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As a major carbon emitter in China, the emission mitigation in industrial sector performs great significance for China to achieve its emission reduction targets. Using the provincial panel data during 2000-2016 of China's industrial sector, this paper first used a gravity model to study the spatial distribution and center of gravity of industrial CO2 emissions. Then, an integrated decomposition approach based on Shephard distance functions was adopted to study the driving factors of industrial carbon intensity. Results indicate that during 2000-2016, industrial CO2 emissions center of gravity gradually moved to the west. China's industrial carbon intensity achieved considerable decline, with the annual change rate of 8.27%. The energy intensity decline, technology progresses of both production and energy saving were the most important factors facilitating carbon intensity decline. However, energy structure adjustment exerted positive effects in carbon intensity increase, although its effects were minor. Industrial carbon intensity witnessed decrease in almost all provinces except Xinjiang. The effects resulted from various factors were also different across provinces. Finally, suggestions were proposed to further decrease industrial carbon intensity.

Approximately 22.9 million Caesarean Sections (CS) are performed worldwide each year, mainly to save the life of the mother and/or new-born infant.

Intestinal enterochromaffin (EC) cell hyperplasia and increased 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) availability play key roles in the pathogenesis of abdominal hypersensitivity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This study aims to study the effect of quercetin on visceral pain and 5-HT availability in postinflammatory IBS (PI-IBS) rats. PI-IBS model rats were administered quercetin by gavage at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg for 14 days. Compared with normal rats, the visceral pain threshold of PI-IBS rats was markedly decreased and the abdominal motor response to colon distension was markedly increased. The EC cell count and 5-HT level, as well as tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) protein, were all significantly elevated in PI-IBS rats, while the 5-HT reuptake transporter (serotonin transporter) was reduced. Genes that are responsible for enteroendocrine cell differentiation, that is, Ngn3 and pdx1, were significantly increased in the PI-IBS group. Quercetin treatment markedly elevated the pain threshold pressure and decreased the visceral motor response of PI-IBS animals; and EC cell density and 5-HT level, as well as TPH expression, in the PI-IBS group were all reduced by quercetin. Quercetin treatment also significantly reduced colonic expression of Ngn3 and pdx1 of PI-IBS. Findings from the present study indicated that the analgesic effect of quercetin on PI-IBS may result from reduction of 5-HT availability in the colon, and the regulatory role of quercetin in endocrine progenitors may contribute to reduced EC cells.

Introduction A caesarean section is a major obstetric procedure that can save the life of mother and child. Its purpose is to protect the mother’s health from the complications of childbirth and to protect the baby’s health. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there are major inequalities in access to caesarean sections and significant variations in practices to determine the indications for the procedure. Periodic analyses of maternal deaths have shown that more than half of maternal and new born deaths are due to suboptimal care and are therefore potentially preventable. The objective of our study is to assess the impact of health staff training under the PADISS project (to support the health system’s integrated development) on the quality of CS procedures in North Kivu, by comparing two periods. Material and methods The populations compared were recruited from the referral hospitals in North Kivu, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). The first (group 1) was made up of patient files studied retrospectively for the period from 01/11/2013 to 01/01/2016. The second group (group 2), studied prospectively, comprised patient files from June 2019 to January 2020. Obstetric, maternal and foetal data were compared. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA/IC 15.0 for Windows. Univariate and multiple logistic regression was performed to determine which characteristics are associated with maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results CS frequency was approximately 17% in both study periods. We observed a CS frequency of about 34% at North Kivu provincial hospital for the two populations studied. The main indications for CS were dystocia, foetal distress and scarred uterus for both populations. In the population studied prospectively, after the implementation of health staff training, there were fewer incidence rate of dystocia, foetal distress and neonatal death, a more complete patient record, shorter hospital stay, and fewer blood transfusions but more incidence rate of scarred uterus, post-operative complications and low birth weight. Intervention had no statistically significant impact on low birth weight (OR = 1.9, p = 0.13), on neonatal mortality (OR = 0.69, p = 0.21). Conclusion Our study shows a decrease in neonatal deaths, dystocia and foetal distress, but an increase in post-operative complications, maternal deaths and cases of scarred uterus and low birth weight. However, multiple logistic regression did no support the conclusion.

IntroductionGallbladder cancer (GBC), the sixth most common gastrointestinal tract cancer, poses a significant disease burden in China. However, no national representative data are available on the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of GBC in the Chinese population.Methods and analysisThe Chinese Research Group of Gallbladder Cancer (CRGGC) study is a multicentre retrospective registry cohort study. Clinically diagnosed patient with GBC will be identified from 1 January 2008 to December, 2019, by reviewing the electronic medical records from 76 tertiary and secondary hospitals across 28 provinces in China. Patients with pathological and radiological diagnoses of malignancy, including cancer in situ, from the gallbladder and cystic duct are eligible, according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 2019 guidelines. Patients will be excluded if GBC is the secondary diagnosis in the discharge summary. The demographic characteristics, medical history, physical examination results, surgery information, pathological data, laboratory examination results and radiology reports will be collected in a standardised case report form. By May 2021, approximately 6000 patient with GBC will be included. The clinical follow-up data will be updated until 5 years after the last admission for GBC of each patient. The study aimed (1) to depict the clinical characteristics, including demographics, pathology, treatment and prognosis of patient with GBC in China; (2) to evaluate the adherence to clinical guidelines of GBC and (3) to improve clinical practice for diagnosing and treating GBC and provide references for policy-makers.Ethics and disseminationThe protocol of the CRGGC has been approved by the Committee for Ethics of Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SHEC-C-2019–085). All results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences.Trial registration numberNCT04140552, Pre-results.

To explore the clinical significance of changes in alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), HIV-1 TAT interactive protein 2/TAT interactive protein 30 (HTATIP2/TIP30), B7-H4 and inflammatory cytokines after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).A total of 84 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients admitted to the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery and the Department of Interventional Radiology of our hospital from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018 were randomly enrolled and divided into an experimental group and a control group according to treatment methods. The expression levels of AFP mRNA, HTATIP2/TIP30, B7-H4 and inflammatory cytokines were detected before and after treatment, the short-term efficacy was followed up and analyzed, and the correlation between the two was statistically analyzed.The AFP expression level in the two groups of patients was lower after treatment than before treatment, this reduction being more obvious in the experimental group (receiving TACE) than in the control group. Although the levels of serum HTATIP2/TIP30 and B7-H4 were decreased after treatment in both groups, and they were lower after treatment than those before treatment in the control group, lower levels were registered in the control group. Both groups of patients had lower expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) after treatment compared with those before treatment, this decrease being more significant in the experimental group than in the control group. Moreover, the total short-term efficacy rate and the improvement rate of the quality of life were higher in the experimental group than in the control group, although no statistical difference in the survival rate was found between the two groups after 1-year follow-up. The serum level of B7-H4 in the group with good efficacy was lower than in the group with poor efficacy before treatment, and it declined in both groups after treatment, with a lower level in the former than in the latter. Furthermore, the group with good efficacy had a lower level of serum HTATIP2/TIP30 than the group with poor efficacy, while both groups had a decreased level after treatment, with a lower level in the former than in the latter.Interventional therapy for primary HCC has good short-term efficacy. It can reduce the levels of serum HTATIP2/TIP30, B7-H4, AFP and inflammation-related indexes, improve the liver function and the patients' quality of life.

2634 Background: CD137 is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily that functions as a potent co-stimulator of both adaptive and innate immune cells, thus making it an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy. The development of first-generation anti-CD137 antibodies has been hampered by limited clinical activity or dose-limiting hepatotoxicity. AGEN2373 is a novel, conditionally active CD137 agonist antibody designed to selectively enhance tumor immunity while mitigating side effects associated with systemic activation of CD137. Here we report the initial findings from the first-in-human evaluation of AGEN2373 in pts with advanced solid cancers. Methods: Pts received AGEN2373 on day 1 of a 28-day cycle (Q4W dosing), with cycles repeated until progression, intolerable toxicity or investigator/patient decision. Dose-escalation followed a standard 3+3 scheme, with planned dosing of 0.03, 0.06, 0.3, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mg/kg. The primary objective was to determine the safety, tolerability, and dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of AGEN2373 as monotherapy. Secondary objectives included pharmacokinetics (PK) and preliminary clinical activity. Adverse events (AEs) were reported per CTCAE v5.0 and DLTs evaluated within a 28-day window. For PK analyses, serum AGEN2373 concentrations determined using a validated bioanalytical assay and simultaneously analyzed by an NLME model. Antitumor activity was assessed using RECIST v1.1. Results: As of January 21 2021, 19 pts (median age 54.4 years, range 33-74; 11 men, 8 women; 7 with prior immunotherapy) have been treated with AGEN2373 Q4W at escalating doses from 0.03 – 2.0 mg/kg across 5 cohorts. Eleven pts (57.9%) experienced treatment-related AEs; none were grade 3 or higher. The most common events were fatigue (4 pts, 21.1%) and nausea (2 pts, 10.6%). No DLTs have been observed. Importantly, no drug-related elevations in liver transaminases (ALT, AST) or bilirubin beyond 1 grade have been seen. AGEN2373 PK were consistent with linear elimination. Prolonged disease stabilization as best response occurred in 5 pts (26.3%; range, 6-41 weeks); three of which were seen in heavily pretreated pts with metastatic leiomyosarcoma, including one who had progressed on prior combination checkpoint immunotherapy. Enrollment into the 3.0 mg/kg cohort is continuing. Conclusions: AGEN2373 demonstrates good tolerability in pts with advanced solid tumors, with a safety profile characterized by a lack of hepatotoxicity frequently observed with CD137-targeting antibodies. These findings underscore the suitability of AGEN2373 as a potential partnering agent for other immunomodulatory agents, including planned expansion as combination therapy with balstilimab (anti-PD-1). Clinical trial information: NCT04121676.

Enterochromaffin (EC) cell is the main cell type that responsible for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) synthesis, storage and release of the gut. Intestinal 5-HT play a key role in visceral sensation, intestinal motility and permeability, EC cell hyperplasia and increased 5-HT bioavailability in the gut have been found to be involved in the symptoms generation of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. EC cells originate from intestinal stem cells, the interaction between proliferation and differentiation signals on intestinal stem cells enable EC cell number to be regulated in a normal level. This review focuses on the impact factors, pathogenesis mechanisms, and therapeutic clues for intestinal EC cells hyperplasia, and showed that EC cell hyperplasia was observed under the condition of physiological stress, intestinal infection or intestinal inflammation, the disordered proliferation and/or differentiation of intestinal stem cells as well as their progenitor cells all contribute to the pathogenesis of intestinal EC cell hyperplasia. The altered intestinal niche, i.e. increased corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) signal, elevated nerve growth factor (NGF) signal, and Th2-dominant cytokines production, has been found to have close correlation with intestinal EC cell hyperplasia. Currently, CRF receptor antagonist, nuclear factor-κB inhibitor, and NGF receptor neutralizing antibody have been proved useful to attenuate intestinal EC cell hyperplasia, which may provide a promising clue for the therapeutic strategy in EC cell hyperplasia related diseases.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess sexual activity and menopausal symptoms in middle-aged Chinese women and to correlate this with their vaginal maturation status (VMS).Methods: 120 women aged ...

The direct overall water splitting with low/non-toxicity semiconductor-based photocatalysts is regarded as a feasible but challenging method for hydrogen production. Herein, we firstly propose the feasily obtained rhombohedral corundum/cubic In2O3 (rh/c-In2O3) phase-junction by direct annealing metal organic framework (MIL-68(In)-NH2) in air atmosphere. The spectroscopic characterization and photo-electrochemistry test indicate that this special phase-junction could effectively accelerate the separation and transfer of photogenerated charges between rh-In2O3 and c-In2O3. The optimal In2O3 phase-junction shows hydrogen production rate of 2244 μmol h−1 g−1 in 15 vol % triethanolamine aqueous solution, corresponding to the apparent quantum yields of 35 % at 400 nm, is approximately 12 times higher than that of bare c-In2O3. The results of vitro cytotoxicity assay and cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation suggest that In2O3 samples are safety photocatalysts to environment and human being. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and experiment results manifest the photo-induced electron transfer from c-In2O3 to rh-In2O3 with a Z-scheme mechanism. This work not only reports a novel Z-scheme phase-junction photocatalysts but also provides an idea for the design of environmentally friendly photocatalysts for water splitting hydrogen production.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a life-threatening complication in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) of underlying cirrhosis. However, the characteristics of AKI in these patients have not been clarified. Our aim was to determine the incidence and risk factors of AKI and the association between AKI severity and 180-day transplant-free survival.We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with ACLF of underlying cirrhosis in a single center from January 2009 through December 2014. AKI was defined by the criteria proposed by International Club of Ascites (ICA). The incidence and risk factors of AKI development and its relationship to 180-day transplant-free survival rates were evaluated.Of 1032 patients with ACLF of underlying cirrhosis, 121 (11.72 %) had AKI at admission, and 319 (30.9 %) developed AKI during hospitalization. We established a logistic regression model including four independent factors with AKI development: MELD score [odds ratio (OR), 1.1; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.07-1.14], presence of ascites (OR, 3.80; 95 % CI, 2.13-6.78), sepsis/infection (OR, 2.25; 95 % CI, 1.66-3.03) and acute variceal bleed (OR, 1.78; 95 % CI, 1.00-3.19). The area under receiver operating characteristics of the model in internal and external validations were 0.95 and 0.85, respectively. Patients with mild-A AKI had a higher 180-day transplant-free survival rate (23.8 %) than patients with mild-B AKI (19.0 %) or marked AKI (5.9 %) (all p 0.001). AKI patients with a peak value of sCr 1.5 mg/dl had higher 180-day transplant-free survival rates compared to those with a peak value of sCr ≧1.5 mg/dl (23.8 % vs. 14.7 %, p 0.001).We developed a clinical risk model for predicting development of AKI with great accuracy. Combining the ICA-AKI criteria and the peak value of sCr with 1.5 mg/dl provides a good prognostic method for patients with ACLF of underlying cirrhosis.

Recently, solar-driven gas-liquid interfacial evaporation has mainly concentrated on the improvement of sunlight absorption efficiency while neglecting the regulation of water transportation. The blind pursuit of superwetting material design has ignored using excessive water transport instead to add unnecessary heat loss. Furthermore, the material biosafety also should be focused which can avoid damage to water-source biology and humans during application. Here, we successfully designed a biosafety cuttlefish juice (CJ)-based solar absorber via rotary filling SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) to optimize the water-transport regulation of SGIE systems, the tailored absorber can block excessive useless water, and effectively reduce heat losses. Hence the absorber has specific and significant advantages: higher evaporation efficiency and fast evaporation response to the entire device, excellent biocompatibility and low-toxicity, IC50 more than 100 mg/ml is observed in the cell viability. In addition, high mechanical properties (pressure≈100 N), multi-size preparation (d ~ 4.25 cm–10.25 cm or bigger), and long-time self-floating (more than 720 h) yield advantages together to achieve an excellent performance evaporator. Therefore, this work provides a new avenue to the design of high performance SGIE by enchanting edge zone effect, controlling water transportation and fabricating with sustainable marine resource.

Mutations occurring within different genes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome may have different clinical implications. This study aimed to observe the clinical and virological implications of the A1846T and C1913A/G mutations of HBV genome in the development and treatment outcome of severe liver diseases, which has not been previously determined.A total of 438 cases of patients with liver diseases were retrospectively reviewed, including 146 with mild chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB-M), 146 with severe chronic hepatitis B infection (CHB-S), and 146 with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Partial or full-length HBV genome was directly sequenced. Replicons containing A1846T, C1913A or other mutant sequences, or the wild-type counterparts were constructed respectively, and then transfected into HepG2 cells for phenotype analysis.There was significant difference in the detection rates of A1846T (30.82%, 40.41% and 55.48%, respectively) and C1913A/G (15.52%, 28.77%, and 35.62%, respectively) among patients with CHB-M, those with CHB-S, and those with ACLF (p .01). A1846T was significantly associated with the mortality of ACLF patients within six months after the disease onset (OR 1.704, p = .041). In vitro experiment revealed that A1846T mutant resulted in 3.20-fold and 1.85-fold increase of replication capacity and promoter activity, respectively compared with wild type counterpart (p .001), while C1913A led to a significant decrease of core protein expression (p .05).Occurrence of A1846T and C1913A is positively associated with clinical presentations of severe liver disease. A1846T mutation is significantly associated with poor prognosis of ACLF.

In this paper, we aim to investigate the dynamics of a gene regulatory network which is a time-delayed version of the model proposed by Elowitz and Leibler Nature 403 (2000) 335-338]. Based on the normal form theory and center-manifold reduction, Hopf bifurcations including the bifurcation direction and stability of the bifurcated periodic orbits are investigated. We also discuss effects of transcriptional rate and time delay on the amplitude and period of the oscillation of the network. It shows that variations of time delay or transcriptional rate can change the period and amplitude of the oscillation. More precisely, (i) the amplitude increases with small time delay, while the change of amplitude is not sensitive to relatively large time delay. However, the robustness of amplitudes is not true any more for the case of using the transcriptional rate as parameter, where amplitude always increases quickly and linearly with the transcriptional rate; (ii) the period of oscillation increases as the time delay increases, but it grows up initially as the transcriptional rate increases and then keeps unchanged to certain constant value, which implies that the robustness of period to the transcriptional rate variations occurs. Our numerical simulations also support the theoretical conclusions, namely both suggest that time delay and transcriptional rate can be used as control parameters in genetic regulatory networks.

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY: To investigate thyroid function in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) caused by hepatitis B virus infection and to determine whether thyroid hormone levels can be used as prognostic markers for assessing severity and prognosis of ACLF patients. We enrolled 75 patients with ACLF and70 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Continual serum samples were collected during hospitalization from the ACLF patients. The serum thyroid hormone levels (triiodothyronine [T3], thyroxine [T4], free (F)-T3, FT4, and thyroid stimulation hormone [TSH]) were measured by chemiluminescence. The Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was used to assess severity. RESULTS ACLF patients showed significantly (p < 0.001) lower values of serum T3, T4, FT3/FT4 and TSH than CHB patients. The T3, T4, and TSH levels in ACLF patients were negatively correlated with the MELD score (T3: r = -0.495, p < 0.001; T4: r = -0.281, p < 0.001; TSH: r = -0.498, p < 0.001), suggesting that serum thyroid hormone levels reflect disease severity. At 1 year, 31 patients died. The T3 (p = 0.016), T4 (p = 0.008), and TSH (p = 0.003) levels in non-survivors were significantly lower than in survivors. The serum TSH level was a significant factor for predicting mortality in ACLF patients (optimal cutoff value = 0.38 IU/mL). The cumulative survival rate was decreased significantly when the serum TSH level was < 0.38 IU/mL (39.2%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Serum TSH level may be a useful indicator for assessing severity and prognosis in ACLF patients.

Objective To optimize conditions for hypothermic preservation of rat hepatocyte spheroids without freezing in order to facilitate the application of biological artificial liver. Methods Rat hepatic cells were isolated by a two-step perfusion method, and hepatocyte spheroids formed after 48 hours of rocking culture in serum free medium (SFM). Spheroids were then maintained in rocking culture at 37℃ (control condition), or cold stored at 4℃ for 24 or 48 hours in four different cold storage solutions: SFM alone; SFM+1mmol/L deferoxamine (Def ); SFM+1μmol/L cyclosporin A (CsA); and SFM+1mmol/L Def+1μmol/L CsA. After culturing for another 4 or 5 days, survival rate, changes in ultrastructure, and the production of albumin and urea were observed. Results Cold-induced injury could be reduced significantly by the addition of the iron chelators Def and CsA. The function and structure of hepatocyte spheroids stored in SFM+Def+CsA or SFM+Def for 24 hours were similar to those in control conditions. But the function was significantly reduced after hypothermic preservation in SFM alone. After cold storage for 48 hours, the ultrastructure of hepatocyte spheroids obviously changed and the number of dead cells increased. The survival rate of hepatocyte spheroids stored in SFM+Def+CsA or SFM+Def was significantly higher than that stored in SFM or SFM+CsA(P0.05). Conclusions Hepatocyte spheroids tolerate 24 hours of cold storage with stable viability and function. Hypothermic preservation increases the availability of cell-based therapy for liver diseases. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2014.12.02

With cancer being a major cause of death worldwide, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been investigated as novel and non-invasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Recently, microRNA-21 (miR-21) attracts much attention for its aberrant expression and has been widely studied in various cancers. However, the inconsistent results from studies make it hard to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-21 in cancer diagnosis, which lead us to conduct this meta-analysis. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in the Medline, Embase, PubMed, CNKI, and Web of Science before July 1, 2014. STATA 12.0 software was used for calculation and statistical analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR, NLR), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were used to assess the diagnostic performance of miR-21 for cancers. Seventy-three studies in 60 articles were involved in this meta-analysis, with a total of 4684 patients with cancer and 3108 controls. The overall parameters were calculated from all the included studies: sensitivity of 0.78 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.74–0.81), specificity of 0.83 (95 % CI 0.80–0.86), PLR of 4.5 (95 % CI 3.8–5.4), NLR of 0.27 (95 % CI 0.23–0.32); DOR of 17 (95 % CI 12–23), and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95 % CI 0.84–0.90). In addition, we performed subgroup analyses based on ethnicity, cancer types, and sample types. Results from subgroup analysis showed that cancer types and sample types were the sources of heterogeneity in our meta-analysis. The overall diagnostic value of miR-21 is not very high for cancer diagnosis; however, it is affected significantly by the types of cancer and specimen. MiR-21 has a relatively high diagnostic value for detecting breast cancer, and miR-21 assays based on plasma, serum, and tissue achieved relatively higher accuracy.

Liver failure is a life-threatened serious disease with many complications and high mortality rate. Stem cells have been applied to replacement therapy, gene therapy and tissue engineering for its capacity of self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. To investigate the bioactivity of the peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cells (PBHSC) in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure, we isolated CD34+ cells from peripheral blood of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure and healthy controls. After cultured it in serum-free medium (SFEM), we studied the bioactivity of CD34+ cells by observing the morphology, recording growth curve, detecting cell cycle and cell apoptosis. CD34+ cells and culture solution were collected at the time points of 3, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 14 days, and the levels of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in culture solution were detected by ELISA. Also, the expressions of pyruvate kinase muscle isoenzyme 2 (PKM2), integrin-β1 and liver-type pyruvate kinase (LPK) were detected by RT-PCR and immunofluorescence. Our results showed the bioactivity of CD34+ cells from patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure was identified to be similar with that from healthy controls. HGF, MMP-9, TNF-α and IL-6 were found in cell culture medium. RT-PCR and immunofluorescence results indicated that PKM2, Integrin-β1 expressed on CD34+ cells from patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure. In conclusion, bioactivity of CD34+ cells of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure was demonstrated to be normal, which could secrete HGF, MMP-9, TNF-α and IL-6, promote the growth of hepatocytes, and differentiate along a direction to hepatocyte lineage.

OBJECTIVE To assess sexual activity, sexual function, and their correlation with vaginal maturation status among middle-aged Chinese women. METHODS A cross-sectional study with comparisons across age groups was carried out. In all, 120 women aged 45 to 60 years were recruited into three groups: 45 to 50 (youngest group), 51 to 55 (intermediate group), and 56 to 60 years old (eldest group). Sexual function was assessed through the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI); vaginal maturation status was determined through the Vaginal Maturation Index (VMI) and pH value. Sexual activity was recorded with self-administered questionnaires. RESULTS Low sexual frequency was present in a higher proportion of women, but sexual distress was identified within a lower proportion of women in the eldest group. The total FSFI score was significantly lower in the eldest group than in the youngest and intermediate groups (P

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of elderly patients with liver failure. Methods The clinical data of 623 elderly patients with liver failure from Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2013 in 302 Hospital of Chinese PLA were collected, and other 3791 young adult patients with liver failure during the same period were also collected as control group. The etiology and prognosis of elderly patients with liver failure were analyzed retrospectively. Results Elderly patients with liver failure accounted for 13.21% of the total number of liver failure patients in 2003, and 16.01% in 2013. The most frequent causes leading to liver failure were, in order of frequency, hepatitis B(68.06%), unknown causes (7.22%), hepatitis C (5.30%), hepatitis E (4.98%) and drug (4.65%). Acute or chronic liver failure (85.23% vs 90.56%) was the main type in the two groups. HEV infection-induced liver failure in elderly patients was the predominant cause of acute and subacute liver failure, accounting for 33.33% and 33.80% respectively in acute and subacute liver failure patients, which were significantly higher than that in the young adult group (7.77% and 12.94% respectively, P

Objective The cellular apoptosis susceptibility (CAS) protein plays a regulatory role in the induction of cell death in tumor cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of the expression of CAS protein with HBV infection in the development of HCC. Methods The expression level of CAS was measured with immunohistochemistry. The occurrence of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA in HCC were concurrently examined with immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. Results The results showed that the CAS protein was detected in 86% (43/50), 70% (7/10), 15% (3/20) and none (0/20) of livers from patients with HCC, cholangiocarcinoma, cirrhosis and hepatitis, respectively. Furthermore, the level of CAS protein was higher in poorly differentiated tumors than moderately or well differentiated HCC. Interestingly, the CAS was stained significantly stronger in HBV-infected HCC than in non-HBV infected tissues (P < 0.01). Conclusions The expression of CAS is facilitated by HBV infection in HCC, suggesting that CAS might be a prognostic marker and a putative therapeutic target for HCC.

We investigate the effects of diffusion on the spatial dynamics of a predator–prey model with hyperbolic mortality in predator population. More precisely, we aim to study the formation of some elementary two-dimensional patterns such as hexagonal spots and stripe patterns. Based on the linear stability analysis, we first identify the region of parameters in which Turing instability occurs. When control parameter is in the Turing space, we analyse the existence of stable patterns for the excited model by the amplitude equations. Then, for control parameter away from the Turing space, we numerically investigate the initial value-controlled patterns. Our results will enrich the pattern dynamics in predator–prey models and provide a deep insight into the dynamics of predator–prey interactions.

In this paper, we aim to investigate the dynamics of a system of Van der Pol–Duffing oscillators with delay coupling. First, taking the time delay as a bifurcation parameter, the stability of the equilibrium, and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are investigated. Then using the center manifold reduction technique and normal form theory, we give the direction of the Hopf bifurcation. And then by means of the symmetric bifurcation theory for delay differential equations and the representation theory of groups, we claim the bifurcation periodic solution induced by time delay is antiphase locked oscillation. Finally, at the end of the paper, numerical simulations are carried out to support our theoretical analysis.