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Abstract Background Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a serious health issue, and determining the optimal time for antiviral therapy is challenging. We aimed to assess liver histological changes in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and those with HBeAg-negative CHB who had persistently normal alanine aminotransferase and to determine the association between significant liver injury and various clinical parameters. Methods We retrospectively included, in this study, 339 treatment-naïve patients with chronic HBV infections who had persistently normal alanine aminotransferase and underwent liver biopsy from 2013 to 2023. Histologic assessment was based on the Metavir scoring system to evaluate the association between clinical characteristics and the severity of liver inflammation and fibrosis. Results Among the included participants, 138 were HBeAg-positive and 201 were HBeAg-negative. Lower hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) (P = 0.003) and higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P = 0.002) levels were associated with significant necroinflammation, whereas increasing age (P = 0.004) and lower HBV DNA (P

Introduction and Objectives: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a prevalent noninfectious liver disease. However, there is currently a lack of noninvasive tests appropriate for evaluating liver fibrosis in AIH patients. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a predictive model for noninvasive assessment of significant liver fibrosis (S ≥ 2) in patients to provide a reliable method for evaluating liver fibrosis in individuals with AIH. Materials and Methods: The clinical data of 374 AIH patients were analyzed. A prediction model was established through logistic regression in the training set, and bootstrap method was used to validate the models internally. In addition, the clinical data of 109 AIH patients were collected for external verification of the model.The model was expressed as a nomogram, and area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate the accuracy of the prediction model. Results: Logistic regression analysis revealed that age, platelet count (PLT), and the A/G ratio were identified as independent risk factors for liver fibrosis in AIH patients (P < 0.05). The diagnostic model that was composed of age, PLT and A/G was superior to APRI and FIB-4 in both the internal validation (0.872, 95%CI: 0.819–0.924) and external validation (0.829, 95%CI: 0.753–0.904). Conclusions: Our predictive model can predict significant liver fibrosis in AIH patients more accurately, simply, and noninvasively.

The solution and aging treatment were carried out with the hot rolled sheet Ti–6Al–4V alloy sheet, and the effects of solution treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties were mainly studied. In the solution treatment process, α→β→βt transformation occurred. With the increase of solution treatment temperature and time, the α phase gradually changed from long strip to equiaxed morphology, and the fraction of equiaxed α and β phases gradually increased. The bimodal microstructure of αp and βt was obtained during the solution treatments. Among them, βt is mainly composed of high-density nano-needle αs with different orientations, which has a significant contribution to the strength of Ti–6Al–4V alloy. The strength of bimodal microstructure increases with the increase of βt content, but its influence on ductility is complicated. When βt content exceeds a certain amount, it is easy to lead to brittleness. It is found that when the specimens are treated at 930 °C for 60min or 960 °C for 30min, the best strength-ductility matching can be obtained. In this case, the volume fractions of αp and βt are almost equal, and the PSE of Ti–6Al–4V alloy reaches more than 14500 MPa⋅%.

Abstract Background and aim In China, hepatorenal syndrome is a serious complication in the decompensated stage of hepatitis B cirrhosis, which requires early clinical intervention, so the early diagnosis of hepatorenal syndrome is crucial. This study establishes a new predictive model based on serum biomarkers for the early diagnosis of hepatorenal syndrome. Methods Patients with decompensated hepatitis B cirrhosis who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to the training dataset and validation dataset at a 7:3 ratio. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to screen the risk factors for hepatorenal syndrome. The identified risk factors were used to establish and verify a model. Results This study included 255 patients with decompensated hepatitis B cirrhosis, including 184 in the training group and 71 in the validation group. The multivariate logistic regression model was established in the training group and verified in the validation group. Logistic regression showed that hemoglobin (OR 0.938, 95% CI 0.908–0.969), total bilirubin (OR 1.014, 95% CI 1.008–1.021) and creatinine (OR 1.079, 95% CI 1.043–1.117) were independent risk factors for hepatorenal syndrome (P

ObjectivesBirth defects (BDs) are a major contributor to perinatal and infant mortality, morbidity and lifelong disability worldwide. A hospital-based study on birth defects was designed in Guilin city in the Guangxi province of Southwestern China aiming to determine the prevalence of BDs in the studied region, and the classify the BDs based on clinical presentation and causation.MethodsThe study involved BDs among all pregnancy outcomes (live births, stillbirths, death within 7 days, and pregnancy terminations) born in the 42 registered hospitals of Guilin between 2018 and 2020. The epidemiological characteristics of BDs and the etiologic profile of BDs were evaluated in this study.ResultsOf the total 147,817 births recorded during the study period, 2,003 infants with BDs were detected, giving a total prevalence rate of 13.55 per 1,000 births. The top five BD types were congenital heart defects, polydactyly, syndactyly, malformations of the external ear, and talipes equinovarus, whereas, neural tube defects, congential esophageal atresia, gastroschisis, extrophy of urinary bladder, were the least common BD types in these 3 years. Only 8.84% of cases were assigned a known etiology, while most cases (91.16%) could not be conclusively assigned a specific cause.ConclusionThis study provides an epidemiological description of BDs in Guilin, which may be helpful for understanding the overall situation in Southwest China of BDs and aid in more comprehensive studies of BDs in future healthcare systems, including funding investment, policy-making, monitor, prevention. Strong prevention strategies should be the priority to reduce BDs and improve the birth quality.