Objective To analyze the correlation between covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients and serum HBV DNA,hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg),hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and liver histology of hepatitis B patients,and to explore the clinical significance of HBV cccDNA detection in PBMC.Methods One hundred and eight patients with chronic HBV infection were involved in this study.PBMC were extracted using density gradient centrifugation.HBV cccDNA in PBMC and serum HBV DNA were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction.HBsAg and HBeAg were detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay.Liver biopsy was conducted in 59 out of the 108 patients.Chi-square test was used to compare the categorical variables.Correlation analysis was used to compare quantitative variables.Nonparametric test was used to compare the non-normal distribution parameters.Results In the overall population,HBV cccDNA in PBMC was positive in 59 patients (54.6％).Eleven of the 15 patients with liver failure were found to be HBV cccDNA positive,which was significantly higher than that in the acute hepatitis B group (only 2 of the 8 patients were HBV cccDNA positive; x2 =4.960,P＜0.05).One hundred and eight patients were categorized into three groups according to their serum HBV DNA levels,with group A:＞5 lg copy/mL,group B:3-5 lg copy/mL and group C:＜3 lg copy/mL.The proportions of HBV cccDNA positivity in PBMC in three groups were 76.1％ (51/67),5/18 and 13.0％ (3/23),respectively.Comparing with patients with lower HBV DNA (group B and C),the proportion of HBV cccDNA positivity was higher in patients with higher HBV DNA (group A; x2=14.751,P＜0.05 and x2 =28.384,P＜0.05,resepectively).The HBV cccDNA quantitation in PBMC was positively correlated with the serum HBV DNA level and HBsAg quantification (r=0.554,P＜0.05 and r=0.497,P＜0.05,respectively).The proportion of HBV cccDNA positivity in PBMC of patients with liver histology ≥G2 and/or ≥S2 was significantly higher than that in patients with liver histology ＜ G2/S2 (x2 =9.159,P＜0.05).Conclusions HBV cccDNA exists in PBMC of hepatitis B patients.The HBV cccDNA quantitation in PBMC is positively correlated with the serum level of HBV DNA and HBsAg quantification,and is also associated with liver histology injury.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between intrahepatic eovalently closed circular (ccc)DNA of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and pathogen-and patient-related parameters.

METHODSUltrasound-guided liver biopsies were obtained from 60 patients with chronic HBV infection. Levels of intrahepatic HBV cccDNA and serum HBV DNA were measured by quantitative fluorescence PCR. Level of serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Clinical parameters, such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), albumin, globulin (GLO), white blood cell, platelet, prothrombin-international normalized ratio, were measured by standard assay. Demographic information was recorded.The correlation between intrahepatic HBV cccDNA and pathogen-and patient-related parameters was assessed.

RESULTSIntrahepatic HBV cccDNA level was negatively correlated with age, GLO, ALT and grade of necroinflammation. Patients with age of 30 years or more showed significantly higher level of HBV cccDNA level than patients under 30 years-old (7.44±0.58 and 5.66±1.35; t=7.157, P less than 0.001). Intrahepatic HBV cccDNA level was positively correlated with serum HBV DNA level (r=0.916, P less than 0.001) and serum HBsAg level (r=0.727, P less than 0.001). The median ratio of HBV cccDNA to HBV DNA was 1.18, and of HBV cccDNA to HBsAg was 1.67.

CONCLUSIONIntrahepatic HBV cccDNA levels decrease with age, level of ALT, level of GLO and grade of liver necroinflammation, but increase with level of serum HBV DNA and level of serum HBsAg. To a certain extent, serum HBV DNA and serum HBsAg levels may be a sufficient marker of intrahepatic HBV cccDNA levels.

Age Distribution ; Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Biomarkers ; DNA, Circular ; DNA, Viral ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Humans ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serologic Tests

Objective To investigate the risk factors associated with epididymitis after transurethral resection of prostate.Methods A retrospective analysis of 352 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who underwent transurethral resection of prostate in X'an Aerospace General Hospital from January 2015 to December 2017 was performed.There were 14 cases of epididymitis and 338 cases of nonepididymitis.Measurement data were expressed as ((x) ± s),t test was used for comparison between groups;count data was expressed by rate (％),and chi-square test was used for comparison between groups.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for factors that may lead to post-urethral epididymitis.Results Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative leukocytic positive,urine glucose positive and prostate volume had significant effects on postoperative epididymitis (P ＜ 0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that prostate volume increased (OR =0.182,P =0.005)was an independent risk factor for postoperative epididymitis.Conclusion The enlargement of prostate volume is an independent risk factor for postoperative epididymitis.For large-volume prostate surgery,the purpose of relieving obstruction can be achieved.

Objective:To observe the distribution characteristics of fungi, bacteria and Demodex in the eyelid margin of patients with blepharitis and without blepharitis at different ages. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.A total of 98 patients diagnosed with anterior blepharitis and 99 patients diagnosed with posterior blepharitis in Henan Eye Hospital from March 2021 to June 2022 were enrolled as anterior blepharitis group and posterior blepharitis, respectively.Additionally, 100 patients with an initial diagnosis of refractive error and 200 patients with vitreous opacity were enrolled during the same period as a non-blepharitis group.All patients underwent examinations for lid margin fungi, bacteria and eyelash Demodex, as well as fungal spores and ciliary Demodex count.The differences in the positive rate and load of palpebral fungi, bacteria and eyelash Demodex were compared between anterior and posterior blepharitis groups, as well as across different ages in non-blepharitis group.This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECKY-2019[18]).All patients were informed about the purpose and methods of the study.Written informed consent was obtained from each patient. Results:There were significant differences in the positive rates of bacteria, fungi and Demodex and the load of Demodex in the non-blepharitis group at different ages ( χ2=28.34, 10.36, 51.57, H=35.66; all at P<0.01).The positive rates of palpebral bacteria and ciliary Demodex and the load of Demodex were significantly higher and the palpebral fungi positive rate was significantly lower in the ≥60 years old than in the <60 years old (all at P<0.05).There were significant differences in the positive rates of bacteria and fungi among anterior blepharitis, posterior blepharitis and non-blepharitis groups ( χ2=18.99, 6.36; all at P<0.01).The palpebral bacteria positive rate was significantly higher in anterior blepharitis group than in posterior blepharitis and non-blepharitis groups, and the palpebral fungi positive rate was significantly higher in anterior blepharitis and posterior blepharitis groups than in non-blepharitis group (all at P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the ciliary Demodex detection rate among the three groups ( χ2=0.16, P=0.74).The number of palpebral fungi spores and eyelash Demodex counts were higher in anterior and posterior blepharitis groups than in non-blepharitis group, and the differences were statistically significant (all at P<0.05).The positive rate of palpebral margin bacteria in ciliary Demodex-positive group was 45.7%(156/341), which was significantly higher than 25.6%(40/156) in ciliary Demodex-negative group ( χ2=17.20, P<0.01), and there was no significant difference in the positive rate of palpebral margin fungi between them ( χ2=0.11, P=0.70). Conclusions:In the population with normal eyelid margin, the infection of Demodex and bacteria in lid margin increases and fungal infection decreases in the ≥60 years old.Fungal and bacterial infections are the main sources of palpebral infection in patients with blepharitis, and positive detection of Demodex increases the chance of bacterial infection.

Objective To observe the effects of electroacupuncture on the learning and memory abilities of Alzheimer disease(AD)rats;To explore its potential mechanism based on proteomics.Methods Totally 36 SD male rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group,model group and heart meridian acupoints group,with 12 rats in each group.Aβ1-42 were injected into the bilateral hippocampus to establish AD rat model,the sham-operation group was injected with an equal volume of normal saline.The heart meridian acupoints group received electroacupuncture treatment,accompanied by a stimulation time of 20 minutes,rest for 1 day after 6 days of electroacupuncture for 7 consecutive weeks.The Morris water maze experiment was used to evaluate the learning and memory abilities of AD rats,tandem mass tag(TMT)labeling technology and bioinformatics analysis were used to screen core differentially expressed proteins in important typical pathways,and key differentially expressed protein was verified by parallel reaction monitoring(PRM).Results There was no statistically significant difference in swimming speed between each group of rats(P>0.05).Compared with the sham-operation group,the escape latency of Morris water maze experiment in the model group increased significantly(P<0.01);compared with the model group,the escape latency of heart meridian acupoints group was significantly shortened on the 2-4th day(P<0.01).A total of 209 differentially expressed proteins were identified in different groups using TMT labeling quantification,among which 12 proteins showed significant changes among the 3 groups.GO annotation involved biological processes such as metal ion transport,sodium ion transport,and sodium ion transmembrane transport,as well as cellular components such as synapses,presynapse,and synaptic vesicle,involving solute:sodium symporter activity,organic acid:sodium symporter activity,amino acid:cation symporter activity,amino acid:sodium symporter activity,and other molecular functions;KEGG analysis significantly enriched the synaptic vesicle pathway.The PRM validation results indicated that electroacupuncture at the heart meridian acupoints could reduce the expressions of sodium and chloride dependent GABA transporter protein 3(GAT3),which was consistent with the quantitative detection results of TMT labeling quantification.Conclusion Electroacupuncture at the heart meridian acupoints can improve the learning and memory abilities of AD rats,possibly by regulating the expression of synaptic transporter GAT3 on the synaptic vesicle pathway to exert neuroprotective effects.