Objective To investigate the histological injury as well as the risk factors for the course of HBeAg-negative chronic hep-atitis B virus( HBV)-infected patients with persistently normal alanine aminotransferase ( ALT) levels ( PNAL) . Methods Ninty four patients of HBeAg-negative chronic HBV-infected with PNAL were performed liver puncturing. The ALT, HBV markers, and liver histo-logical changes were detected. The gender, age, family history, HBV-DNA and HBsAg levels were compared between different patients with liver inflammation and fibrosis. And the Logistic model was used during the analysis of independent risk factor. Results Among 94 cases, patients with inflammatory necrosis classification≥G2 accounted for 74. 5%, fibrosis grading≥S2 accounted for 27. 7%. Patients in the group of inflammatory necrosis classification≥G2 was older than the group of < G2, and the ALT level of≥G2 group was higher, as well as a higher HBV-DNA. What is more,Patients in the group of inflammatory necrosis classification ≥G2 were mainly male, and were associated with a family history of hepatitis B. Patients in the group of fibrosis stage ≥S2 was older than < S2 group, and the ALT level of fibrosis stage ≥S2 group was higher. And those patients were often associated with a family history of hepatitis B, but there was no significant difference among the HBV-DNA level and gender constitution. HBV-DNA and family history were the independent risk fac-tors of liver inflammation necrosis≥G2, and family history was the only independent risk factor of fibrosis stage≥S2. Conclusion The patients of HBeAg-negative chronic HBV-infected with PNAL, regardless of the ALT and HBV-DNA, must have a liver biopsy. The pa-tients with high level of HBV-DNA and with a family history of hepatitis B should be performed liver puncturing accordingly.

Objective:To investigate the expression of XIAP and Smac in human non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and the relationship with clinical significance and prognosis. Methods:Immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the ex-pression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) and second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac) in 70 cases of NSCLC and 70 cases of non-cancerous adjacent lung tissues. Results:XIAP is mostly present (59/70) in tumor tissues with 16 high ex-pressions, whereas only five high expressions in non-cancerous adjacent lung tissues are observed (52/70). The statistical difference of these two sets of data is significant (Z=-5.484, P<0.001). Comparatively, Smac is present (63/70) in tumor tissues, which is significant-ly (Z=-5.484, P<0.001) higher than in the non-cancerous adjacent lung tissues (53/70). The expression levels of XIAP and Smac in NSCLC tissues are closely related to the lymph node metastasis at the TNM stages (P<0.05) and not associated to gender, age, size of tumor, and differentiation grades (P>0.05). The Kaplan-Meier analysis results show that survival by XIAP and Smac protein in NSCLC has no significant effect (P>0.05). Conclusion:XIAP and Smac are expressed in NSCLC and noncancerous adjacent lung tissues, and the differences in their expression levels is significant. The deterioration of NSCLC results in apoptosis/anti-apoptotic synchronized with tumor cell proliferation. The expression levels of XIAP and Smac in NSCLC are not related with the prognosis.

OBJECTIVE:To optimize the extraction process for the preparation of Paeonia lactiflora formula granules and establish an HPLC method for the determination of Paeoniflorin in the samples.METHODS:The optimum water extraction process was selected by the L9(34)orthogonal design and the content of Paeoniflorin in formula granules was analyzed by HPLC.The HPLC assay was performed on a crosmosil C18-MS-II(250mm? 4.6mm,5? m)column.The mobile phase was employed by using acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid(14∶ 86).The detection wavelength was set at 230 nm and the system was operated at 25℃.RESULTS:The optimum extraction conditions were to reflux for 3 times with 12 fold water and each time for one hour.The extraction rate of Paeoniflorin was 85.7% and the dried extraction yield was 34.4%.The peak area had a good linearity with the concentration of Paeoniflorin and the linear range was 0.128～ 0.640? g(r=0.999 8).The average recovery was 100.76% and RSD was 1.26%.CONCLUSION:The preparation process of Paeonia lactiflora formula granules was stable and feasible.The HPLC method for quality control was accurate and suitable.

Objective To explore the dynamic expressions of interleukin-1 (IL-1)receptor associated kinase (IRAK)-M and IRAK-4 in rats with or without endotoxin tolerance (ETT)in acute liver failure (ALF).Methods Sixty-six male SD rats were divided into three groups:ALF group,ETT group and control group.The rats in ETT group received daily lipopolysaccharide (LPS)intraperitoneal injection for 5 days,while the rats in ALF group received daily injection with same volume of 0.75% NaCl solution.Both ETT group and ALF group received intraperitoneal injection with D-galactosamine (D-GalN)and LPS at 24 hours after the 5th injection of LPS or NaCl solution.At 2,6,12,24 and 48 h after D-GalN and LPS injection,the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)and interleukin-6 (IL-6)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).The liver pathologic changes were observed with HE staining by microscope.The mRNA expressions of IRAK-4,IRAK-M and NF-κB (p65)were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).The pairwise comparison between groups was done by lease significant difference (LSD)and Dunnet's t test.Results The liver pathologic changes in ETT group were much milder than those of ALF group.In ALF group,IRAK-4 mRNA/β-actin absorbance ratios at 2,6,12,24and 48 h after D-GalN and LPS challenge were 0.711 ±0.074,0.904±0.118,1.012 ±0.098,1.534±0.279 and 1.451±0.290,respectively,while the IRAK-M mRNA/β-actin absorbance ratios were 0.496±0.018,0.516±0.089,0.503±0.023,0.503±0.057 and 0.469±0.142,respectively.In ETT group,the IRAK-4 mRNA/β-actin absorbance ratios at 2,6,12,24 and 48 h after D-GalN and LPS challenge were 0.619±0.083,0.587±0.033,0.623±0.034,0.720±0.044 and 0.654±0.041,respectively,while the IRA'K-M mRNA/β-actin absorbance ratios were 0.929 ± 0.064,1.111±0.138,1.113±0.027,1.891±0.315 and 1.710±0.303,respectively.The IRAK-M mRNA expression level was significantly increased and IRAK-4 mRNA expression level was relatively decreased in ETT group compared to ALF group.The differences were all statistically significant at 2,6,12,24 and 48 h after D-GalN and LPS challenge (F= 17.305,54.921,121.031,67.607,55.279,respectively; F=19.506,43.777,110.823,302.681,202.822,respectively; F=172.003,59.519,987.055,68.463,96.601,respectively; all P＜0.05).Conclusion LPS pretreatment may induce ETT in rat model by downregulating the expression of IRAK-4 and upregulating the expression of IRAK-M.

OBJECTIVETo study the alkaloids of Macleaya cordata.

METHODThe alkaloids were isolated and purified by various column chromatography as well as recrystallization. Their structures were identified by physico-chemical properties and spectral analysis.

RESULTThirteen alkaloids were isolated and identified as 6-methoxy-dihydrosanguinarine (1), norsanguinarine (2), 6-acetonyl-dihyrochelerythrine (3), 6-acetonyl-dihyrosanguinnarine (4), sanguidimerine (5), chelidimerine (6), (+/-) -bocconarborine A (7), (+/-)-bocconarborine B (8), cryptopine (9), dihydrosanguinarine (10), dihydrochelerythrine (11), protopine (12), alpha-allocryptopine (13).

CONCLUSIONCompounds 2, 3, 5 - 9 were firstly isolated from the genus Macleaya and compound 1 was obtained from M. cordata for the first time.

Alkaloids ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Papaveraceae ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the roles of five scoring systems including model for endstage liver disease (MELD), Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), Mayo, MESO and MELD-Na scoring systems, in predicting the prognosis of patients with chronic severe hepatitis. Methods The clinical data of 213 patients with chronic severe hepatitis were retrospectively studied. The five scoring systems were applied respectively to evaluate the scores in survival group and death group. The capability of these five scoring systems to predict the prognosis of severe hepatitis were compared by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, area under curve (AUC) and cut-off value.Measurement data were compared by group t test. The comparisons of AUC among scoring systems were done using MEDCLAC software. Results The scores of death group evaluated by MELD, CTP,Mayo, MESO or MELD-Na scoring systems (30.6 ± 9.5, 11.3 ± 1.5, 10.4 ± 1.3, 2.3 ± 0.8 and 39.0 ± 11.8, respectively) were consistently higher than those of survival group (21.1± 6.8, 10.6 ±1.6, 9.0±1.5, 1.6±0.5 and 22.6±8.2, respectively) (P＜0.01). The values of AUC of these five systems were 0.810, 0.623, 0.749, 0.829 and 0.885, respectively. The Youden's indexes of these five systems were 0.507, 0.175, 0.389, 0.528 and 0.650, respectively. Conclusions The CTP scoring systems can not predict the prognosis of chronic severe hepatitis very well. The Mayo scoring systems can partially predict the prognosis. On the contrary, MELD, MESO and MELD-Na systems can successfully predict the disease prognosis, and the score of MELD-Na system shows the best correlation with the prognosis.

Objective:To analyze the key genes and mechanisms of sepsis secondary to multiple trauma based on bioinformatics methods.Methods:Data set GSE70311 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database.After data set pretreatment, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in peripheral blood of patients with sepsis secondary to multiple injuries were screened using Limma R package.ClusterProfiler R package was used for gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis of DEGs.Finally, the protein-protein interaction network was constructed by using the STRING online database and Cytoscape, and the hub genes of sepsis secondary to multiple injuries were identified based on Cytohubba.Results:In the GSE70311 dataset, 328 DEGs were obtained.The results of GO enrichment analysis showed that the biological processes involved in DEGs in sepsis secondary to multiple trauma mainly included T cell differentiation, positive regulation of cytokine production, defense response to bacteria, response to virus and defense response to virus, etc.The results of KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were significantly enriched in hematopoietic cell lineage, Staphylococcus aureus infection, asthma, Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, and antigen processing and presentation etc.signaling pathways in sepsis secondary to multiple trauma.Five hub genes were further screened by protein-protein interaction analysis, including STAT1, IFIT3, ISG15, IFIT1 and MX1. Conclusions:STAT1, IFIT3, ISG15, IFIT1 and MX1 are potential hub genes of sepsis secondary to multiple trauma, involved in T cell differentiation, positive regulation of cytokine production and defense response to pathogenic microorganisms, and enriched in Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation and antigen processing and presentation etc.signaling pathways.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of senile neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) inpatients in south China, especially in Guangdong province, and explore the influencing factors for their medical expenses.Methods:The medical records of 7231 patients with NDDs≥65 years were collected in the electronic health database of our hospital from January 2010 to December 2019, including gender, age, admission ways, chief complaints, length of hospital stays and medical expenses. On the basis of median of the medical expenses (21 345 yuan) of these patients, they were divided into low cost (<21 345 yuan) group and high cost (≥21 345 yuan) group. Univariate Logistic analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were conducted to screen the influencing factors for medical expenses and the independent influencing factors.Results:(1) The main age group of geriatric inpatients with NDDs were 70-79 years (40.96%); the admission source was mainly outpatient (56.70%), and length of hospital stays of a large percent of patients (44.50%) were 8-14 d. (2) From 2010 to 2019, the number of hospitalized geriatric patients with NDDs showed an increasing trend year by year, the overall trend of length of hospital stays was shortened, and the medical expenses showed gradual increase; the causes of hospitalization, percentages of patients caused by infection, abnormal blood pressure and water-electrolyte metabolism disturbances showed decreased trend, percentages of patients caused by heart diseases, cerebrovascular accidents and mental-psychological diseases showed increased trend, and the proportions of patients caused by fracture/trauma/wound injuries were generally stable. The proportion of patients returning home and mortality rate after hospital discharge were declined, and the proportion of patients returning to other medical or community institutions was increased. (3) Living in ICU, length of hospital stays, diabetes, nosocomial infection, chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, tumble, body mass index, and anticholinergic drugs were independent risk factors influencing the medical expenses ( P<0.05). Conclusions:An aging trend is noted in patients with NDDs; the number of hospitalized patients and medical expenses increase year by year, and the length of hospital stays gradually decreases. In view of the many factors that influence the medical expenses of this disease, it is suggested to develop the corresponding standardized treatment plan for the main influencing factors in clinical practice.

Objective:To analyze molecular genetic characteristics of standard strains for functional antibody detection of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, and provide the foundation for clinical research of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. Methods:The 24 strains for functional antibody detection of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine were detected by PCR amplification and sequencing using standard strain 16S rRNA gene fragment, and the molecular typing of the related strains was performed by multi locus sequence analysis (MLST) and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results:The result of 16S rRNA gene sequence alignment showed that the similarity between the gene sequences of the 24 strains and that of NCTC 7465 (LN831051) ranged from 98.35% to 99.86%, and the base difference was 2-23 bp. Multi locus sequence analysis showed that the ST types of 24 standard strains were different. PFGE analysis showed that 24 standard strains had good isolation effect from DNA fragments of 100 kb-1 000 kb, and each serotype had its own characteristic bands (12-15 fragments).Conclusions:This study analyzed the molecular genetic characteristics of the standard strains for the detection of pneumococcal functional antibodies for the first time, and may provide a reference for the quality control method of the standard strains for the subsequent detection of pneumococcal functional antibodies.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression level of SET gene in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and evaluate its significance.

METHODSThe expression level of SET gene in 141 de novo AML patients was determined by real time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR), and its relationship with the clinical features and outcomes of these patients were analyzed.

RESULTSSET gene transcript level was detected in 141 AML patients with the median expression level of 0.86(range 0.02-15.69). AML patients with higher SET gene expression had a higher level of white blood cell (WBC ≥ 100 × 10⁹/L) count than of lower SET gene expression ones (31.0% vs 11.4%, P=0.005). In the 136 patients who received treatment after diagnosis, higher SET gene expression group had lower complete remission rate (50.0%) than of lower expression cohort (73.5%) after two cycles of chemotherapy (P=0.005). Survival analysis showed that patients with higher SET gene expression had significantly shorter overall survival(OS) (10 months vs 22 months, P=0.001) and event-free survival (EFS) (2 months vs 14 months, P=0.005) than of lower SET gene expression ones. Multivariate COX regression analysis showed SET overexpression was an independent prognostic factor for OS. In the patients with the normal karyotype, higher SET expression group also had significantly shorter OS (12 months vs 35 months, P=0.010) and EFS (4 months vs 14 months, P=0.026) than of lower SET expression ones.

CONCLUSIONHigh expression of SET gene was associated with poor prognosis and might be a prognostic molecular marker of AML.

Disease-Free Survival ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Histone Chaperones ; genetics ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; genetics ; Prognosis ; Remission Induction ; Transcription Factors ; genetics