The association of HBV core promoter double mutations (A1762T and G1764A) with viral load differs between HBeAg positive and anti-HBe positive individuals: A longitudinal analysis

Background/Aims: Although there have been a few reports regarding the effect of basal core promoter (BCP) double mutations (A1762T and G1764A) on hepatitis B viral loads, the association remains uncertain. We aim to determine the association after controlling for HBeAg - a strong confounding factor.Methods: We selected randomly 190 individuals from a Chinese cohort of 2258 subjects for cross-sectional analysis and 56 of the 190 for longitudinal analysis of viral loads.Results: In multivariable analysis of the cross-sectional data, BCP double mutations are significantly associated with lower viral loads in HBeAg positive subjects but no difference was found in anti-HBe positive subjects. Triple mutations at nucleotide (nt) 1753, 1762 and 1764 and mutations between nt 1809 and 1817, precore stop mutation (nt 1896) and genotype are not associated with viral loads in either HBeAg or anti-HBe positive subjects. Analysis of the longitudinal data yielded similar results to the cross-sectional data. Viral loads differ significantly between individuals infected with wild-type and BCP double mutations prior to HBeAg seroconversion but this difference is lost after seroconversion.Conclusions: BCP double mutations are associated with lower viral loads in HBeAg positive individuals but have no effect on the viral loads of anti-HBe positive individuals. (C) 2008 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Letter: The effects of streamwise system rotation on pressure fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow

In this letter, we report the modulating effects of streamwise system rotation on both the amplitude and the wavenumber of pressure fluctuations in a plane channel flow. The analysis of the pressure field is conducted based on a set of comprehensive direct numerical simulation data of six rotation numbers. It is observed that high pressure fluctuation regions collocate with the Taylor-Gortler-like (TGL) vortex cores. By decomposing the pressure field into rotation-induced and convection-induced parts, it is observed that the rotation-induced part dominates the total pressure fluctuations and facilitates the growth of TGL vortices. Furthermore, through a spectral analysis, it is discovered that the system rotation acts as a "linear amplifier," which converts high-wavenumber low-amplitude streamwise vorticity fluctuations into low-wavenumber high-amplitude pressure fluctuations. Published by AIP Publishing

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among bereaved and non-bereaved survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake

Many studies have suggested that unexpected death of a loved one is an important risk factor of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among disaster survivors, but few have examined the magnitude of psychiatric morbidities among bereaved survivors. This study examined the prevalence rates of clinically significant PTSD and depressive symptoms and their associated risk factors among Chinese adult survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Two hundred and fifty-one bereaved adults were compared with 1474 non-bereaved adult survivors. The estimated rates of PTSD and depressive symptoms were 65.6% and 64.8% for those who lost first-degree family members, 34.1% and 45.5% for those who lost second-degree relatives, and 27.1% and 37.5% for non-bereaved survivors respectively. Loss of a child was a significant predictor of psychopathological symptoms. The results suggested that effective and sustainable mental health services were required, especially for bereaved single-child parents. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.postprin

Eliminación de DBP en aceite de onagra mediante arcilla activada modificada por chitosán y CTAB

The pollution of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in edible oils is a serious problem. In the current study, we attempt to remove dibutyl phthalate ester (DBP) from evening primrose oil (EPO) with modified activated clay. The activated clay, commonly used for de-coloration in the oil refining process, was modified by chitosan and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The modifications were characterized by SEM, XRD, and FT-IR. We further tested the DBP adsorption capacity of CTAB/chitosan-clay and found that the removal rate was 27.56% which was 3.24 times higher than with pristine activated clay. In addition, the CTAB/chitosan-clay composite treatment had no significant effect on the quality of evening primrose oil. In summary, the CTAB/chitosan-clay composite has a stronger DBP adsorption capacity and can be used as a new adsorbent for removing DBP during the de-coloration process of evening primrose oil.La contaminación por ésteres de ácido ftálico (PAEs) en los aceites comestibles es un problema grave. En el presente estudio, intentamos eliminar el éster de ftalato de dibutilo (DBP) del aceite de onagra (EPO) con arcilla activada modificada. La arcilla activada, comúnmente utilizada en la decoloración en el proceso de refinación de los aceites, fue modificada con chitosán y bromuro de hexadecil trimetil amonio (CTAB). Las modificaciones se caracterizaron mediante SEM, XRD y FT-IR. Además, probamos la capacidad de adsorción de DBP de CTAB / chitosán-arcilla y descubrimos que la tasa de eliminación era del 27,56%, que era 3,24 veces mayor que la arcilla activada pura. Además, el tratamiento compuesto de CTAB/chitosán-arcilla no tuvo un efecto significativo sobre la calidad del aceite de onagra. En resumen, el compuesto CTAB/chitosán-arcilla tiene una capacidad de adsorción de DBP más fuerte y se puede utilizar como un nuevo adsorbente para eliminar DBP durante el proceso de decoloración del aceite de onagra

A review of physical supply and EROI of fossil fuels in China

This paper reviews China’s future fossil fuel supply from the perspectives of physical output and net energy output. Comprehensive analyses of physical output of fossil fuels suggest that China’s total oil production will likely reach its peak, at about 230 Mt/year (or 9.6 EJ/year), in 2018; its total gas production will peak at around 350 Bcm/year (or 13.6 EJ/year) in 2040, while coal production will peak at about 4400 Mt/year (or 91.9 EJ/year) around 2020 or so. In terms of the forecast production of these fuels, there are significant differences among current studies. These differences can be mainly explained by different ultimately recoverable resources assumptions, the nature of the models used, and differences in the historical production data. Due to the future constraints on fossil fuels production, a large gap is projected to grow between domestic supply and demand, which will need to be met by increasing imports. Net energy analyses show that both coal and oil and gas production show a steady declining trend of EROI (energy return on investment) due to the depletion of shallow-buried coal resources and conventional oil and gas resources, which is generally consistent with the approaching peaks of physical production of fossil fuels. The peaks of fossil fuels production, coupled with the decline in EROI ratios, are likely to challenge the sustainable development of Chinese society unless new abundant energy resources with high EROI values can be found

On the Kinematic Signature of the Galactic Warp As Revealed by the LAMOST-TGAS Data

Using a sample of about 123,000 stars with accurate 3D velocity measurements from the LAMOST-TGAS data, we confirm the kinematic signature of the Galactic warp recently found by Schonrich & Dehnen. The data reveal a clear trend of increasing mean vertical velocity Vz as a function of absolute vertical angular momentum Lz and azimuthal velocity Vφ for guiding center radius Rg between 6.0 and 10.5 kpc. The trend is consistent with a largescale Galactic warp. Similar to Schonrich & Dehnen, we also find a wave-like pattern of Vz versus Lz with an amplitude of ∼0.9 km s-1 on a scale of ∼2.0 kpc, which could arise from bending waves or a winding warp. Finally, we confirm a prominent, localized peak in Vz near Lz ∼ 2150 kpc km s-1 (corresponding to Rg ∼ 9 kpc and Vφ ∼ 255 km s-1). The additional line-of-sight velocity information from LAMOST reveals that stars in this feature have a large, inward radial velocity of VR ∼ -13.33 ± 0.59 km s-1 and a small radial velocity dispersion of σR ∼ 25.27 ± 0.89 km s-1, suggesting that a stellar stream gives rise to this feature

Community capacity building and post-disaster psychosocial reconstruction

Conference Theme: Wenchuan earthquake, the path forwardpostprintThe International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC) Chengdu 2009: Wenchuan earthquake, the path forward, Chengdu, China, 13-15 July 2009

The effects of environmental disturbances on tumor growth

In this study, the analytic expressions of the steady probability distribution of tumor cells were established based on the steady state solution to the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation. Then, the effects of two uncorrelated white noises on tumor cell growth were investigated. It was found that the predation rate plays the main role in determining whether or not the noise is favorable for tumor growth.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures. Note: The paper will be published on volume 42 of the Brazilian Journal of Physic

Urokinase plasminogen activator secreted by cancer-associated fibroblasts induces tumor progression via PI3K/AKT and ERK signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

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