Clinical cure (herein referred to as functional cure) is currently recognized as the ideal therapeutic goal by the guidelines for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) at home and abroad. China has achieved significant results in research and exploration based on pegylated interferon alpha therapeutic strategies to promote the effectiveness of CHB clinical cure rates in clinical practice. The summary and optimization of clinical cure strategies in different clinical type classifications, as well as the exploration of clinical cure continuity and long-term outcomes, are of great significance for solving the current bottleneck problem and our future efforts in the developmental directions of clinical cure in CHB populations.

Heart failure represents a significant public health challenge in China at present.The technology development of left ventricular assist device has become a therapy option for end-stage heart failure patients.The third generation left ventricular assist device has undergone significant improvements in its principle,structure,size,mechanical stability,biocompatibility,and many other aspects.In recent years,multiple products have been put into clinical application,meeting the need of heart failure patients with implantation indications.This article mainly reviews the technological development,clinical application,available domestic and abroad products,and future prospects of the third generation domestic left ventricular assist device.

Background: () (2n = 2x = 16) is genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gelsemicaeae family. Method: Here, a high-quality genome assembly using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) platform and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture techniques (Hi-C) were used. Results: A total of 56.11 Gb of raw GridION X5 platform ONT reads (6.23 Gb per cell) were generated. After filtering, 53.45 Gb of clean reads were obtained, giving 160 × coverage depth. The genome assemblies 335.13 Mb, close to the 338 Mb estimated by k-mer analysis, was generated with contig N50 of 10.23 Mb. The vast majority (99.2%) of the assembled sequence was anchored onto 8 pseudo-chromosomes. The genome completeness was then evaluated and 1338 of the 1440 conserved genes (92.9%) could be found in the assembly. Genome annotation revealed that 43.16% of the genome is composed of repetitive elements and 23.9% is composed of long terminal repeat elements. We predicted 26,768 protein-coding genes, of which 84.56% were functionally annotated. Conclusion The genomic sequences of could be a valuable source for comparative genomic analysis in the Gelsemicaeae family and will be useful for understanding the phylogenetic relationships of the indole alkaloid metabolism.

Objective To look into the effect of ubiquitin (Ub) in muscles of gastric cancer patients on their nutritional status and prognosis.Methods Abdominal rectus muscles of 102 patients with gastric cancer and 53 patients with benign abdominal diseases were studied.The expressions of Ub mRNA and protein were assessed through real time-PCR and Western blot.Results The relative expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients (4.10± 1.04) was significantly upregulated compared with the control group (3.17±0.32) (t =7.386,P=0.000).The expression of Ub protein in rectus abdominis muscles of patients with gastric cancer was upregulated compared with the controls (0.151 ±0.058 vs.0.084±0.046,t =7.275,P =0.000).The high expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients was significantly associated with decreases in weight,body mass index,prognostic nutritional index,serum albumin and hemoglobin (x2 =11.780,6.557,11.849,15.742,8.360;P=0.001,0.010,0.001,0.000,0.004).The high expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients was not correlated with the patients'sex,age,tumor size or Borrmann type (x2 =0.038,1.978,0.486,1.483;P=0.774,0.160,0.486,0.223),but it was related to the pathologic type,lymph node metastasis and TNM staging of gastric carcinoma (x2 =11.260,9.362,20.517;P=0.004,0.002,0.000).The survival rate of gastric cancer patients with high expression of Ub mRNA was lower than those with low expression (x2 =5.775,P =0.016).Conclusions Ub mRNA and protein were upregulated in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients.The high expression of Ub mRNA in these patients was related to their nutritional status and prognosis,which might play an important role in the development of cachexia.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) 25/150/100 mg once daily and dasabuvir (DSV) 250 mg twice daily combined with ribavirin in adult patients of Mainland China with chronic HCV genotype 1b infection and compensated cirrhosis. Methods: An open-label, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial study was conducted in mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Adult patients with compensated cirrhosis (Metavir score =F4) who were newly diagnosed and treated for hepatitis C virus genotype 1b infection with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir combined with ribavirin for 12 weeks were included. Assessed SVR rate of patients obtained at 12 and 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Efficacy and safety were evaluated in patients who received at least one time study drugs. Results: A total of 63 patients from mainland China were enrolled, 62 of whom (98.4%) had a baseline Child-Pugh score of 5 points. The overall rate of SVR12 and SVR24 in patients was 100% (95% CI: 94.3% to 100.0%). Most of the adverse events that occurred were mild. The incidence of common (≥10%) adverse events and laboratory abnormalities included elevated total bilirubin (36.5%), weakness (19.0%), elevated unconjugated bilirubin (19.0%) and conjugated bilirubin (17.5%), and anemia (14.3%). Three cases (4.8%) of patients experienced Grade ≥ 3 adverse events that were considered by the investigators to be unrelated to the study drug. None patients had adverse events leading to premature drug withdrawal. Conclusion Mainland Chinese patients with chronic HCV genotype 1b infection and compensated cirrhosis who were treated with OBV/PTV/r plus DSV combined with RBV for 12 weeks achieved 100 % SVR at 12 and 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Tolerability and safety were good, and majority of adverse events were mild.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) 25/150/100 mg once daily combined with dasabuvir 250mg, twice daily in non-cirrhotic Chinese adult patients with newly diagnosed and treated chronic HCV genotype 1b infection. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter phase 3 clinical trial was conducted in mainland China, Korea, and Taiwan.Safety and efficacy of OBV/PTV/r plus DSV administered for 12 weeks were evaluated in a newly diagnosed and treated (interferon alpha /pegylated interferon alpha) and ribavirin non-cirrhotic adults with chronic HCVgenotype 1b infection. Patients randomly received OBV/PTV/r plus DSV for 12 weeks (Group A), or placebo for 12 weeks (Group B) followed by an open-label phase of OBV/PTV/r plus DSV for 12 weeks. Sustained response (SVR12) rate obtained at 12 weeks and (SVR24) 24 weeks after discontinuation of treatment, and the incidence of adverse events and laboratory abnormalities after double-blind and open-label phase treatment were assessed. Results: A total of 410 cases of Chinese patients were included and randomly assigned to group A and B (with 205 cases in each group) in a 1:1 ratio. The rates of SVR12 and SVR24 were 99% (95% CI: 94.8% - 99.8%) in the newly diagnosed patients in group A (205 patients) and the rates of SVR12 and SVR24 were 100% in treated patients (95% CI: 96.3% - 100%). Different baseline characteristics had no effect on SVR12 and SVR24 rates. Most of the adverse events occurred were mild, asymptomatic, and≥ 3 laboratory abnormalities during treatment were rare, including elevation of alanine aminotransferase (2 cases in double-blind stage A group), aspartate aminotransferase (Double-blind stage A (3 cases) and total bilirubin (1 case in open-label phase B group); however, those mild adverse events could be recovered after drug withdrawal or discontinuation. only1 person discontinued drugs due to adverse events (Group B, open-label phase). Conclusion The 12 weeks treatment course of OBV/PTV/r combined with DSV produced 99% ~ 100% rates of SVR12 and SVR24 in non-cirrhotic Asian adult patients with newly diagnosed and treated chronic HCV genotype 1b infection, and the tolerance and safety were good.

Objective: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss is seldom achieved with nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) therapy in chronic hepatitis B patients but may be enhanced by switching to finite pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) alfa-2a. We assessed HBsAg loss with 48- and 96-week Peg-IFN alfa-2a in chronic hepatitis B patients with partial response to a previous NA. Methods: Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients who achieved HBeAg loss and hepatitis B virus DNA < 200 IU/mL with previous adefovir, lamivudine or entecavir treatment were randomized 1:1 to receive Peg-IFN alfa-2a for 48 (n = 153) or 96 weeks (n = 150). The primary endpoint of this study was HBsAg loss at end of treatment. The ClinicalTrials.gov identifier is NCT01464281. Results: At the end of 48 and 96 weeks' treatment, 14.4% (22/153) and 20.7% (31/150) of patients, respectively, who switched from NA to Peg-IFN alfa-2a cleared HBsAg. Rates were similar irrespective of prior NA or baseline HBeAg seroconversion. Among those who cleared HBsAg by the end of 48 and 96 weeks' treatment, 77.8% (14/18) and 71.4% (20/28), respectively, sustained HBsAg loss for a further 48 weeks. Baseline HBsAg < 1 500 IU/mL and week 24 HBsAg < 200 IU/mL were associated with the highest rates of HBsAg loss at the end of both 48- and 96-week treatment (51.4% and 58.7%, respectively). Importantly, extending treatment from 48 to 96 weeks enabled 48.3% (14/29) more patients to achieve HBsAg loss. Conclusion Patients on long-term NA who are unlikely to meet therapeutic goals can achieve high rates of HBsAg loss by switching to Peg-IFN alfa-2a. HBsAg loss rates may be improved for some patients by extending treatment from 48 to 96 weeks, although the differences in our study cohort were not statistically significant. Baseline and on-treatment HBsAg may predict HBsAg loss with Peg-IFN alfa-2a.

OBJECTIVETo compare the effect and differences sex the influence of hormone levels of perimenopau-sal syndrome patients between manual acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA).

METHODSA total of 50 cases with perimenopausal syndrome were randomly assigned into an manual acupuncture group (27 cases) and an EA group (23 cases), and 1 case dropped in the EA group. The acupoints in the two groups were Guanyuan (CV 4), Zigong (EX-CA 1), Tianshu (ST 25), and Sanyinjiao (SP 6). Acupuncture with 3-time small and even manipulation of lifting, thrusting and twirling was used in the acupuncture group, once 10 min. EA with sparse-dense wave and 10 Hz/50 Hz was applied in the EA group for 30 min. The treatments in the two groups were for continuous 8 weeks (24 times in total), once the other day, 3 times a week. The scores of 24-hour hot flashes even, menopausal rating scale (MRS) and menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire (MENQOL) were recorded before treatment and after 4-week and 8-week treatment, as well as 12 and 24 weeks after treatment. Serum sex hormone levels were tested before and after 8-week treatment as well as 12 weeks after treatment, including serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estracliol (E).

RESULTSCompared with those before treatment, the 24-hour hot flashes even score, MRS and MENQOL scores were significantly lower after 4-week and 8-week treatments, 12 and 24 weeks after treatment (all<0.05). All the above scores after 8-week treatment were lower than those after 4-week treatment (all<0.05); and the scores 12 and 24 weeks after treatment were lower than those after 4-week and 8-week treatments (all<0.05); all the scores after treatment were not significantly different at any time between the two groups (all>0.05). Compared with those before treatment, serum FSH and Eapparently improved in the two groups after 8-week treatment and 12 weeks after treatment (all<0.05). LH levels did not significantly change in the two groups (all>0.05). All the serum sex hormone levels showed no significant difference between the two groups (all>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSBoth acupuncture and EA can improve perimenopausal symptoms and serum sex hormone. The effects are similar.

Objective To investigate the expressions of myostatin (MSTN) in the gastric cancer patients' rectus abdominis and serum,and to discuss its relation with the nutritional status and outcome of the gastric cancer patients.Methods We recruited 102 patients with gastric cancer and another 53 patients with benign abdominal disease who were admitted to Zhejiang Province People's Hospital and Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province from February 2008 to February 2011.We tested MSTN expression in the malignant patients' rectus abdominis and serum using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction,Western blot,and enzymelinked immunosorbent assay.Relationship between MSTN expression and nutrition status of gastric cancer patients was explored.Results The relative expression of MSTN mRNA of rectus abdominis muscle in gastric cancer group and control group was 3.43 ± 1.11 and 1.07 ± 0.31 (t =19.406,P ＜ 0.01),the relative expression level of MSTN protein in gastric cancer group and control group was 0.115±0.696 and 0.085±0.499 (t=2.856,P＜0.05) and its serum expression 8.79±4.32 and 1.21±0.55 in these two group (t =16.701,P＜0.05),showing significant difference.The high (defined as higher than median) expression of MSTN in rectus abdominis muscle of gastric cancer patients was significantly correlated with age (x2 =22.039,P =0.000),percentage of more than 10％ decline in body weight in half a year (x2 =14.365,P=0.000),body mass index (BMI) ＜22 kg/m2 (x2 =6.800,P=0.009),serum albumin (x2 =31.018,P=0.000),hemoglobin (x2=10.079,P =0.001),prognostic nutritional index (x2 =10.074,P =0.002),higher Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 Score (Z=2.628,P=-0.009),tumor stage of TNM (Z=2.550,P=0.011).The expression of the rectus abdominis muscle in patients with gastric cancer was significantly correlated with the survival rate of the patients (x2 =12.200,P＜0.01).Conclusions The expression of MSTN increases in the rectus abdominis and serum of gastric cancer patients with cachexia.The increased MSTN expression is closely related with malnutrition and TNM stage in these patients,suggesting MSTN may also play an important role in the muscle consumption of the gastric cancer patients.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of the new investigational drug pegylated interferon α-2b (Peg-IFN-α-2b) (Y shape, 40 kD) injection (180 µg/week) combined with ribavirin in the treatment of patients with genotype 1/6 chronic hepatitis C (CHC), with standard-dose Peg-IFN-α-2a combined with ribavirin as a positive control. Methods: A multicenter, randomized, open-label, and positive-controlled phase III clinical trial was performed. Eligible patients with genotype 1/6 CHC were screened out and randomly divided into Peg-IFN-α-2b(Y shape, 40kD) group and Peg-IFN-α-2a group at a ratio of 2:1. The patients in both groups were given oral ribavirin for 48 weeks in addition and then followed up for 24 weeks after drug withdrawal. Abbott Real Time HCV Genotype II was used to determine HCV genotype, and Cobas TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure HCV RNA level at 0, 4, 12, 24, 48, and 72 weeks. Adverse events were recorded in detail. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virological response (SVR), and a non-inferiority test was also performed. Results: A total of 561 patients with genotype 1/6 CHC were enrolled, among whom 529 received treatment; 90.9% of these patients had genotype 1 CHC. The data of the full analysis set showed that SVR rate was 69.80% (95% CI 65.00%-74.60%) in the trial group and 74.16% (95% CI 67.73%-80.59%) in the control group (P = 0.297 0). The data of the per protocol set (PPS) showed that SVR rate was 80.63% (95% CI 76.04%-85.23%) in the trial group and 81.33% (95% CI 75.10%-87.57%) in the control group (P = 0.849 8), and the 95% CI of rate difference conformed to the non-inferiority standard. The analysis of the PPS population showed that of all subjects, 47.9% achieved rapid virologic response, with a positive predictive value of 93.8%. The incidence rate of adverse events was 96.30% in the trial group and 94.94% in the control group, and the incidence rate of serious adverse events was 5.13% in the trail group and 5.06% in the control group. Conclusion In the regimen of Peg-IFN-α combined with ribavirin for the treatment of genotype 1/6 CHC, the new investigational drug Peg-IFN-α-2b(Y shape, 40 kD) has comparable clinical effect and safety to the control drug Peg-IFN-α-2a.