CD100 up-Regulation Induced by Interferon-α on B Cells Is Related to Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Objectives: CD100, also known as Sema4D, is a member of the semaphorin family and has important regulatory functions that promote immune cell activation and responses. The role of CD100 expression on B cells in immune regulation during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unclear. Materials and Methods: We longitudinally investigated the altered expression of CD100, its receptor CD72, and other activation markers CD69 and CD86 on B cells in 20 chronic HCV-infected patients before and after treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha (Peg-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV) by flow cytometry. Results: The frequency of CD5+ B cells as well as the expression levels of CD100, CD69 and CD86 was significantly increased in chronic HCV patients and returned to normal in patients with sustained virological response after discontinuation of IFN-α/RBV therapy. Upon IFN-α treatment, CD100 expression on B cells and the two subsets was further up-regulated in patients who achieved early virological response, and this was confirmed by in vitro experiments. Moreover, the increased CD100 expression via IFN-α was inversely correlated with the decline of the HCV-RNA titer during early-phase treatment. Conclusions: Peripheral B cells show an activated phenotype during chronic HCV infection. Moreover, IFN-α therapy facilitates the reversion of disrupted B cell homeostasis, and up-regulated expression of CD100 may be indirectly related to HCV clearance

Rare Earth Eu Doped PtRu/C Catalysts and Their Properties for Methanol Electrooxidation

Commercially available PtRu/C catalyst was doped with Eu by chemical reduction and sintering, resulting in PtRuEux/C catalysts with different Eu contents. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results showed that Eu doping did not change the average size of the PtRu/C catalysts (ca 3 nm), and their surfaces were modified by both Eu metal and oxide. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry demonstrated that the activity of the PtRuEux/C catalysts was higher than that of commercial PtRu/C for methanol electrooxidation. Among the PtRuEux/C catalysts, PtRuEu0.3/C exhibited the best performance. The electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol on the catalyst was further investigated by in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy at molecular level. Results indicated that the adsorbed species derived from the dissociative adsorption of methanol on the catalysts were linear. bonded CO (COL). Eu doping decreased the oxidation potential of COL and thus significantly enhanced the activity of the catalysts and their tolerance to CO.National Natural Science Foundation of China [20833005, 20828005]; Scientific Research Foundation, Ministry of Education ; Opening Foundation of the State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surface of Xiamen University ; Innovation Project of Guangxi Graduate Education, Chin

A mass vaccination campaign targeting adults and children to prevent typhoid fever in Hechi; Expanding the use of Vi polysaccharide vaccine in Southeast China: A cluster-randomized trial

BACKGROUND: One of the goals of this study was to learn the coverage, safety and logistics of a mass vaccination campaign against typhoid fever in children and adults using locally produced typhoid Vi polysaccharide (PS) and group A meningococcal PS vaccines in southern China. METHODS: The vaccination campaign targeted 118,588 persons in Hechi, Guangxi Province, aged between 5 to 60 years, in 2003. The study area was divided into 107 geographic clusters, which were randomly allocated to receive one of the single-dose parenteral vaccines. All aspects regarding vaccination logistics, feasibility and safety were documented and systematically recorded. Results of the logistics, feasibility and safety are reported. RESULTS: The campaign lasted 5 weeks and the overall vaccination coverage was 78%. On average, the 30 vaccine teams gave immunizations on 23 days. Vaccine rates were higher in those aged ≤ 15 years (90%) than in adolescents and young adults (70%). Planned mop-up activities increased the coverage by 17%. The overall vaccine wastage was 11%. The cold chain was maintained and documented. 66 individuals reported of adverse events out of all vaccinees, where fever (21%), malaise (19%) and local redness (19%) were the major symptoms; no life-threatening event occurred. Three needle-sharp events were reported. CONCLUSION: The mass immunization proved feasible and safe, and vaccine coverage was high. Emphasis should be placed on: injection safety measures, community involvement and incorporation of mop-up strategies into any vaccination campaign. School-based and all-age Vi mass immunizations programs are potentially important public health strategies for prevention of typhoid fever in high-risk populations in southern China

The Optimal PPP Model of Emergency Rescue Service

Based on the analysis of the shortage of emergency rescue services and the supervision of public-private-partnership (PPP) projects, this paper explores the rent-seeking game predicament and establishes a three-player rent-seeking game model among government regulators, private enterprises, and government agents in the bidding operation of PPP projects by learning from Stackelberg game theory. Through the numerical simulation analysis, this paper explores the impact of the relevant variables on the model results, which can lead to the following conclusions: the emphasis on government regulators changes due to rent-seeking cost changes; when the success rate of verification is high, government regulators can take supervision randomly. Inversely, supervision channels should be broadened when the supervision fails. When the punishment on government agents and private enterprises is great, relaxing supervision may be appropriate. This study proposes the relevant policy recommendations for government regulators to improve their work

Analysis on the clinical characteristics and treatment of intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment of intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis. Methods Fourteen patients (2 males and 12 females) with intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis were divided into 2 groups, and were treated with argatroban (argatroban group, n = 8) and heparin (heparin group, n = 6), respectively. Age, pattern of onset, clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics and result of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination were analysed. The improvement of neural function and outcome was compared between 2 groups. Results Intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis could be seen in all age, but especially often occurred in young and middle⁃aged women. The common causes were pregnancy, infection, immunological disorders, etc. Acute or subacute clinical characteristics were headache (71.43%, 10/14), seizure (35.71%, 5/14), asthenia (21.43%, 3/14), and CSF pressure was significantly high in most patients. The imaging findings were cerebral venous and sinus occlusion and cerebral parenchymal impairment (infarction, hemorrhage, brain edema). There were 7 and 5 effective cases in argatroban group and heparin group, respectively (Z = ⁃ 0.067, P = 0.950). In both group, the neural function [National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score] was significantly improved after treatment (P = 0.007). Conclusion Intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis should be highly suspected in patients who have no common risk factors for stroke, but with acute intracranial hypertensive symptoms such as headache, vomiting, and cortex symmetric infarction on CT scanning. Although cerebral angiography is the golden standard for the diagnosis of intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis, most patients can be early diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography (MRV). The difference in curative effect is not significant between argatroban and heparin. The patient with intracranial venous and sinus thrombosis may get more benefit, when anticoagulant therapy is given earlier and actively. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2011.02.01

Ameliorative effect and mechanism of ursodeoxycholic acid on hydrogen peroxide-induced hepatocyte injury

Abstract To assess the ameliorative effect of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced hepatocyte injury. In our in vivo experiments, we modelled hyperlipidemia in ApoE−/− mice subjected to a 3-month high-fat diet and found that HE staining of the liver showed severe liver injury and excessive H2O2 was detected in the serum. We modelled oxidative stress injury in L02 cells by H2O2 in vitro and analyzed the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and related genes. UDCA significantly improved the level of oxidative stress in H2O2-injured L02 cells (P < 0.05). In addition, UDCA improved the transcription levels of inflammation and oxidative stress-related genes (P < 0.05), showing anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects. UDCA has a protective effect on H2O2-damaged L02 cells, which lays a theoretical foundation for its application development