Multicenter evaluation of the new Alinity s anti-HCV II assay for routine hepatitis C virus blood screening

Background: Anti-HCV immunoassays remain the primary serologic test for HCV screening among blood donors. Since 1990s, Anti-HCV assays have evolved and those currently available detect infection earlier and have improved sensitivity and specificity compared with older generation assays. The new Alinity s Anti-HCV II assay, with its innovative design, has improved sensitivity, which shall further enhance safety of blood. Methods: Alinity s Anti-HCV II assay was evaluated at 2 blood services (HKRCBTS & SNBTS). The overall sensitivity was evaluated using known positive samples (n = 5 at HKRCBTS; 50 at SNBTS) and 3 seroconversion panels (panel members =14 at each site). A total of 7,532 blood donor samples were tested to determine the clinical specificity. Results: The clinical sensitivity of the new assay was found to be 100% at both sites. HCV seroconversion panel detection rates were 57.1% (8/14) and 14.3% (2/14) for the Alinity s Anti-HCV II and Anti-HCV assays respectively, resulting in an improvement in seroconversion sensitivity of 42.8% for the Anti-HCV II assay over the Anti-HCV assay. The specificity of the Anti-HCV II assay was 100% at HKRCBTS, and 99.95% at SNBTS. Conclusions: The Anti-HCV II assay detected all known positive specimens and was able to detect samples in seroconversion panels earlier compared to the Anti-HCV assay. The assay showed excellent clinical specificity and generated fewer false-reactive results and was found to be suitable for routine blood donor screening

Iron Deficiency among School-Aged Adolescents in Hong Kong: Prevalence, Predictors, and Effects on Health-Related Quality of Life

Iron deficiency (ID) is a prevalent nutritional deficiency affecting children/adolescents worldwide. We reported (1) the prevalence of ID and ID with anemia (IDA) among Chinese school-aged adolescents, (2) clinical and dietary predictors of iron status, and (3) its impact on health-related qualities of life (HRQoL). This cross-sectional study recruited 183 boys and 340 girls (mean age = 17.55) from 16 schools in Hong Kong. ID is defined as serum ferritin <15 μg/L. The participants reported their dietary habits, menstrual patterns (girls), and HRQoL using structured questionnaires. The overall prevalence of ID was 11.1%. None of the boys had ID or IDA. Among girls, the rate of ID was 17.1% and IDA was 10.9%. One-third (36.3%) reported a regular habit of skipping ≥1 meal/day. Lower ferritin was found in adolescents who skipped meals (Est = −35.1, p = 0.017). Lower ferritin is correlated with poorer school functioning (Est = 0.81, p = 0.045) and fatigue (Est = 0.92, p = 0.016). Skipping meals is associated with poorer physical (p = 0.0017) and school functioning (p = 0.027). To conclude, 1 in 10 school-aged adolescents in Hong Kong are iron-deficient. The ID rate in girls (17.1%) is similar to that in other industrialized countries (5.2–16.6%). Future work should promote awareness on the potential health consequences of poor dietary habits on ID and the well-being of adolescents

Distribution of (A) normalized Put, (B) normalized Spd, (C) normalized Spm values in PCa, BPH and HC.

<p>The black bar in the figures indicates the mean value of each subset while the error bar indicates the corresponding SEM.</p

Overlaid UPLC-MS/MS SRM chromatograms of 1000 ppb mixed polyamines standard (0–10 mins being shown).

<p>Put (Black peak, t_R = 4.3 min), Put-d₈ (Pink peak, t_R = 4.3 min), Spd (Blue peak, t_R = 6.6 min), Spd-d₈ (Red peak, t_R = 6.6 min), Spm (Yellow peak, t_R = 7.9 min) and Spm-d₈ (Green peak, t_R = 7.9 min).</p

Column statistics of normalized polyamine contents (μmol/g of creatinine) in different subsets.

<p>Column statistics of normalized polyamine contents (μmol/g of creatinine) in different subsets.</p

Receiver operating characteristic analysis for normalized Put, Spd and Spm values.

<p>Receiver operating characteristic analysis for normalized Put, Spd and Spm values.</p

Clinicopathologic characteristics of patients.

<p>Clinicopathologic characteristics of patients.</p

Polyamine metabolic pathway (focusing on Put, Spd and Spm only).

<p>Polyamine metabolic pathway (focusing on Put, Spd and Spm only).</p