Serum HBsAg and HBcrAg is associated with inflammation in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients

Backgrounds & aimsLiver inflammation is the main risk factor for developing liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. To replace biopsy, additional non-invasive biomarkers to diagnose and grade liver necroinflammation are urgently required in clinical practice.MethodNinety-four CHB patients, including 74 HBeAg-positive and 20 HBeAg-negative patients, were enrolled and started entecavir or adefovir therapy. Serum HBV RNA, HBV DNA, HBsAg, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg), ALT and AST levels, as well as intrahepatic HBV DNA and cccDNA were measured at baseline and during treatment. Liver inflammation was assessed at baseline and month 60 by liver biopsy. Inflammation regression was defined as a ≥1-grade decrease according to the Scheuer scoring system.ResultsIn HBeAg-positive CHB patients, at baseline, serum HBsAg and HBcrAg levels negatively correlated with inflammation grade, while ALT and AST levels positively correlated with inflammation grade. AST plus HBsAg exhibited excellent diagnostic ability for significant inflammation with an AUROC of 0.896. After 60 months of antiviral treatment, almost all the patients’ liver inflammation ameliorated to G1, and no patients had inflammation progression.ConclusionBesides ALT and AST, serum HBsAg and HBcrAg correlated with inflammation grade in HBeAg-positive CHB patients before NAs treatment. Moreover, the combination of HBsAg and AST exhibited excellent diagnostic ability for significant inflammation

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Feeder Scheduling and Container Transportation with the Factors of Draught and Bridge in the Yangtze River, China

Inland shipping in the Yangtze River in China has become very prosperous, making feeder scheduling and container transportation increasingly difficult for feeder operators. This research analyzed the decision-making of container transportation businesses in feeder companies operating between Shanghai Port and inland ports along the Yangtze River in China. The research considered the complexity of the natural conditions and water channels, including the draught limitations and the height of the bridges over the river. To analyze ways to increase the effectiveness of shipping containers from Shanghai Port into inland river ports along the Yangtze River, we built a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model to minimize the total operating cost and determine the most effective departure time of each feeder. After linearizing the model, we designed a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to increase solution efficiency and introduced a taboo list and aspiration criterion of a Taboo Search (TS) algorithm to improve the PSO algorithm. Finally, we verified the accuracy of the model and the efficiency of the algorithms using numerical experiments. The research provides theoretical guidance for feeder operators and inland river shipping companies

Altered Regional Cerebral Blood Flow of Right Cerebellum Posterior Lobe in Asthmatic Patients With or Without Depressive Symptoms

Background: Asthma is a chronic disease appeared to be associated with depression. But the underpinnings of depression in asthma remain unknown. In order to understand the neural mechanisms of depression in asthma, we used cerebral blood flow (CBF) to probe the difference between depressed asthmatic (DA) and non-depressed asthmatic (NDA) patients.Methods: Eighteen DA patients, 24 NDA patients and 57 healthy controls (HC) received pulsed arterial spin labeling (pASL) scan for measuring CBF, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan, severity of depression and asthma control assessment, respectively.Results: Compared to NDA, DA patients showed increased regional CBF (rCBF) in the right cerebellum posterior lobe. Compared to HC, DA, and NDA patients all showed significantly decreased rCBF in the right cerebellum posterior lobe.Conclusions: We showed the first evidence of altered rCBF in the right cerebellum posterior lobe in asthma using pASL, which appeared to be involved in the neuropathology in asthma.Clinical Trial Registration: An investigation of therapeutic mechanism in asthmatic patients: based on the results of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Registration number: ChiCTR-COC-15007442) (http://www.chictr.org.cn/usercenter.aspx)

Abnormal Functional Connectivity of Ventral Anterior Insula in Asthmatic Patients with Depression

Objective. To explore the underlying mechanism of depression in asthmatic patients, the ReHo in the insula and its FC was used to probe the differences between depressed asthmatic (DA) and nondepressed asthmatic (NDA) patients. Methods. 18 DA patients, 24 NDA patients, and 60 healthy controls (HCs) received resting-state fMRI scan, severity of depression, and asthma control assessment. Results. DA patients showed increased FC between the left ventral anterior insula (vAI) and the left middle temporal gyrus compared with both NDA and HC groups. In addition, compared with HCs, the DA and NDA patients both exhibited increased FC between the left vAI and the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), decreased FC between the left vAI and the bilateral parietal lobe, and increased FC between the right vAI and the left putamen and the right caudate, respectively. Furthermore, the increased FC between the left vAI and the right ACC could differentiate HCs from both DA and NDA patients, and the increased FC between the right vAI and both the left putamen and the right caudate could separate NDA patients from HCs. Conclusions. This study confirmed that abnormal vAI FC may be involved in the neuropathology of depression in asthma. The increased FC between the left vAI and the left MTG could distinguish DA from the NDA and HC groups

Study on plantlet regeneration and <i>in vitro</i> culture of non-heading Chinese cabbage

The cotyledon of non-heading Chinese cabbage(Brassica campestris ssp.chinensis Makino)was used as explants to investigate the effects of different concentrations of hormone and of AgNO3 on its culture in vitro based on one variety ″short broom suzhouqing″.The results showed that the induction rate of adventitious bud was the highest on the MS medium containing 0.3 mg/L NAA and 5 mg/L 6-BA,while 5 mg/L AgNO3 added on this medium could efficiently improve the regeneration rate (high to 31.3%).Meanwhile,half strength MS supplemented with 0.3 mg/L NAA was the best medium for rooting of non-heading Chinese cabbage.Our study set up a primary regeneration system for non-heading Chinese cabbage short broom suzhouqing.This system laid the foundation of molecular breeding of non-heading Chinese cabbage using genetic engineering further

Effect of artemisinin and neurectomy of pterygoid canal in ovalbumin-induced allergic rhinitis mouse model

Abstract Background Allergic rhinitis (AR), characterized by sneezing, nasal itching and rhinorrhea, affects a large number of population. This study aimed to explore the effects of artemisinin alone or combined with neurectomy of pterygoid canal in ovalbumin-induced AR mouse model and illustrate the underlying mechanisms. Methods Allergic symptoms were evaluated to verify inhibitory effect of artemisinin alone or combined with neurectomy of pterygoid canal on AR. Serum levels of histamine, immunoglobulin E (IgE) and inflammatory factors TNF, INF-γ, IL-1β IL-10, IL-4 and IL-5 were measured by ELISA. The mRNA levels of TNF, INF-γ, IL-1β and IL-10 in local lymph nodes were measured by RT-qPCR. The total and phosphorylated levels of ERK and JNK were assessed by Western blot. CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T (Treg) cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results Artemisinin significantly relieved the behavior symptoms of AR mice. The administration of artemisinin strikingly suppressed the expression of histamine, IgE and inflammatory factors. An increased Treg cell proportion and inhibited ERK phosphorylation were observed in artemisinin-treated groups as compared to those in the AR group. Moreover, artemisinin plus neurectomy of pterygoid almost abolished the behavioral score increase in AR mice. Conclusions These results indicated that artemisinin exhibited anti-allergic effect by inhibiting ERK activation and increasing Treg cell proportion, which subsequently decreased the expressions of allergic mediators. In addition, artemisinin combined with neurectomy of pterygoid showed better efficacy than artemisinin alone