Objective To explore the influencing factors of hepatic steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB),and to provide a theoretical basis of hepatic steatosis prevention and control.Methods A total of 291 hospitalized CHB patients in affiliated Southeast Hospital of Xiamen University were enrolled and divided into two groups:132 CHB patients with hepatic steatosis as the case group and 159 CHB patients without hepatic steatosis as the control group.Conducted a case control study and compared the two groups in terms of body mass index (BMI),waist-to-hip ratio (WHR),fasting blood glucose (FBG),triglyceride (TG),total cholesterol (TC),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT),hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg),hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV DNA) by descriptive analysis and inferential statistics to analyze the association of these factors with hepatic steatosis in CHB patients.The histological characteristics of the liver were observed.The date analysis used rank sum test and t test.Results FBG,TG,TC,γ-GT,AST of the case group and the control group were (5.11±0.62) mmol/L,(1.81±0.89) mmol/L,(5.29±1.05) mmol/L,(65.04±53.89) U/L,(65.60±71.52) U/L and (4.94±1.89) mmol/L,(1.21±0.79) mmol/L,(4.25±1.58) mmol/L,(146.48±200.39) U/L,(165.35±180.57) U/L,respectively.The case group had significantly higher FBG,TG and TC than the control group (Z=3.607,4.039 and 4.197,respectively,all P＜0.01),while the control group had significantly higher γ-GT and AST (Z=2.672 and 3.020,respectively,both P＜0.01).BMI of the two groups were (26.89±2.78) kg/m2 and (21.17±2.96) kg/m2,respectively,higher in the case group (t=9.711,P＜0.01).WHR in male patients of two groups were 0.93±0.05 and 0.87 ± 0.06,respectively,higher in male patients of the case group (t=4.469,P＜0.01).Positive rate of HBeAg,HBV DNA between the case group and the control group hadn't significantly difference (x2 =0.334,2.960; both P＞0.05).The case group had more severe degree of hepatic steatosis than the control group (Z=-16.145,P＜0.01),while the inflammatory activity and fibrosis were more advanced in the control group (Z=-12.639,P＜0.01; Z=-11.242,P＜0.01,respectively).Conclusions BMI,WHR,FBG,TG and TC appear to be the influencing factors of CHB with hepatic steatosis.The hepatic steatosis in CHB patients is mainly caused by the changes of anthropometric indexes and metabolic factors rather than the effect of HBV.If effective measures are taken,hepatic steatosis in CHB patients can be effectively prevented.

BACKGROUND: Pain and cartilage destruction caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is a major challenge in clinical treatment.Traditional intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) can relieve the disease, but limited by the difficulty of longterm maintenance of efficacy. METHODS: In this study, an injectable and self-healing hydrogel was synthesized by in situ crosslinking of N-carboxyethyl chitosan (N-chitosan), adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH), and hyaluronic acid–aldehyde (HA-ALD). RESULTS: This supramolecular hydrogel sustains good biocompatibility for chondrocytes. Intra-articular injection of this novel hydrogel can significantly alleviate the local inflammation microenvironment in knee joints, through inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines (such as TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6 and IL-17) in the synovial fluid and cartilage at 2- and even 12-weeks post-injection. Histological and behavioral test indicated that hydrogel injection protected cartilage destruction and relieved pain in OA rats, in comparison to HA injection. CONCLUSION This kind of novel hydrogel, which is superior to the traditional HA injection, reveals a great potential for the treatment of OA.

BACKGROUND: Pain and cartilage destruction caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is a major challenge in clinical treatment.Traditional intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) can relieve the disease, but limited by the difficulty of longterm maintenance of efficacy. METHODS: In this study, an injectable and self-healing hydrogel was synthesized by in situ crosslinking of N-carboxyethyl chitosan (N-chitosan), adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH), and hyaluronic acid–aldehyde (HA-ALD). RESULTS: This supramolecular hydrogel sustains good biocompatibility for chondrocytes. Intra-articular injection of this novel hydrogel can significantly alleviate the local inflammation microenvironment in knee joints, through inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines (such as TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6 and IL-17) in the synovial fluid and cartilage at 2- and even 12-weeks post-injection. Histological and behavioral test indicated that hydrogel injection protected cartilage destruction and relieved pain in OA rats, in comparison to HA injection. CONCLUSION This kind of novel hydrogel, which is superior to the traditional HA injection, reveals a great potential for the treatment of OA.

OBJECTIVETo understand the dietary consumption of residents in Xiamen and the content of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in food, and to assess the plasticizer exposure risk of diet in Xiamen.

METHODSThe survey was conducted by stratified cluster random sampling method in Xiamen from September to October in 2010. According to the Xiamen administrative division, six neighborhood communities were selected as sampling units, then 25 families were randomly chosen from each sampling units.From the above 150 families, the permanent residents over the age of six were permitted to our study. The survey included 495 residents totally. These participants' information, such as basic personal information, physical activity levels, meal frequency and the average consumption of 33 kinds of food in 13 categories were collected using questionnaires. Thirteen categories included cereal and tubers, beans, vegetables, fungi and algae, fruits, dairy products, meat, seafood, eggs, snacks, beverages, cooking oil and spices. The height and weight of residents were measured and the average daily dietary intake was calculated. Thirty-three kinds of food in 13 categories were collected in supermarkets in Xiamen. According to the annual sales ranking, the top three-five brands of each kinds of food were selected and numbered, then two or three brands were chosen by random number table method from them; three completely individual packed samples in the same batch of each brand were detected; 243 samples were included in our study.100-500 g solid samples or 100-500 ml liquid samples were collected. The content of diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in food were detected by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, which expressed by median (minimum-maximum). The exposure dose, contribution rate and risk index of PAEs were calculated by point estimation method.

RESULTSAccording to the average daily dietary intake of residents in Xiamen, the top three ones in 13 categories of food were cereal and tubers (337.16 g/d, 18.21%), vegetables (309.12 g/d, 16.69%) and fruits (213.20 g/d, 11.51%). The content of DEP, DBP or DEHP among different categories of food was significantly different (χ² values were 58.05, 50.19 and 102.10, P < 0.01). Among 13 categories of food, seafood contained the most DEP (0.090 (0.000-0.324)mg/kg); cooking oil had the most DBP (0.700(0.000-2.980) mg/kg) and DEHP (5.115(0.000-24.160) mg/kg). DEP, DBP and DEHP exposure(0.19, 4.20, 18.10 µg × kg⁻¹ ×d ⁻¹)in dietary food in Xiamen were less than the reference dose(RfD) (800, 100, 20 µg × kg⁻¹ × d⁻¹) proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the risk indexes were 0.02%, 4.20% and 90.50%, respectively. Among 13 categories of foods, seafood was the main source of DEP dietary exposure. The exposure dose and contribution rate of DEP in seafood were 0.18 µg × kg⁻¹ × d⁻¹ and 94.74%, respectively.Vegetables were the main source of DBP and DEHP dietary exposure. The exposure dose and contribution rate of DBP and DEHP were 1.48 µg × kg⁻¹ × d⁻¹, 35.24% and 6.07 µg × kg⁻¹ × d⁻¹, 33.54%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe food consumed by residents in Xiamen was overall in a safe state, but to some extent, there still exists DEHP exposure risk in foods.

China ; Dibutyl Phthalate ; Diet ; Diethylhexyl Phthalate ; Food Contamination ; Humans ; Phthalic Acids ; Plasticizers ; Risk Assessment ; Seafood ; United States ; Vegetables