OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and three anthropometric indices, namely waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI) and waist to height ratio (WHtR).

METHODSThis retrospective case-control study involved 77 NAFLD patients and 50 patients without such disease, and their data of the 3 anthropometric indices were collected. Risk correlation analysis and Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test were used for correlation analysis.

RESULTSNAFLD was significantly correlated to WHR (chi(2)(MH)=59.609, P<0.001; odds ratio=30.522, 95% CI 12.815-72.695), WHtR (chi(2)(MH)=45.316, P<0.001; odds ratio=21.037, 95% CI 8.665-51.072) and showed a dose-response relationship with BMI (chi(2)=25.017, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONThese results support a close correlation between NAFLD and the 3 anthropometric indices, indicating that BMI, WHR and WHtR can be significant predictors of NAFLD and have potential value for evaluating and predicting NAFLD.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Anthropometry ; Body Constitution ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies ; Fatty Liver ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Retrospective Studies ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay method of detecting proteolytic activity of non-structural protein 3-4A (NS3-4A) serine protease of hepatitis C virus (HCV) for high throughput screening inhibitors against HCV in vitro.

METHODSHCV recombinant plasmid pMAL~c2/NS3-4A was transformed into the E.coli strain K12TB1. Maltose-binding-protein (MBP) NS3-4A fusion protein expression was induced by adding isopropyl-β-D-thiogalacto-pyranoside (IPTG) and purified by affinity chromatography. The proteolytic activity of MBP-NS3-4A protease was analyzed by FRET with the special protease substrate. The reaction system in this model was optimized, and the reliability of the model was evaluated.

RESULTSHigh throughput screening model for HCV NS3-4A protease inhibitors was established, and the best concentrations of enzyme and substrate were optimized. In the model, the Km value of protease was 4.74 μmol/L, Z factor was up to 0.80, and coefficient of variation (CV) was 1.91%. BILN 2061, one of the known HCV protease inhibitors, was measured with the Ki of 0.30 nmol/L.

CONCLUSIONThe assay model using FRET method for HCV NS3 4A serine protease is stable and reliable, and the model is suitable for high throughput screening for HCV NS3 4A protease inhibitors.

Antiviral Agents ; pharmacology ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer ; Hepacivirus ; enzymology ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; methods ; Protease Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Viral Nonstructural Proteins ; antagonists & inhibitors ; genetics

Adult ; Fatty Liver ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Waist-Hip Ratio

OBJECTIVESTo observe the role of PPARgamma during the activation process of hepatic stellate cells (HSC).

METHODSBy morphology and RT-PCR, we study the changes of expression of PPARgamma in culture-activated HSC or in vivo activated HSC induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN).

RESULTSIn vitro, the expression level of PPARgamma in freshly isolated HSC (0.72+/-0.01) significantly reduced to 0.48+/-0.03 on the third day of culture (t = 19.8372, P<0.01), and reduced 70% on the seventh culture-day and could not be detected after the second passage. In vivo, HSC freshly isolated from normal control rats expressed PPARgamma (0.76+/-0.01). During the development of rat liver fibrosis induced by DMN, the expression level significantly reduced to 0.46+/-0.02 after the third injection of DMN (t = 29.5318, P<0.01), and reduced 66% on the end of first week and could not be detected on the end of second and third week.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of PPARgamma might play an important role on the maintenance of resting-form of HSC, and the reduction of expression of PPARgamma might be an early event during the activation process of HSC.

Animals ; Liver ; cytology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; etiology ; pathology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; physiology ; Transcription Factors ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of one dressing of porcine acellular dermal matrix on deep partial thickness burns.

METHODSFrom January 1997 to January 2004, sixty-seven cases of deep partial thickness total burned surface area (TBSA) from 50% to 90% burn wound were treated by a single dressing of porcine acellular dermal matrix (the porcine acellular dermal matrix group). Ten cases of deep partial thickness burned patients with the same TBSA treated by exposure method served as the exposure method group. The healing time of the wound was observed. The patients were followed up for 3 months to 2 years, and the scar proliferation was observed.

RESULTSThe deep partial-thickness wound would be healed without dressing change in the porcine acellular dermal matrix group, and the average healing time was (12.2 +/- 2.6) days. The average healing time of the exposure method group was (27.4 +/- 3.5) days. Follow up of the patients within 3 months to 2 years showed that scar proliferation in the porcine acellular dermal matrix group was much less than that in the exposure method group, even no scar proliferation was observed in some patients.

CONCLUSIONWithout tangential excision, autografting and dressing change, a single dressing of porcine acellular dermal matrix on deep partial thickness burn wound could shorten the healing time and inhibit scar proliferation.

Animals ; Biological Dressings ; Burns ; pathology ; therapy ; Cicatrix ; prevention & control ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Swine ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anti-motion sickness efficacy and influence on the blood level of some hormones of a Chinese prescription composed of 10 herbs such as spina date seed.

METHODSAccording to the report by Cramptom and Lucot, SD rats and Beagle dogs were rotated around a horizontal axis, and the rat behavior of pica for Kaolin and the latency to vomit in dog were observed. In addition, guinea pigs were rotated around a vertical axis, and the nystagmus was recorded. Blood levels of corticosterone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in rats were measured with radioimmunoassay. The influences of the extracted mixture of herbs on these variables were simultaneously investigated.

RESULTSCompared with control group, oral administration of the extracted mixture of herbs: (1) significantly inhibited the rat behavior of pica for Kaolin and prolonged the latency to vomit in dog dose-dependently; (2) decreased the frequency of nystagmus and mean slow phase speed in rat; (3) reduced the elevation of corticosterone, ACTH, CRH and AVP in rat blood induced by rotatory stimulation; and (4) these effects of the extracted mixture of herbs were almost identical to dimenhydrinate.

CONCLUSION(1) The extracted mixture of Chinese Medicinal Herbs we used could inhibit motion sickness effectively. (2) This drug could reduce the blood levels of hormones of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and AVP elevated by provocative rotatory stimulation.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; blood ; Animals ; Arginine Vasopressin ; blood ; Corticosterone ; blood ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; blood ; Dogs ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Guinea Pigs ; Male ; Motion Sickness ; blood ; drug therapy ; Phytotherapy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Cell Line ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Oxidative Stress ; Phosphatidylcholines ; pharmacology ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

Objective To assess the limit of detection(LOD),sensitivity and specificity of collodial gold immunochrom-atography(GICA)products purchased from two manufacturers under special environmental conditions.Methods The sensitivity and specificity of GICA made in InTec Products, INC.and Beijing WANTAI Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., LTD.for detecting HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-Treponema pallidum(TP)serum samples were evaluated under different conditions(conventional facilities,simulated hot and humid environments and simulated low pressure and hypoxia environments)according to the protocol of kits.LOD was estimated by detecting the standard materials obtained from the National Center for Clinical Laboratory(NCCL)of China.Results LOD for syphilis improved from 2 NCU to 1 NCU using GICA from InTec Products in hot and humid environments.The extreme conditions did not influence the specificity of GICA from the two manufacturers in the course of detection of clinical samples,but the sensitivity of detection was affected.For InTec Products,the sensitivity of hepatitis B virus and syphilis detection was improved in hot and humid environments,but was reduced in low pressure and hypoxia environments.In addition,the sensitivity of hepatitis C virus detection by InTec Products decreased in hot and humid environments.As for WANTAI products,the sensitivity of hepatitis B virus detection was reduced under extreme conditions and that of hepatitis C virus was only influenced by hot and humid environments. Interestingly, extreme conditions had no impact on the sensitivity of syphilis.Conclusion LOD of InTec Products is better than that of the WANTAI products for detection of standard materials from blood-borne diseases.In the process of detecting clinical samples,the sensitivity of the two manufacturers′GICA is influenced by extreme conditions, with the specificity unchanged.Overall, WANTAI products are more stable than those of InTec, and are also less influenced by extreme conditions.

Objective: To investigate the safety, efficacy and prognosis of antegrade dissection re-entry (ADR) with the assistance of BridgePoint devices in opening coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO). Methods: A total of 87 consecutive patients, who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using BridgePoint devices from April 2016 to December 2018 in Xijing Hospital, were included in this study. General information of the selected patients, features of CTO lesions and intraoperative parameters were recorded. Short-term outcomes including technical success rate (defined as achieving TIMI 3 blood flow with residual stenosis<30%), surgical success rate (defined as no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) occured while hospitalized), complications, and MACE during hospitalization were observed. MACE included death, recurrent myocardial infarction, target vascular reconstruction (TVR) and cardiac tamponade. Patients were followed up by outpatient or telephone visits at 30 days and 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after discharge. Results: Eighty-seven patients, aged (61±10) years with J-CTO scores (2.49±0.52) were included, and 75(86%) were male. Six patients underwent direct ADR with BridgePoint system, and all were successful. Eighty-one patients underwent rescue ADR using BridgePoint devices, and 62 of them were successful. The success rate of ADR with BridgePoint devices was 78.2% (68/87). Nine out of the 19 failed cases succeeded after the application of rescue antegrade/retrograde technique. The technical success rate was 88.5% (77/87). Coronary perforation occurred in 2 cases (2.3%), one case was treated with covered stent and the other case with tamponade was treated with pericardiocentesis. One patient developed periprocedural myocardial infarction, and one patient suffered from sudden death, and one patient had cardiac tamponade. In-hospital MACE occurred in 3 (3.4%) patients. The surgical success rate was 85.1% (74/87).The procedure time was (175±72)minutes and the amount of contrast used was (449±155)ml. During a follow-up of 17(11, 26) months, the incidence of MACE within 30 days was 4.7% (4/86), while 10.5% (9/86) within 6 months, 17.4% (15/86) within 17 months. Conclusion: Opening CTO with the assistance of BridgePoint devices is feasible and safe, with high success rate and satisfactory outcome.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Occlusion ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of negative charge aerosol (NCA) on the treatment of burn wound.

METHODSPatients with superficial or deep partial thickness burn only were enrolled in the study, and they were randomly divided into trial group (T, including 180 cases of superficial thickness burn and 100 cases of deep partial thickness burn), control group (C, including 30 cases with superficial thickness burn and 30 with deep partial thickness burn), and self control group (SC, including 10 cases with superficial thickness burn and 10 with deep partial thickness burn). The patients in T and SC groups were treated with NCA for 1.5 hours, 1-2 times a day, from 6 postburn hour (PBH) to 2 postburn day (PBD), while those in C group received conventional treatment. For those in SC group, some of the wounds were covered with sterile schissel, while other wounds without schissel covering. The general changes in the wounds during NCA treatment were observed, and bacterial culture before and after NCA treatment was performed. The healing time was recorded and the blood biochemical parameters were determined. Rat model with deep partial thickness scald was established, and the rats were also divided into T and C groups, and received treatment as in human. Tissue samples were harvested from the wounds of rats in the 2 groups before and 1, 2, 3 weeks after treatment for pathological examination.

RESULTSThere was no infection and little exudation in the patients in T group. No bacteria were found in the wound before and after NCA treatment. The healing time of the wounds of patients with superficial and deep partial thickness burn in T group was 6.3 +/- 1.6 d and 15.1 +/- 3.1 d, respectively, which was obviously shorter than those in C group (11.3 +/- 1.4 d and 21.2 +/- 1.4 d, P < 0.01). In SC group, the healing time of those with sterile schissel coverage was also significantly shorter than those without covering (P < 0.01). There was no obvious change in the liver and kidney functions and blood biochemical parameters among the patients. Pathological examination showed that the skin structure was almost recovered in the rats in T group 3 weeks after treatment, while those in C group was not.

CONCLUSIONNegative charge aerosol is safe and effective in promoting wound healing of the patients with partial thickness burns.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aerosol Propellants ; therapeutic use ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Animals ; Burns ; pathology ; therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Wound Healing ; Young Adult