patients with aSAH, deserving a reference value.

UNASSIGNED: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has posed substantial morbidity and mortality burden to young children and older adults globally. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was reported to have altered RSV epidemiology and could have important implications for RSV prevention and control strategies. We aimed to compare RSV epidemiology in different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic with the pre-pandemic period by leveraging epidemiological, molecular, and serological data collected from a prospective respiratory pathogen surveillance and serology study.
UNASSIGNED: This study was based on the data during July 1, 2015 to November 30, 2023 from the Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance System (RPSS), a sentinel-hospital based surveillance system of acute respiratory infections consisting of 35 hospitals that represent residents of all ages from all 16 districts in Beijing, China. RSV infection status was tested by RT-PCR and gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was conducted among the identified RSV strains. We further supplemented RPSS data with three serology surveys conducted during 2017-2023 that tested RSV IgG levels from serum specimens. RSV detection rate was calculated by calendar month and compared across RSV seasons (defined as the July 1 through June 30 of the following year). RSV IgG positivity proportion was calculated by quarter of the year and was correlated with quarterly aggregated RSV detection rate for understanding the relationship between infection and immunity at the population level.
UNASSIGNED: Overall, a total of 52,931 respiratory specimens were collected and tested over the study period. RSV detection rates ranged from 1.24% (94/7594) in the 2017-2018 season to 2.80% (219/7824) in the 2018-2019 season, and from 1.06% (55/5165) in the 2022-2023 season to 2.98% (147/4938) in the 2021-2022 season during the pre-pandemic and pandemic period, respectively. ON1 and BA9 remained the predominant genotypes during the pandemic period; no novel RSV strains were identified. RSV circulation followed a winter-months seasonal pattern in most seasons. One exception was the 2020-2021 season when an extensive year-round circulation was observed, possibly associated with partial relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). The other exception was the 2022-2023 season when very low RSV activity was observed during the usual winter months (possibly due to the concurrent local COVID-19 epidemic), and followed by an out-of-season resurgence in the spring, with RSV detection persisting to the end of the study period (November 2023). During the two seasons above, we noted an age-group related asynchrony in the RSV detection rate; the RSV detection rate in young children remained similar (or even increased with borderline significance; 43/594, 7.24%, and 42/556, 7.55% vs 292/5293, 5.52%; P = 0.10 and P = 0.06, respectively) compared with the pre-pandemic seasons whereas the detection rate in older adults decreased significantly (8/1779, 0.45%, and 3/2021, 0.15% vs 160/10,348, 1.55%; P < 0.001 in two comparisons). Results from serology surveys showed significantly declined RSV IgG positivity in the 2022-2023 season compared to the pre-pandemic seasons (9.32%, 29/311 vs 20.16%, 100/496; P < 0.001); older adults had significantly higher RSV IgG positivity than young children in both pre-pandemic and pandemic periods (P values < 0.001).
UNASSIGNED: Our study documented the trajectory of RSV detection along with the changes in the stringency of NPIs, measured IgG positivity, and local COVID-19 epidemics. The findings suggest the interplay between contact patterns, immunity dynamics, and SARS-CoV-2 infection in shaping the RSV epidemics of population of different ages. These findings provide novel insights into the potential drivers of RSV circulating patterns and have important implications for RSV prevention and control strategies.
UNASSIGNED: The High-qualified Public Health Professionals Development Project, Capital\'s Funds for Health Improvement and Research, and the Public Health Personnel Training Support Program.

This study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of osteoarticular brucellosis. We conducted a retrospective study enrolling brucellosis patients from the Sixth People\'s Hospital of Shenyang between September 2014 and June 2019. A total of 1917 participants were admitted during this period. After applying propensity score matching, we retrospectively analyzed 429 patients with osteoarthritis and 429 patients without osteoarthritis. The primary outcome was treatment completion. The secondary outcome was symptom disappearance and seroconversion. Brucellosis patients with osteoarthritis had longer treatment course (160 [134.3-185.7] vs. 120 [102.3-137.7] d, p = 0.008) than those without osteoarthritis. The most common involved site was lumbar vertebrae (290 [67.6%]) in brucellosis patients with osteoarthritis. Longer symptom duration (90 [83.0-97.0] vs. 42 [40.2-43.8], p < 0.001) along with no significant difference in seroconversion (180 [178.8-181.2] vs. 180 [135.1-224.9], p = 0.212) was observed in osteoarthritis patients with treatment course >90 d. Peripheral joint involvement (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.485 [1.103-1.999]; p = 0.009) had a shorter symptom duration compared with shaft joint involvement. No significant differences were observed in treatment therapy between doxycycline plus rifampin (DR) or plus cephalosporins (DRC) in treatment course (p = 0.190), symptom persistence (p = 0.294), and seroconversion (p = 0.086). Lumbar vertebra was the most commonly involved site. Even if all symptoms disappeared, Serum agglutination test potentially remained positive in some patients. Compared with peripheral arthritis, shaft arthritis was the high-risk factor for longer symptom duration. The therapeutic effects were similar between DR and DRC. In summary, our study provided important insights into the clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of osteoarticular brucellosis. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT04020536.

The Rh blood grouping system is a critical standardized test in transfusion medicine, especially for the cases related to haemolytic transfusion reactions and neonatal haemolytic disease caused by clinical RhD blood group incompatibility. In the present case report, we presented two cases with the uncommon RHD gene variation RHD*DEL37. The blood samples of the two subjects were mistakenly identified as RhD-negative through conventional serological testing. Firstly, both blood samples were tested negative for the RhD antigen using traditional tube test and gel microcolumn methods. The phenotyping of RhCE were identified as ccEe and ccee for each sample, respectively. Secondly, genetic analysis was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific prime (PCR-SSP) which revealed that neither sample belonging to the several common RHD gene variants which was found in Asia. Moreover, they turned out to be positive for the RHD haplotype, which indicated that exons 1-10 on one of the RHD alleles were entirely absent. In addition, a T>C mutation was observed at bases 1154-31 in intron 8 of the other allele, which was located at the intron 8 breakpoint. This result was obtained after further Sanger sequencing of exons 1-10 of the RHD gene. The mutant allele was designated as RHD*DEL37 by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) and was identified as D-elute(Del) by phenotype ana-lysis. Both samples were genotyped as RHD*DEL37 and showed positive results. In summary, the true genotype of the two blood samples, of which the screening results only using serological testing method was negative, were RHD*DEL37 /RHD-(RHD*01N.01). Notably, this kind of genotype was reported for the first time in Chinese population. Moreover, the two individuals did not have ties of consanguinity, indicating that some of the Chinese individuals could be carriers of the genetic mutation. Therefore, it might be necessary to further confirm the frequency of this mutation in the Chinese population and the possibility of homozygosity for this mutation. This report identifies infrequent RHD gene mutation samples by coupling molecular biology and serological methods to prevent misclassification of blood groups. Combining serological and molecular biology test results to determine blood group is critical in protecting patients during clinical transfusion procedures.

This study is to probe into the meaning of serum miR-532-5p in nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), and a molecular mechanism of miR-532-5p in the development of nontraumatic ONFH. This study enrolled 96 patients diagnosed with nontraumatic ONFH and 96 patients with femoral neck fracture. The levels of miR-532-5p, ABL1, MMP-3, MMP-13, and cleaved-caspase3 were determined. Radiographic progression was assessed by ARCO staging system. Visual analog scale (VAS) and Harris hip score (HHS) were employed for evaluation of the symptomatic severity of nontraumatic ONFH. Cell viability and apoptosis in chondrocytes isolated from clinical samples were investigated with CCK-8 and flow cytometry. The levels of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA), mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined. miR-532-5p was downregulated in tissues and serum of patients with nontraumatic ONFH, negatively related with ARCO staging and VAS, and positively correlated with HHS. Cell apoptosis, LDH, MDA, and ROS strengthened, while cell viability, ΔΨm, and SOD reduced in chondrocytes of nontraumatic ONFH patients. ABL1 was upregulated in cartilage tissues from nontraumatic ONFH patients. miR-532-5p targeted ABL1, and overexpressed miR-532-5p alleviated nontraumatic ONFH-induced oxidative stress damage of chondrocytes by restraining ABL1. miR-532-5p ameliorated oxidative stress injury in nontraumatic ONFH by inhibiting ABL1.

UNASSIGNED: Effective discrimination of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) in situ (AIS) from benign pulmonary nodules (BPN) is critical for the early diagnosis of AIS. Our pilot study in a small cohort of 90 serum samples has shown that serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) detection can distinguish AIS from BPN and health controls (HC). In this study, we intend to comprehensively define the diagnostic value of individual and combined detection of serum IL-6 related to the traditional tumor markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) for AIS.
UNASSIGNED: The diagnostic performance of serum IL-6 along with CEA and CYFRA21-1 were evaluated in a large cohort of 300 serum samples by a chemiluminescence immunoassay and an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. A training set comprised of 65 AIS, 65 BPN, and 65 HC samples was used to develop the predictive model for AIS. Data obtained from an independent validation set was applied to evaluate and validate the predictive model.
UNASSIGNED: In the training set, the levels of serum IL-6 and CEA in the AIS group were significantly higher than those in the BPN/HC group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in serum CYFRA21-1 levels between the AIS group and the BPN/HC group (P> 0.05). Serum IL-6 and CEA levels for AIS patients showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.622 with 23.1% sensitivity at 90.7% specificity, and an AUC of 0.672 with 24.6% sensitivity at 97.6% specificity, respectively. The combination of serum IL-6 and CEA presented an AUC of 0.739, with 60.0% sensitivity at 95.4% specificity. The combination of serum IL-6 and CEA showed an AUC of 0.767 for AIS patients, with 57.1% sensitivity at 91.4% specificity in the validation set.
UNASSIGNED: IL-6 shows potential as a prospective serum biomarker for the diagnosis of AIS, and the combination of serum IL-6 with CEA may contribute to increased accuracy in AIS diagnosis. However, it is worth noting that further research is still necessary to validate and optimize the diagnostic efficacy of these biomarkers and to address potential sensitivity limitations.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is an uncommon but highly aggressive hematological malignancy. It has high recurrence and mortality rates and is challenging to treat. This study conducted bioinformatics analyses, compared genetic expression profiles of healthy controls with patients having T-ALL/T-LBL, and verified the results through serological indicators. Data were acquired from the GSE48558 dataset from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). T-ALL patients and normal T cells-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were investigated using the online analysis tool GEO2R in GEO, identifying 78 upregulated and 130 downregulated genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses of the top 10 DEGs showed enrichment in pathways linked to abnormal mitotic cell cycles, chromosomal instability, dysfunction of inflammatory mediators, and functional defects in T-cells, natural killer (NK) cells, and immune checkpoints. The DEGs were then validated by examining blood indices in samples obtained from patients, comparing the T-ALL/T-LBL group with the control group. Significant differences were observed in the levels of various blood components between T-ALL and T-LBL patients. These components include neutrophils, lymphocyte percentage, hemoglobin (HGB), total protein, globulin, erythropoietin (EPO) levels, thrombin time (TT), D-dimer (DD), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Additionally, there were significant differences in peripheral blood leukocyte count, absolute lymphocyte count, creatinine, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, folate, and thrombin times. The genes and pathways associated with T-LBL/T-ALL were identified, and peripheral blood HGB, EPO, TT, DD, and CRP were key molecular markers. This will assist the diagnosis of T-ALL/T-LBL, with applications for differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Enterovirus G (EV-G) has recently been shown to affect weight gain and cause neurological symptoms in piglets. However, the serological investigation of EV-G is limited. In this study, we developed a novel serological detection method based on the structural protein, VP1 of EV-G. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficient variations were 3.2-8.9% and 2.6-8.0%, respectively. There was no cross-reaction of the VP1-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with antisera against the other known porcine viruses. In addition, a comparison was made with other methods including the developed indirect ELISAs based on VP2 and VP3 proteins and western blot (WB) analysis, which demonstrated the reliability of the novel method. Using the VP1-based ELISA, we carried out the first seroepidemiological survey of EV-G in China by testing 1041 serum samples collected from different pig farms in Guangxi from 2019 to 2021. Our results showed that 68.78% of the serum samples and 100% of the pig farms were positive for EV-G, with a relatively high incidence of seropositivity in pigs of different ages. This was specifically evident in fattening pigs and sows, which may suggest that the piglets have experienced an infection with EV-G during their growth process. Our data provide the first serological evidence of EV-G infections in pigs from China and reveal the widespread presence of EV-G infections in Guangxi, China.