Direct brain recordings reveal prefrontal cortex dynamics of memory development

Prevailing theories link prefrontal cortex (PFC) maturation to the development of declarative memory. However, the precise spatiotemporal correlates of memory formation in the developing brain are not known. We provide rare intracranial evidence that the spatiotemporal propagation of frontal activity supports memory formation in children. Seventeen subjects (6.2 to 19.4 years) studied visual scenes in preparation for a recognition memory test while undergoing direct cortical monitoring. Earlier PFC activity predicted greater accuracy, and subsecond deviations in activity flow between subregions predicted memory formation. Activity flow between inferior and precentral sites was refined during adolescence, partially explaining gains in memory. In contrast, middle frontal activity predicted memory independent of age. These findings show with subsecond temporal precision that the developing PFC links scene perception and memory formation and underscore the role of the PFC in supporting memory development.

[Analysis of the arthropathies on no-bleeding history joints in pre-school age severe hemophilia A children]

Objective: To detect the arthropathies on no bleeding history joints in pre-school hemophilia A children in order to provide evidence for further prevention and control of joint disease in children with hemophilia A. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study based on China Hemophilia Individualized prophylaxis study (CHIPS). The basic data of outpatients with hemophilia in Beijing Children's Hospital and Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital between August 2016 and June 2017 were collected and a three-month follow-up was conducted. The target joints (six joints of bilateral elbows, knees and ankles) of thirty-four children aged 1-7 years old with severe hemophilia A were examined by ultrasound, X-ray and joint function examination (4-7 years old, hemophilia joint health score (HJHS)). To find out whether there are arthropathies in patient's joints with no bleeding history and analyze the relevant factors by chi-square test, rank sum test and other statistical methods. Results: There were 32 analyzable cases with 112 no-bleeding history target joints, 42.9% (48/112) were elbow joints. Arthropathies were revealed in 34.8% (39/112) of them by joint structural and functional examination and 46.2% (18/39) were ankles (χ(2)=8.379, P=0.015) . Ultrasound showed abnormalities in 18.3% (20/109) joints, X-ray showed abnormalities in 3.8% (3/79) joints and HJHS showed abnormalities in 25.3% (20/79) joints. There was no correlation between ultrasound and HJHS (r=0.015, P=0.895), no correlation was found between X-ray and HJHS (r=-0.101, P=0.390) either, which suggested that joint structural and functional examination could not replace each other. The related risk factors of arthropathies in this group were >4.91 years old (OR=3.917, 95%CI:1.610-9.528) and combining with target joint (OR=3.530, 95%CI:1.316-9.465). Conclusions: Detecting the joint structure and function on no bleeding history joints in pre-school hemophilia A children could reveal the arthropathies and majority of them were ankle arthropathies. Joint structural and functional examinations could not replace each other. For patients more than 5 years old and those with target joints, the joints with no complaint of bleeding should be examined regularly to reveal the arthropathies in time.

Comparative Antiviral Efficacy of Generic Sofosbuvir versus Brand Name Sofosbuvir with Ribavirin for the Treatment of Hepatitis C

BACKGROUND

Chronic hepatitis C infection is a major cause for liver failure and liver cancer and can be treated with highly effective all oral directly acting antiviral (DAA) drugs. Generic versions of these DAAs are available in India.

METHOD

This was an open-label, single-center, prospective, nonrandomized observational study for the comparative safety and efficacy of generic versus brand name sofosbuvir with ribavirin therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection (all genotypes). Between December 2014 and December 2015, 66 patients received either generic sofosbuvir (400mg) or brand name SOLVALDI (400mg) with weight based ribavirin for 24 weeks in a single multispecialty hospital in Mumbai. Monitoring viral loads and safety labs was performed as per national guidelines.

RESULTS

Sustained virologic response was 72.4% versus 75.7% (p=0.78) among patients treated with generics and SOVALDI, respectively. At 4 weeks on-treatment, approximately 90% of patients from both groups had undetectable or below the lower limit of quantification. Change in hemoglobin was comparable in both groups (p=0.26).

CONCLUSION

Generic versions of sofosbuvir reported in this study are safe and efficacious to treat hepatitis C. However, bioequivalency studies of all generic DAAs need to be performed before wider use of such drugs for the treatment of hepatitis C.

Redox-Responsive Dual Chemophotothermal Therapeutic Nanomedicine for Imaging-Guided Combinational Therapy

Chemotherapy is currently the major therapeutic method against cancer. However, chemo drugs are usually lacking in the specificity towards cancer cells over normal cells. In this study, we prepared a novel multifunctional trimeric prodrug by linking the chemo drug camptothecin (CPT) and the exceptional photostable near infrared (NIR) croconaine dye (CR) via a glutathione (GSH)-sensitive disulfide linker. Compared with CPT, our novel trimeric CR-(SS-CPT)2 is more hydrophobic and bulky, making it highly effcient to be encapsulated into biocompatible polymeric nanocarrier. The prodrug underwent rapid drug release specifically in cancer cells with high GSH concentration. The hyperthermia produced by CR upon laser irradiation could further accelerate the break of disulfide bond, which makes the release of CPT even more controllable. We further loaded the CR-(SS-CPT)2 into folate modified lipid-polymer nanoparticles, which demonstrated high in vivo tumor accumulation and retention. The biodistribution of these nanoparticles can be directly monitored in real time via NIR fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging. Under the imaging guided chemo- and photothermal- synergistic therapy, the tumors were completely ablated with no recurrence. The design not only highly enhanced the therapeutic specificity and effeciency of CPT, but also provide a "all in one" nanomedicine for imaging-guided dual modality therapy.

Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of orally administered recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum expressing VP2 protein against IBDV in chicken

AIM

To develop an effective oral vaccine against the very virulent infectious bursal disease virus (vvIBDV), we generated two recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum strains (pPG612-VP2/LP and pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP, which carried the T7g10 translational enhancer) that displayed the VP2 protein on the surface, and compared the humoral and cellular immune responses against vvIBDV in chickens.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We genetically engineered the L. plantarum strains pPG612-VP2/LP and pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP constitutively expressing the VP2 protein of vvIBDV. We found that the T7g10 enhancer efficiently upregulates VP2 expression in pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP. Orally administered, pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP exhibited significant levels of protection (87·5%) against vvIBDV in chickens, indicating improved immunogenicity. Chickens in the pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP group produced higher levels of interferons (IFN-γ) and interleukins (IL-2 and IL-4) than those in the pPG612-VP2/LP group. CD8+ and CD4+ lymphocyte counts indicated greater stimulation in the pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP group (13·3 and 21·0% respectively) than in the pPG612-VP2/LP group (10·4 and 14·0% respectively). Thus, pPG612-T7g10-VP2/LP could induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses against vvIBDV.

CONCLUSIONS

The recombinant L. plantarum that expresses pPG612-T7g10-VP2 is a promising candidate for oral vaccine development against vvIBDV.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The recombinant Lactobacillus delivery system provides a promising strategy for vaccine development against vvIBDV in chickens.

Comparison of nursing methods of pediatric epilepsy

We evaluated a modified clinical nursing procedure applied in pediatric epilepsy treatment. A total of 120 sick children were randomly selected and evenly divided into control and observation groups. The control group was treated with a conventional epilepsy nursing protocol, while the observation group was treated with a modified clinical nursing protocol including establishment of a nursing care quality control group, designing a standardized nursing workflow using unified tables, adjusting nursing intensity according to different types of epilepsy, and extension of nursing care post-hospitalization. The clinical effects of the two groups were compared. The cure rate of epilepsy in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P less than 0.05). The duration of treatment was shortened and the incidence of complications was reduced in the observation group compared to the control group with statistical significance (P less than 0.05). The satisfaction for nursing care and treatment compliance were significantly improved in the observation group compared with controls (P less than 0.05). In conclusion, a relevant clinical nursing method can significantly enhance pediatric epilepsy therapy through improvement of nursing care quality.

Radiolabeled Angiogenesis-Targeting Croconaine Nanoparticles for Trimodality Imaging Guided Photothermal Therapy of Glioma

To meet the criteria of effective theranostics, biocompatible nanomedicine endowing intrinsic therapeutic and imaging properties have gained extraordinary momentum. In this study, an ultra-stable near-infrared (NIR) dye croconaine (CR780) was engineered with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide and polyethylene glycol (PEG), which was then self-assembled into uniform nanoparticles (NPs). These RGD-CR780-PEG5K assemblies were radiolabeled with ¹²⁵I through a facile standard Iodo-Gen method. The resulting [¹²⁵I]RGD-CR780-PEG5K NPs showed effective accumulation in α_vβ₃ integrin expressing glioblastoma, as evidenced by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/CT and NIR fluorescence imaging. More importantly, high-resolution photoacoustic imaging revealed that these NPs selectively targeted to angiogenic tumor vessels. With the favorable tumor selective accumulation and high photothermal conversion efficiency, the [¹²⁵I]RGD-CR780-PEG5K NPs allowed thorough tumor ablation and inhibition of tumor relapse at a relatively low laser energy (0.5 W/cm²). Overall, this work offers a proper methodology to fabricate tumor-targeted multi-modal nanotheranostic agents, providing great opportunity for precision imaging and cancer therapy.

Radioiodinated Small-Molecule Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor for HER2-Selective SPECT Imaging

One of the most clinically relevant molecular aberrations in breast cancer is overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2). We aimed to develop a radiolabeled tyrosine kinase inhibitor for HER2-targeted breast cancer imaging. In this study, a radioiodinated analog (^125/131I-IBA-CP) of the HER2-selective inhibitor CP724,714 was prepared and evaluated in HER2-positive or -negative subcutaneous human breast cancer xenografts. Methods: The CP724,714 analog IBA-CP was synthesized and assayed for its inhibitory activities against HER2 and 6 other tyrosine kinases. ^125/131I-IBA-CP was prepared using a copper-mediated radioiodination method with enhanced labeling yield and molar activity. In vitro biologic activity, including specific and nonspecific binding of ¹³¹I-IBA-CP to its HER2 kinase target, was assessed in different cell lines. In vivo small-animal ¹²⁵I-IBA-CP SPECT imaging and biodistribution studies were conducted on mice bearing HER2-positive, HER2-negative, or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive tumors. Nonradioactive IBA-CP and the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib were used as blocking agents to investigate the binding specificity and selectivity of ^125/131I-IBA-CP toward HER2 in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, ^125/131I-ICP was prepared by direct radioiodination of CP724,714 for comparison with ^125/131I-IBA-CP. Results: IBA-CP displayed superior in vitro inhibitory activity (half-maximal inhibitory concentration, 16 nM) and selectivity for HER2 over 6 other cancer-related tyrosine kinases. ^125/131I-IBA-CP was prepared in a typical radiochemical yield of about 65% (decay-corrected), radiochemical purity of more than 98%, and molar activity of 42 GBq/μmol at the end of synthesis. SPECT imaging revealed significantly higher uptake of ¹²⁵I-IBA-CP than of ¹²⁵I-ICP in the HER2-positive MDA-MB-453 tumors. Uptake in the HER2-negative MCF-7 tumors was much lower. Binding of ¹²⁵I-IBA-CP in the MDA-MB-453 tumors was blocked by coinjection with an excess amount of IBA-CP, but not by erlotinib. Conclusion: The radiolabeled HER2-selective inhibitor ^125/131I-IBA-CP is a promising probe for in vivo detection of HER2-positive tumors.

Preoperative CT texture analysis of gastric cancer: correlations with postoperative TNM staging

AIM

To explore the role of computed tomography (CT) texture analysis in predicting pathologic stage of gastric cancers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Preoperative enhanced CT images of 153 patients (112 men, 41 women) with gastric cancers were reviewed retrospectively. Regions of interest (ROIs) were manually drawn along the margin of the lesion on the section where it appeared largest on the arterial and venous CT images, which yielded texture parameters, including mean, maximum frequency, mode, skewness, kurtosis, and entropy. Correlations between texture parameters and pathological stage were analysed with Spearman's correlation test. The diagnostic performance of CT texture parameters in differentiating different stages was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

RESULTS

Maximum frequency in the arterial phase and mean, maximum frequency, mode in the venous phase correlated positively with T stage, N stage, and overall stage (all p<0.05) of gastric cancer. Entropy in the venous phase also correlated positively with N stage (p=0.009) and overall stage (p=0.032). Skewness in the arterial phase had the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.822 in identifying early from advanced gastric cancers. Multivariate analysis identified four parameters, including maximum frequency, skewness, entropy in the venous phase, and differentiation degree from biopsy, for predicting lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer. The multivariate model could distinguish gastric cancers with and without lymph node metastasis with an AUC of 0.892.

CONCLUSION

Multiple CT texture parameters, especially those in the venous phase, correlated well with pathological stage and hold great potential in predicting lymph node metastasis of gastric cancers.

Crystal genes in a marginal glass-forming system of Ni50Zr50

The marginal glass-forming ability (GFA) of a binary Ni-Zr system is an issue to be explained considering numerous bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) found in a Cu-Zr system. Using molecular dynamics, the structures and dynamics of Ni₅₀Zr₅₀ metallic liquid and glass are investigated at the atomistic level. To achieve a well-relaxed glassy sample, a sub-T_g annealing method is applied and the final sample is closer to the experiments than the models prepared by continuous cooling. With the state-of-the-art structural analysis tools such as cluster alignment and pair-wise alignment methods, two glass-forming motifs with some mixed traits of a metastable B2 crystalline phase and a crystalline Ni-centered B33 motif are found to be dominant in the undercooled liquid and glass samples. A new chemical order characterization on each short-range order (SRO) structure is accomplished based on the cluster alignment method. The significant amount of the crystalline motif and the few icosahedra in the glassy sample deteriorate the GFA.

Synthesis and biological assessment of 3,7-dihydroxytropolones

3,7-Dihydroxytropolones (3,7-dHTs) are highly oxygenated troponoids that have been identified as lead compounds for several human diseases. To date, structure-function studies on these molecules have been limited due to a scarcity of synthetic methods for their preparation. New synthetic strategies towards structurally novel 3,7-dHTs would be valuable in further studying their therapeutic potential. Here we describe the successful adaptation of a [5 + 2] oxidopyrilium cycloaddition/ring-opening for 3,7-dHT synthesis, which we apply in the synthesis of a plausible biosynthetic intermediate to the natural products puberulic and puberulonic acid. We have also tested these new compounds in several biological assays related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) in order to gain insight into structure-functional analysis related to antiviral troponoid development.

[Influence of EDC ethanol solution on dentin shear bond strength with a self-etch adhesive system]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the bonding ability of one representative self-etch adhesive system by applying the micro-shear bond strength test method with different concentrations of carbodiimide [1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, EDC] ethanol solution pretreatment.

METHODS

Extracted sound human third molars were collected from patients ranging 18 to 40 years. In the study, 80 molars were first sectioned to prepare a flat middle coronal dentin surface and then were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=16) according to without/with different surface treatments [blank control; 80% (volume fraction) ethanol control; EDC ethanol solution of three concentrations (0.01 mol/L, 0.3 mol/L and 0.5 mol/L)]. Each specimen underwent a micro-shear bond strength test and failure mode observation. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test to analyze the difference of the micro-shear bond strength, and chi-square test/Fisher's exact test for the failure mode frequency of the micro-shear bond strength test specimens at a significance level of P=0.05.

RESULTS

The micro-shear bond strength of the three concentration EDC treatments were (35.29±8.97) MPa (0.01 mol/L EDC treatment group), (40.24±9.68) MPa (0.3 mol/L EDC treatment group), (37.38±9.66) MPa (0.5 mol/L EDC treatment group) separately; and that of the 80% ethanol group was (37.49±7.76) MPa. All micro-shear bond strength value of the above four groups was statistically higher than that of the blank control group [(33.81±7.98) MPa]. The immediate micro-shear bond strength and failure mode was of no statistically significant difference among all the groups. It was noticed that the immediate micro-shear bond strength of 0.3 mol/L was higher than that of all the other groups, especially higher than that of the 80% ethanol pretreatment group despite that there was no significant difference among all the groups. And the test of failure mode indicated that the cohesive failure was more common, while the frequency of adhesive failure was rare in each experimental group.

CONCLUSION

EDC pretreatment had no adverse effect on the immediate micro-shear bond strengths of Clearfil SE Bond. Meanwhile, EDC treatment did not cause more adhesive failure in immediate micro-shear test, which had further denoted what was said above. However, it needs more research to illustrate the anti-enzymatic role of EDC in dentin bonding.

Nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture for analgesia in adult cancer patients with breakthrough pain: A randomized, double-blind controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a fixed nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture for the management of breakthrough cancer pain.

METHODS/DESIGN

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial was undertaken in the Medical ward of Tumor Hospital of General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University. 240 cancer patients with breakthrough pain were recruited and randomly received a standard pain treatment (morphine sulphate immediate release) plus a pre-prepared nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture, or the standard pain treatment plus oxygen. The primary endpoint measure was the numerical rating scale (NRS) score measured at baseline, 5 and 15 min after the beginning of treatment, and at 5 min post treatment.

RESULT

In all, analysis of pain score (NRS) at 5 min after the beginning of treatment shown a significant decrease in nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture treated patients with 2.8 ± 1.3 versus 5.5 ± 1.2 in controls (p < 0.01). At 15 min during the intervention, the mean pain score for nitrous oxide/oxygen was 2.0 ± 1.1 compared with 5.6 ± 1.3 for oxygen (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

This study shows that self-administered nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture was effective in reducing moderate to severe breakthrough pain among patients with cancer.

SIGNIFICANCE

The management of breakthrough cancer pain is always a challenge due to its temporal characteristics of rapid onset, moderate to severe in intensity, short duration (median 30-60 min). Our study find that self-administered nitrous oxide/oxygen mixture was effective in reducing moderate to severe breakthrough cancer pain.

Texture analysis of CT images in predicting malignancy risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumours

AIM

To explore the role of texture analysis of computed tomography (CT) images in predicting the malignancy risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seventy-eight patients with histopathologically confirmed GISTs underwent preoperative CT. Texture analysis was performed on unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT images, respectively. Fourteen CT texture parameters were obtained and compared among GISTs at different malignancy risks with one-way analysis of variance or independent-samples Kruskal-Wallis test. Correlations between CT texture parameters and malignancy risk were analysed with Spearman's correlation test. Diagnostic performance of CT texture parameters in differentiating GISTs at low/very low malignancy risk was tested with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.

RESULTS

Three parameters on unenhanced images (r=-0.268-0.506), four parameters on arterial phase (r=-0.365-0.508), and six parameters on venous phase (r=-0.343-0.481) imaging correlated significantly with malignancy risk of GISTs, respectively (all p<0.05). For identifying GISTs at low/very low malignancy risk, three parameters on unenhanced images (area under ROC curve [AUC], 0.676-0.802), four parameters on arterial phase (AUC, 0.637-0.811), and six parameters on venous phase (AUC, 0.636-0.791) imaging showed significant diagnostic performance, respectively (all p<0.05), especially maximum frequency on both unenhanced and contrast-enhanced images (AUC, 0.791-0.811).

CONCLUSION

Texture analysis of CT images holds great potential to predict the malignancy risk of GISTs preoperatively.

Mutation screening of 10 cancer susceptibility genes in unselected breast cancer patients

Variants of cancer susceptibility genes other than BRCA1/2 have been proved to be associated with increased risks of breast cancer. This study was performed to investigate the spectrum and prevalence of mutations in 10 cancer susceptibility genes in paired tumor/normal tissues of 292 unselected Chinese breast cancer patients. We performed an analysis of germline and somatic variants in ATM, CDH1, CHEK2, ESR1, GATA3, MAP3K1, MSH2, PALB2, RB1 and STK11 genes by integrating microfluidic PCR-based target enrichment and next-generation sequencing technologies. In total, 3 germline and 25 somatic deleterious mutations were found among 27 patients (9.25%), and 17 of them were novel mutations. Most deleterious mutations were prevalent in luminal A invasive breast cancer (P = .014). We also observed 83 variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in 100 patients (34.25%), 23 of which were predicted to be deleterious by in silico prediction programs (MetaSVM and MetaLR). VUS carriers had higher positive rate of lymph node metastasis than non-carriers (P = .008) and were predominantly present in ER+ tumors (P = .018). Our findings would enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer in Chinese population.

Describing the quality of life of boys with haemophilia in China: Results of a multicentre study using the CHO-KLAT

INTRODUCTION

The treatment of haemophilia varies across countries and across regions within some countries. Similar variation has been observed in health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Relatively little is known about the HR-QoL of boys with haemophilia in China.

AIM

The aim of this study was to describe the HR-QoL of boys with haemophilia in China using the Canadian Haemophilia Outcomes-Kids Life Assessment Tool (CHO-KLAT).

METHODS

Boys (4-18 years of age) with haemophilia and their parents were enroled in a cross-sectional study. All parents/guardians of study subjects were requested to complete a CHO-KLAT questionnaire during a clinic visit, and report on several other clinical and socioeconomic factors in the past year. Boys who were > 7 years also completed the CHO-KLAT.

RESULTS

A total of 269 parents of boys with haemophilia, from 13 hospitals in 12 provinces, were enroled during 2014. The boys ranged from 4.0 to 17.9 years of age; 91% had haemophilia A, most had moderate (52%) or severe (36%) disease, and most were receiving sub-optimal on-demand therapy or low-dose prophylactic therapy. Child self-report CHO-KLAT scores were available for 171 boys ≥7 years of age and ranged from 24.2 to 85.3 with a mean of 57.6 (n = 171). Parent proxy-reported CHO-KLAT scores ranged from 25.0 to 88.7 with a mean of 55.1 (n = 269).

CONCLUSION

HR-QoL scores in boys with haemophilia in China were substantially lower than reported from Canadian and European boys with haemophilia. Longer term prospective studies are required to examine the factors impacting the HR-QoL for boys with haemophilia in China.

Augmentation of hepatitis C virus-specific immunity and sustained virologic response

Treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has rapidly evolved into interferon-free directly acting antiviral regimens (DAA) that result in high sustained virologic response. DAAs primarily work by suppressing HCV replication and rely less on the immune system than interferon-based therapies. However, it is unclear whether the immune system recovers with suppression of HCV replication and contributes to HCV clearance with DAA therapy. We previously demonstrated HCV clearance is associated with increased HCV-specific immunity in CHCV-GT-1-infected patients during treatment with sofosbuvir (SOF)+ribavirin (RBV). Here, we aimed to analyse changes in HCV-specific immunological responses associated with viral clearance with combination DAA therapy of SOF+ledipasvir (LDV) for 12 weeks in CHCV-GT1 (N=14) patients who relapsed without augmentation of HCV-specific immunity during treatment with SOF+RBV. Phenotypic and functional changes within the T-cell compartment of PBMCs pre- and post-treatment were analysed. Retreatment of relapsers with LDV/SOF resulted in all patients attaining SVR12 . Suppression of HCV was associated with a decline in T-cell exhaustion markers (CD57; Tim3; PD1) along with augmented of HCV-specific T-cell IFN-gamma responses post-treatment. Addition of LDV to SOF was associated with augmentation of HCV-specific immunity and SVR in patients who previously failed SOF+RBV therapy without increased immunity. These findings demonstrate a novel effect of DAA in inducing host immune responses to aid HCV clearance and achieve SVR.

Potential benefit of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate for macrovascular complications in diabetes

Vascular problems are the most common complications in diabetes. Substantial evidence from epidemiological and pathophysiological studies show that hyperglycemia is a major risk factor for macrovascular complications in patients with diabetes. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the major catechin derived from green tea, is known to exert a variety of cardiovascular beneficial effects. The protective effects of EGCG in diabetes are also evident. However, whether EGCG is beneficial against macrovascular complications that occur in diabetes remains unknown. Our previous studies demonstrated that treatment of EGCG inhibits high glucose-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and suppresses high glucose-mediated vascular inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Therefore, we hypothesize that EGCG might be an effective potential candidate to reduce the macrovascular complications in diabetes.

Changes in the soil organic carbon balance on China's cropland during the last two decades of the 20th century

Agro-ecosystems play an important role in regulating global changes caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Restoration of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils can not only improve soil quality but also influence climate change and agronomic productivity. With about half of its land area under agricultural use, China exhibits vast potential for carbon (C) sequestration that needs to be researched. Chinese cropland has experienced SOC change over the past century. The study of SOC dynamics under different bioclimatic conditions and cropping systems can help us to better understand this historical change, current status, the impacts of bioclimatic conditions on SOC and future trends. We used a simulation based on historical statistical data to analyze the C balance of Chinese croplands during the 1980s and 1990s, taking into account soil, climate and agricultural management. Nationwide, 77.6% of the national arable land is considered to be in good condition. Appropriate farm management practices should be adopted to improve the poor C balance of the remaining 22.4% of cropland to promote C sequestration.

[Determination of cytomegalovirus IgG synthesis by the albumin correction in the aqueous humor of posner-schlossmann syndrome]

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of albumin correction in determination of cytomegalovirus IgG in the aqueous humor of Posner-Schlossman syndrome (PSS) patients. Methods: Cases series studies. Forty-two patients (26 men and 16 women) who were diagnosed as PSS were enrolled from Oct. 2009 to Oct. 2015 at the Eye and ENT Hospital. During the same period, 20 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 30 patients with bacterial endophthalmitis or retinal necrosis were enrolled as negative control group and inflammatory disease control group, respectively. Aqueous humor and serum samples were assayed to detect CMV IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and albumin by scattering immunonephelometry. CMV DNA in aqueous humor was assayed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The ratio which was calculated as the (aqueous humor CMV IgG/serum CMV IgG)/(aqueous humor concentration of albumin/serum albumin concentration) over 0.6 was considered as intraocular antibody formation. Performance of differentiating control eyes from eyes with CMV-positive PSS was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve. The ANOVA test, Mann-Whitney test and Chi-square test were performed to compare the differences among groups. Results: The detectable rate of CMV IgG antibody in the aqueous humor was 76.2%, 100.0% and 10.0% in PSS, inflammatory disease control and POAG groups, respectively. The levels of CMV IgG antibody in the PSS groups were significantly higher than that of POAG groups (Z=4.23, P<0.001).The positive rate corrected by the albumin was 71.4%, 3.3% and 0.0%.The corrected positive rate in PSS groups was significantly higher than that of the inflammatory disease control and POAG groups (χ(2)=30.38, P<0.01; χ(2)= 24.89, P<0.01), with a sensitivity of 75.0% and a specificity of 98.0%. The area under the curve for calibrated ratio was 0.942 (95%CI: 0.859 to 0.984) which was higher than that of CMV IgG (Z=6.19, P<0.001).The corrected positive rate of CMV IgG antibody (71.4%) was higher than that of CMV DNA (47.6%, χ(2)=4.003, P=0.045). Conclusions: CMV IgG antibody ratio which was corrected by aqueous humor and serum albumin could effectively improve aqueous antibody specificity in PSS patients. Furthermore, CMV IgG antibody ratio combined with PCR could improve the sensitivity of CMV detection. All of which help clarify the CMV infection in PSS in CMV DNA negative eyes. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2017, 53: 104-108).

[Analysis of individualized primary prophylactic treatment of 19 cases of children with severe hemophilia A]

Objective: To study the current situation of primary prophylaxis in severe hemophilia A children and to explore rational regimen in order to provide evidence for the development of primary prophylaxis in China. Method: A retrospective clinical data collection and analysis was conducted for 19 severe hemophilia A children who received primary prophylaxis in Beijing Children's Hospital outpatient clinic between February 2011 and September 2015 and evaluated the regimen and efficacy. Result: (1) Primary prophylaxis regimen: the median beginning age 1.8 (range 0.5-2.9) years, the median FⅧ preparation using dosage 16.7 (8.0-23.5) U/(kg·time), the median using frequency was 1.0 (1.0-3.0) time/week. Eight cases among the patients received escalation of treatment intensity because of the poor bleeding control. (2) Efficacy: the median annual bleeding rate (ABR) was 1.9 (0-6.0) times/year, the median annual joint bleeding rate (AJBR) was 0 (0-3.3) times/year, without life threatening bleeding. All of them kept in 4th scale of Beijing Children Hospital daily activity level. The median annual factor consumption was 1 844 (840-5 040) U/kg. Conclusion: Low-dose primary prophylaxis regimen which were in low-dose /low frequencies and adjusted by bleeding frequency could decrease bleeding and joint bleeding frequency significantly, maintained the normal daily activity capacity and saved the factor consumption compared to standard regimen in severe hemophilia A children.

[Study on the establishment of HMLD model and the expression of KL-6/TGF-beta in rat]

Objective: To establish an animal model of hard metal lung disease (HMLD) in rats, and to screen the indications for diagnosis of HMLD. Methods: The rats were randomly divided into 5 groups, each group included 8 rats: saline group, pure cobalt group, pure tungsten carbide group, silica group and hard metal (HM) group. 10 mg subjects were administered in each group by using the pulmonary endotracheal tube. After 8 week, the lung CT scan and lung tissue pathology were observed, the serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected for KL-6, TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2. Results: The lung tissue structure of HM group was destroyed, a large number of nuclear giant cells and epithelial like cells appeared in the stroma, and uncommon CT scan images appeared in the lung. KL-6, TGF-beta1, TGF-beta2 expression in each group was not the same, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . The expression of KL-6 and TGF-beta1 in serum was not identical in all the groups, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . The expression of TGF-beta2 had no significant difference between the groups (P>0.05) . Conclusion: Rats can be successfully established HMLD model, rats in vivo lung CT scan images appear abnormal, which are provided with assistant diagnostic value for HMLD. The expression of KL-6 and TGF-beta2 in serum and BALF on HMLD rats are not highly specific, and TGF-beta1 has reference value in the rat HMLD auxiliary diagnosis.

Effect of dietary organic zinc sources on growth performance, incidence of diarrhoea, serum and tissue zinc concentrations, and intestinal morphology in growing rabbits

<p>This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary organic zinc (Zn) sources on growth performance, the incidence of diarrhoea, serum and tissue Zn concentration, and intestinal morphology in growing rabbits. A total of 120 New Zealand White rabbits aged 35 d and with an initial body weight of 755±15 g, were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups for a 49 d feeding trial. Dietary treatments were designed with different Zn supplements as follows: (1) Control group: 80 mg/kg Zn as ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;; (2) ZnLA group: 80 mg/kg Zn as Zn lactate; (3) ZnMet group: 80 mg/kg Zn as Zn methionine; (4) ZnGly group: 80 mg/kg Zn as Zn glycine. The results showed that, when compared with rabbits fed ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;, supplementation with ZnLA improved (P&lt;0.05) growth performance and led to a lower (P&lt;0.01) incidence of diarrhoea. ZnLA supplement increased the liver Zn concentration (58.97 vs. 46.59 mg/g; P&lt;0.05) compared with rabbits fed ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;. Supplementing with ZnLA increased duodenum villi height (681.63 vs. 587.14 μm, P&lt;0.05) and decreased duodenum crypt depth (141.69 vs. 168.91 μm; P&lt;0.05) when compared to that of the control group. However, experimental results obtained ZnMet and ZnGly supplementation were no significantly different to ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;, except that feeding ZnMet led to higher (P&lt;0.05) Zn concentrations in serum and liver than rabbits fed ZnSO&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;. The results indicated that supplementation with 80 mg/kg Zn as ZnLA could improve growth performance, increase liver Zn concentration and enhance duodenum morphology, while reducing the incidence of diarrhoea in growing rabbits.</p>

A prospective study of health-related quality of life of boys with severe haemophilia A in China: comparing on-demand to prophylaxis treatment

INTRODUCTION

Treatment for boys with haemophilia in China is rapidly improving; however, comprehensive outcomes have not been examined prospectively.

AIM

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of short-term full-dose prophylaxis compared to on-demand treatment, on the Health-Related Quality of Life (HR-QoL) of boys with severe haemophilia A (HA) in China.

METHODS

Boys with severe HA (FVIII<1%) completed 3 months of on-demand treatment and 3 months of full-dose prophylaxis (25 FVIII IU per kg 3x per week). The primary outcomes were child- and parent-reported Canadian Hemophilia Outcomes - Kids Life Assessment Tool (CHO-KLAT) scores. The number and type of bleeds and Activities Scale for Kids (ASK) scores were also recorded.

RESULTS

Analyses included 23 boys between 4 and 15.9 years of age. The number of bleeds decreased by 94% on prophylaxis (P < 0.0001, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test). The mean child-reported CHO-KLAT scores for boys ≥7 years (n = 20) was 61.4 (±10.9) during on-demand treatment and 61.9 (±11.4) following short-term prophylaxis (P = 0.72, paired t-test). The mean parent-reported CHO-KLAT score during the on-demand phase was 54.4 (±10.5) with an increase of 3.8 points (±8.1; P = 0.04, paired t-test) following prophylaxis.

CONCLUSIONS

Child-reported CHO-KLAT scores were lower in boys with severe HA in China than reported in countries with access to full-dose prophylaxis. Boys reported higher HR-QoL scores than their parents. Small improvements in ASK scores were noted following the prophylaxis phase. These changes were only significant in the parent-reported CHO-KLAT scores. Longer term prospective clinical trials are needed in China to determine the impact of prophylaxis on HR-QoL in boys with severe HA.

Improvement in erectile function in a rat model of high cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis by atorvastatin in a manner that is independent of its lipid-lowering property

The purpose of the present study is to explore the effects of a lipid-lowering drug atorvastatin, a three-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a rat model of atherosclerosis (AS) and the possible mechanisms underneath. A high-cholesterol diet was administrated to Sprague-Dawley rats in an attempt to induce an ASED model, which was later confirmed by abdominal aorta histopathology and erectile function evaluation. ASED rats were further assigned to non-treatment group, atorvastatin low-dose treatment group (5 mg kg^-1  day^-1 ), high-dose group (10 mg kg^-1  day^-1 ) and sildenafil (1.5 mg kg^-1  day^-1 ) treatment group. Lipid profile, erectile function, oxidative stress biochemical markers, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD_EX ) mRNA expression were evaluated after 8-week treatment duration. Erectile function was impaired in AS rat model, which was preserved in atorvastatin and sildenafil intervention groups. The oxidative stress biochemical markers were attenuated, while eNOS and SOD_EX mRNA expression were restored in atorvastatin and sildenafil groups, which were found to be involved in ED pathogenesis. However, the lipid profile remained unaltered in the treatment group, and it was elevated in ASED rats. This kind of lipid-lowering agent, or atorvastatin, has the utilisation potential in ASED treatment, even before lipid profiles altered. This effect on erectile function preservation of atorvastatin was attributed to its preservation of endothelial function, possibly through amelioration of oxidative stress and improvement in eNOS expression.