Background:The incidence of brucellosis,which is caused by the Brucella species of bacteria,is rapidly rising worldwide;however,few studies have investigated the immune response to this pathogen and clinical biochemic...Background:The incidence of brucellosis,which is caused by the Brucella species of bacteria,is rapidly rising worldwide;however,few studies have investigated the immune response to this pathogen and clinical biochemical features.In this paper,we examined the levels of various cytokines and inflammatory factors as well as clinical course characteristics in patients with brucellosis,in order to provide evidence for the diagnosis,assessment,and prognosis of this infectious disease.Methods:A total of 191 brucellosis inpatients(50 acute cases and 141 chronic cases),as well as 60 healthy control subjects,were included in the analysis.We investigated changes in the levels of six cytokines(IL-4,IL-6,IL-10,IL-17,TNF-α,INF-γ)and related clinical biochemical markers in patients with acute and chronic brucellosis in Xinjiang,China.Possible factors were statistically analyzed using the t test,χ2 test,z test and a multivariate logistic stepwise regression test.Results:We found that IL-4,IL-6,IL-10,IL-17,IFN-γ,and TNF-αlevels were higher in those with brucellosis than in controls(P<0.05).With regard to disease progression,procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels were significantly higher in those with an acute infection compared to chronic cases(P<0.05).We found that the expression of all six cytokines tested was closely related to the degree of brucellosis using univariate logistic regression;however,only IL-6 and INF-γlevels were independent factors associated with the severity of brucellosis.Conclusions:Assessing cytokine levels in patients with acute and chronic brucellosis is not only useful for detecting the immune response,but can also be indicative of the severity of brucellosis.In particular,we propose IL-6 and INF-γlevels may be useful independent predictive factors in the clinical evaluation and diagnosis of brucellosis.展开更多
Several reviews have assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes during pregnancy,but the results remain controversial.The objective of this study was to assess this ...Several reviews have assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes during pregnancy,but the results remain controversial.The objective of this study was to assess this correlation quantitatively and to explore sources of heterogeneity.We included all published case-control or cohort studies that evaluated the correlation between ambient air pollution and low birth weight(LBW),preterm birth(PTB),and small for gestational age(SGA).Analytical methods and inclusion criteria were provided on the PROSPERO website(CRD42018085816).We evaluated pooled effects and heterogeneity.Subgroup analyses(grouped by exposure period,study settings,study design,exposure types,data source,Newcastle-Ottawa quality score(NOS),and adjustment for smoking or meteorological factors)were also conducted and publication bias was examined.The risk of bias in systematic reviews(ROBIS)tool was used to evaluate the overall risk of bias in this review.Forty studies met the inclusion criteria.We observed pooled odds ratios(ORs)of 1.03–1.21 for LBW and 0.97–1.06 for PTB when mothers were exposed to CO,NO2,NOx,O3,PM2.5,PM10,or SO2 throughout their pregnancy.For SGA,the pooled estimate was 1.02 in relation to NO2 concentrations.Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis decreased the heterogeneity to some extent,such as the subgroups of continuous measures(OR=0.98(0.97–0.99),I2=0.0%)and NOS>7(OR=0.98(0.97–0.99),I2=0.0%)in evaluating the association between PTB and NO2.This review was completed with a low risk of bias.High concentrations of air pollution were significantly related to the higher risk of adverse birth outcomes.However,the sources of heterogeneity among studies should be further explored.展开更多
The authors have retracted this article(Guo et al.,2019)because some data from the original literature had not been converted to appropriate units in the paper,which resulted in deviation of the meta-analysis results....The authors have retracted this article(Guo et al.,2019)because some data from the original literature had not been converted to appropriate units in the paper,which resulted in deviation of the meta-analysis results.For example,for the forest plot used to examine associations between PMioexposure and the risk of adverse birth outcomes,the estimates from Brauer et al.(2008),Pedersen et al.(2013),Zhao et al.展开更多
基金This study was funded by grants from Major Infectious Diseases such as AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Prevention and Control technology major projects(2018ZX10101002 and 2018ZX10201002).
文摘Background:The incidence of brucellosis,which is caused by the Brucella species of bacteria,is rapidly rising worldwide;however,few studies have investigated the immune response to this pathogen and clinical biochemical features.In this paper,we examined the levels of various cytokines and inflammatory factors as well as clinical course characteristics in patients with brucellosis,in order to provide evidence for the diagnosis,assessment,and prognosis of this infectious disease.Methods:A total of 191 brucellosis inpatients(50 acute cases and 141 chronic cases),as well as 60 healthy control subjects,were included in the analysis.We investigated changes in the levels of six cytokines(IL-4,IL-6,IL-10,IL-17,TNF-α,INF-γ)and related clinical biochemical markers in patients with acute and chronic brucellosis in Xinjiang,China.Possible factors were statistically analyzed using the t test,χ2 test,z test and a multivariate logistic stepwise regression test.Results:We found that IL-4,IL-6,IL-10,IL-17,IFN-γ,and TNF-αlevels were higher in those with brucellosis than in controls(P<0.05).With regard to disease progression,procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels were significantly higher in those with an acute infection compared to chronic cases(P<0.05).We found that the expression of all six cytokines tested was closely related to the degree of brucellosis using univariate logistic regression;however,only IL-6 and INF-γlevels were independent factors associated with the severity of brucellosis.Conclusions:Assessing cytokine levels in patients with acute and chronic brucellosis is not only useful for detecting the immune response,but can also be indicative of the severity of brucellosis.In particular,we propose IL-6 and INF-γlevels may be useful independent predictive factors in the clinical evaluation and diagnosis of brucellosis.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81230016)the Birth Defect Control and Prevention Project of Shaanxi Commission of Health and Family Planning(No.sxwsjs wzfcght2016-013),China
文摘Several reviews have assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes during pregnancy,but the results remain controversial.The objective of this study was to assess this correlation quantitatively and to explore sources of heterogeneity.We included all published case-control or cohort studies that evaluated the correlation between ambient air pollution and low birth weight(LBW),preterm birth(PTB),and small for gestational age(SGA).Analytical methods and inclusion criteria were provided on the PROSPERO website(CRD42018085816).We evaluated pooled effects and heterogeneity.Subgroup analyses(grouped by exposure period,study settings,study design,exposure types,data source,Newcastle-Ottawa quality score(NOS),and adjustment for smoking or meteorological factors)were also conducted and publication bias was examined.The risk of bias in systematic reviews(ROBIS)tool was used to evaluate the overall risk of bias in this review.Forty studies met the inclusion criteria.We observed pooled odds ratios(ORs)of 1.03–1.21 for LBW and 0.97–1.06 for PTB when mothers were exposed to CO,NO2,NOx,O3,PM2.5,PM10,or SO2 throughout their pregnancy.For SGA,the pooled estimate was 1.02 in relation to NO2 concentrations.Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis decreased the heterogeneity to some extent,such as the subgroups of continuous measures(OR=0.98(0.97–0.99),I2=0.0%)and NOS>7(OR=0.98(0.97–0.99),I2=0.0%)in evaluating the association between PTB and NO2.This review was completed with a low risk of bias.High concentrations of air pollution were significantly related to the higher risk of adverse birth outcomes.However,the sources of heterogeneity among studies should be further explored.
文摘The authors have retracted this article(Guo et al.,2019)because some data from the original literature had not been converted to appropriate units in the paper,which resulted in deviation of the meta-analysis results.For example,for the forest plot used to examine associations between PMioexposure and the risk of adverse birth outcomes,the estimates from Brauer et al.(2008),Pedersen et al.(2013),Zhao et al.
