In this study, a 15-mer phage display peptide library was employed to pan against human rotavirus immobilized on solid phase. 4 different peptides were selected and could bind with rotavirus particles specifically. Plaque reduction neutralization test and MTT analysis results indicated that 3 of the peptides can inhibit rotavirus infecting in vitro. A peptide which sequence is QSNPIHIITNTRNHP showed the best efficiency--93% neutralization infectivity. Two other peptides, A and B, showed 40% and 50% neutralization infectivity respectively. Amino sequence analysis results indicate the 3 peptides containing 2 conserved motifs: SNPIHII and NIP. No putative trypsin hydrolysis site was found in C peptide, however, 4 and 3 potential sites were found in A and B peptides respectively. Using trypsin inhibitor, both A and B peptides showed the similar antiviral effect as that of C peptide. It suggests that the intactness of the 2 conserved motifs play an important role in counteracting virus infection. According to the results of this study, peptide C is hopeful to be exploited as an antiviral peptide drug.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antiviral Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Neutralization Tests ; Peptide Library ; Peptides ; chemistry ; immunology ; pharmacology ; Protein Binding ; Rotavirus ; drug effects ; growth & development ; immunology ; Sequence Analysis, Protein ; Viral Plaque Assay

OBJECTIVETo study the selective isolation of a single chemical component from volatile oil of Fructus foeniculi by inclucion method.

METHODThe host molecule was selected and a single chemical component isolated from volatile oil by the host-guest recognition.

RESULTX-ray single crystal analysis showed that 1,1,6,6-tetraphenylhexa-2, 4-diyne-1, 6-diol could successfully include 4-[1-propenyl] benzaldehyde from volatile oil of Fructus foeniculi.

CONCLUSIONThe host-guest inclusion technology can be used to isolate a single component selectively from mixture.

Crystallization ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; methods ; Foeniculum ; chemistry ; Molecular Conformation ; Oils, Volatile ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Seeds ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of minimally invasive Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy on acute phase responses in patients with esophageal carcinoma.

METHODSForty-eight patients with middle or low thoracic esophageal carcinoma underwent Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy. The patients were divided into small incision group (n = 25) and conventional group (n = 23) according to the patients' will. Serum levels of acute phase proteins C reactive protein (CRP), haptoglobin (HPT), α₁-acid glycoprotein (α₁-AG), ceruloplasmin (CER), transferrin (TRF), β₂-microglobulin (β₂-MG), album protein (ALB), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were measured and compared on 1st day before operation, at 18 hours as well as 3rd and 7th day after operation.

RESULTSThere was no significant difference in all the acute phase proteins indicators and IL-6 between the small incision and conventional groups at each time points after operation (P > 0.05). In both groups the levels of CRP, α₁-AG and HPT were significantly higher after operation than before operation (P < 0.05). The levels of ALB and TRF were significantly lower after operation than before operation (P < 0.05). The levels of CER and β₂-MG were not significantly different during perioperative period (P > 0.05). The level of TNF-α was significantly higher in the small incision group than that in the conventional group at the 18 hours postoperationally (P < 0.05), and were not significantly different on the other time points between the two groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCompared with conventional operation, the small incision Ivor-Lewis esophagectomy do not significantly alleviate the stress of the surgical trauma in patients. Unchanging the essence of operation, if one is trying to minimize the stress caused by surgery on patients, the key factor is not the size of incision. An effective approach should be found in other operation-related factors.

Acute-Phase Proteins ; metabolism ; Aged ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood ; surgery ; Ceruloplasmin ; metabolism ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; blood ; surgery ; Esophagectomy ; methods ; Female ; Haptoglobins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Orosomucoid ; metabolism ; Perioperative Period ; Serum Albumin ; metabolism ; Serum Albumin, Human ; Transferrin ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; blood

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of thrombocytopenia among Chinese antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve HIV-infected adults has not been well-described. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of thrombocytopenia among Chinese ART-naïve HIV-infected adults.

METHODSWe performed a cross-sectional study of Chinese adult ART-naïve HIV-infected patients from September 2005 through August 2014. Socio-demographic variables and laboratory results including platelets, CD4+ cell count, and viral load were obtained from medical records. Factors and outcomes associated with thrombocytopenia were assessed using logistic regression.

RESULTSA total of 1730 adult ART-naïve HIV-infected patients was included. The mean age was 38 years. The prevalence of thrombocytopenia was 4.5%. There were significant differences in the prevalence of thrombocytopenia between patients <30 years of age (2.8%) and 30-39 years (4.0%) compared with patients greater than 50 years (7.0%) (P = 0.006 and P = 0.044, respectively). The prevalence of thrombocytopenia was also significantly different between patients with CD4+ counts of 200-349 cells/mm 3 (3.3%) and >350 cells/mm 3 (2.8%) compared with patients with CD4+ counts of 50-199 cells/mm 3 (7.1%) (P = 0.002 and P = 0.005, respectively). The prevalence of thrombocytopenia was significantly different by hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab) seropositivity (10.2% for HCV-Ab positive vs. 3.9% for HCV-Ab negative, P = 0.001). We observed differences in prevalence of thrombocytopenia by mode of transmission of HIV infection: Blood transmission (10.7%) versus men who have sex with men (3.9%) (P = 0.002) and versus heterosexual transmission (3.9%) (P = 0.001). In binary logistic regression analyses, age ≥ 50 years, HCV-Ab positivity and having a CD4+ cell count of 50-199 cells/mm 3 were significantly associated with thrombocytopenia with adjusted odds ratio of 2.482 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.167, 5.281, P = 0.018), 2.091 (95% CI: 1.078, 4.055, P = 0.029) and 2.259 (95% CI: 1.028, 4.962, P = 0.042), respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThrombocytopenia is not common among adult ART-naïve HIV-infected patients in China. Older age (age over 50 years), HCV-Ab positivity and lower CD4+ cell count are associated with an increased risk of thrombocytopenia. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of thrombocytopenia in these patients are necessary.

Adult ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; HIV Infections ; blood ; epidemiology ; immunology ; Hepatitis C Antibodies ; blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombocytopenia ; blood ; epidemiology ; etiology

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between postoperative knee function and the sagittal position of tibial component in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled the patients who underwent UKA from January 2016 to May 2020. They were assigned into 2 groups according to postoperative posterior tibial slope (PTS): the normal PTS group (PTS≥3° and PTS < 8°) and the abnormal PTS group (PTS < 3° or ≥8°). The patients were followed up for at least 12 months. The postoperative Knee Society Clinical Score (KSS-C), Knee Society Functional Score (KSS-F) and knee range of motion (ROM) were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 72 patients (82 knees) were included with 51 patients (58 knees) in PTS normal group and 21 patients (24 knees) in PTS abnormal group. All the patients were followed up with median of 23.6 months. There was no significant difference in the general data [gender, age, body mass index (BMI)], pre-operative knee range of motion, preoperative KSS-C score and KSS-F score (P > 0.01). The KSS-C score, KSS-F score, and knee range of motion significantly improved after surgery (P < 0.01) for all the patients. The postoperative KSS-C score in normal PTS group (88.76±2.79) was significantly higher than the KSS-C score in abnormal PTS group (84.42±3.35, P < 0.01), but no significant difference between the 2 groups was observed in postoperative KSS-F score and knee range of motion (P > 0.01). In addition, there was no correlation between the change of PTS and postoperative KSS-C score (r=-0.034, 95%CI: -0.247 to 0.186, P = 0.759), KSS-F score (r = -0.014, 95%CI: -0.238 to 0.198, P = 0.901) and knee range of motion (r= 0.045, 95%CI: -0.214 to 0.302, P = 0.686). CONCLUSION The posterior tibial slope between 3° and < 8° can be recommended to improve knee joint function in mobile UKA, and excessive or insufficient PTS should be avoided.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Humans ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Knee Prosthesis ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/surgery* ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome