RESULTS A total of 187 consecutive patients were included in this study. Median TE value was 5.1 kilopascals (KPa) (range 2.8-26.3), with 92.5% (173/187) of the patients having no/mild fibrosis and 7.4% (14/187) significant fibrosis. On multivariate logistic regression analysis older patient’s age, abnormal serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) value, Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, alcohol abuse, CD4/CD8 ratio and an increased number of liver related events (LREs) were significantly correlated with liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS In our cohort of HIV-infected individuals HCV/HIV co-infection, older age, alcohol abuse and CD4/CD8 ratio seem to correlate with fibrogenesis in the liver.BACKGROUND Emerging data has suggested that Tregs, Th17, Th1 and Th2 are correlated with early immune mechanisms by controlling Plasmodium infection. Plasmodium infection appeared to impair the antigen presentation and maturation of DCs, leading to attenuation of specific cellular immune response ultimately. Hence, in this study, we aim to evaluate the relevance between DCs and Tregs/Th17 populations in the process and outcomes of infection with Plasmodium yoelii 17XL (P.y17XL). METHODS DCs detection/analysis dynamically was performed by Tregs depletion or Th17 neutralization in P.y17XL infected BALB/c mice via flow cytometry. Then the levels of cytokines production were detected using enzyme-linked mmunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS Our results indicated that Tregs depletion or Th17 neutralization in BALB/c mice infected with P.y17XL significantly up-regulated the percentages of mDC and pDC, increased the expressions of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, CD80, CD86 on DCs and the levels of IL-10/IL-12 secreted by DCs, indicating that abnormal amplification of Tregs or Th17 may damage the maturation and function of DCs during the early stage of malaria infection. Interestingly, we also found that the abnormal amplification of Th17, as well as Tregs, could inhibit the maturation of DCs. CONCLUSIONS Tregs skewing or Th17 amplification during the early stage of malaria infection may inhibit the maturation and function of DCs by modifying the subsets of DCs, expressions of surface molecules on DCs and secretion mode of cytokines.BACKGROUNDS Previous reports of foreign-body ingestion focused primarily on accidental ingestion and very few studies focused on intentional ingestion of foreign body (FB) in China. Our study aimed to compare the prevalence of different age, gender, types, locations and management of FB ingested between intentional ingestion and accidental ingestion of FB in Northern China. METHODS A retrospective case series studied all patients with suspected FB ingestion in Digestive Endoscopy Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital, between January 2011 and January 2019. The patients were divided into 2 groups. Group A included the patients who intentionally ingested FBs, and Group B included the patients who accidentally ingested FBs. Patients’ database (demographics, past medical history, characteristics of FB, endoscopic findings and treatments) were reviewed. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software. RESULTS Group A consisted of 77 prisoners, 2 suspects and 11 psychologically disabled persons. Group B consisted of 1020 patients with no prisoners, suspects or psychologically disabled persons. In Group A, there were no food-related foreign bodies, and the majority of FBs were metallic objects (54.44%). However in Group B, food-related FBs were the most common (91.37%). In Group A, 58 cases (64.44%) were located in the stomach, while in Group B, 893 cases (87.55%) were located in the esophagus (P  less then  0.05). 1096 patients successfully underwent endoscopic removal and 14 failed, including 9 cases in Group A and 5 cases in Group B. The duration of FBs impaction was longer in Group A than that in Group B (P  less then  0.05). CONCLUSIONS In our study, the patients who intentionally ingested FB were mainly prisoners, FBs were mostly sharp metallic objects, the duration of FBs impaction was longer, and the rate of successful endoscopic treatment was lower than that of the general population. Attention should be focused on these patients.BACKGROUND International contact-tracing (CT) following exposure during long-distance air travel is resource-intensive, whereas evidence for risk of tuberculosis (TB) transmission during international travel is weak. In this study, we systematically analyzed the information from international requests for CT received at the national level in Germany in order to evaluate the continued utility of the current approach and to identify areas for improvement. METHODS An anonymized archive of international CT notifications received by the Robert Koch Institute between 2010 and 2018 was searched for key parameters for data collection. A total of 31 parameters, such as characteristics of TB patients and their identified contacts, were extracted from each CT notification and collated into a dataset. Descriptive data analysis and trend analyses were performed to identify key characteristics of CT notifications, patients, and contacts over the years. RESULTS 192 CT notifications, each corresponding to a single TB index c large proportion of TB patients reported to have travelled while being infectious in our study, we feel that raising awareness among patients and health professionals to detect TB early and prevent international long-distance travel during the infectious disease phase should be a cornerstone strategy to safeguard against possible transmission during international travel.BACKGROUND Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas (ADP) is a very rare disease with no specific symptoms, and the pathogenesis is not clear. Some patients will be accompanied by other diseases, such as pancreatic tumor or pancreatitis. But most cases are very atypical and difficult to distinguish. Some syndromes of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency are common in patients with ADP. Here, we report two cases of ADP and summarize the clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of ADP. CASE PRESENTATION Case A is a 65-year-old Chinese woman who presented with abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, bloating and acid reflux. The enhanced abdominal CT scan found nothing meaningful except the absence of the body and tail of the pancreas. The diagnosis was considered as gastrointestinal dysfunction cause by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and recovered after symptomatic treatment. Case B is a 61-year-old Chinese woman who presented with abdominal pain accompanied by fever, vomiting and bloating. The abdominal CT showed multiple stones in the gallbladder, and the body and tail of the patient’s pancreas were absent. She was diagnosed with cholelithiasis and recovered after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. CONCLUSION Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas (ADP) is a rare congenital disease with an unclear pathogenesis that presents multiple symptoms. It should be considered when the patients have non-specific, persistent and unexplained symptoms such as bloating or uncontrolled blood sugar. Imaging examination is helpful for diagnosis. And it does not require surgical intervention unless it accompanies other diseases, EPI need to be considered when the non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms appear.BACKGROUND Modeling studies to inform the design of complex health services interventions often involves elements that differ from the intervention’s ultimate real-world use. These „hypothetical” elements include pilot participants, materials, and settings. Understanding the conditions under which studies with „hypothetical” elements can yield valid results would greatly help advance health services research. Our objectives are 1) to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify factors affecting the relationship between hypothetical decisions and real-world behaviours, and 2) to summarise and organize these factors into a preliminary framework. METHODS We conducted an electronic database search using PsycINFO and Medline on November 30th, 2015, updated March 7th, 2019. We also conducted a supplemental snowball search on December 9th 2015 and a reverse citation search using Scopus and Web of Science. Studies were eligible to be included in this review if they clearly addressed the consistency betw complex health services interventions.BACKGROUND Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the risk of frailty. However, there are limited methods for evaluations of the potential association of vitamin D with frailty in a longevous (80+) population. The aim of this study was to examine the association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and the risk of frailty among the Chinese community based oldest-old. METHODS Secondary analysis of data compiled in the 2011 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (n = 1324) was performed. Frailty was assessed by the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index. Multivariate logistic regression and spline smoothing with threshold effect analysis were performed to investigate the association between 25(OH) D level and the risk of frailty after adjusting for socio-demographic variables, health characteristics and confounding biomarkers. RESULTS The mean age was 92.89 ± 7.92 years, and 844 (63.7%) participants were women. In all, data from 426 (33.2, 95% confidence interval, CI 29.66-34.69) frail participants were recorded. After adjustment for confounding covariates, the level of 25(OH) D was significantly related to frailty. By spline smoothing with threshold effect analysis, a monotonically negative association between 25(OH) D and frailty was identified. Subgroup analyses revealed that the association did not differ by sex or age. CONCLUSIONS The 25(OH) D level was inversely associated with the risk of frailty among the Chinese community-based oldest-old.BACKGROUND Aim of the study was to find predictors of allocating patients after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) to geriatric (GR) or cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and describe this new patient group based on a differentiated characterization. METHODS From 10/2013 to 07/2015, 344 patients with an elective TAVI were consecutively enrolled in this prospective multicentric cohort study. Before intervention, sociodemographic parameters, echocardiographic data, comorbidities, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), quality of life and frailty (score indexing activities of daily living [ADL], cognition, nutrition and mobility) were documented. Out of these, predictors for assignment to CR or GR after TAVI were identified using a multivariable regression model. RESULTS After TAVI, 249 patients (80.7 ± 5.1 years, 59.0% female) underwent CR (n = 198) or GR (n = 51). GR patients were older, less physically active and more often had a level of care, peripheral artery disease as well as a lower left ventricular ejection fraction. The groups also varied in 6MWD. Furthermore, individual components of frailty revealed prognostic impact higher values in instrumental ADL reduced the probability for referral to GR (OR0.49, p  less then   0.001), while an impaired mobility was positively associated with referral to GR (OR3.97, p = 0.046). Clinical parameters like stroke (OR0.19 of GR, p = 0.038) and the EuroSCORE (OR1.04 of GR, p = 0.026) were also predictive. CONCLUSION Advanced age patients after TAVI referred to CR or GR differ in several parameters and seem to be different patient groups with specific needs, e.g. regarding activities of daily living and mobility. Thus, our data prove the eligibility of both CR and GR settings.