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The anammox granular sludge was enriched by shortening the hydraulic retention time (HRT) (from 27 h to 6.67 h) in the UASB reactor, which was fed with ammonium chloride and nitrite as the substrates, and the effect of different HRTs on the nitrogen removal performance of anammox granule sludge was studied. After 159 d of operation, the total nitrogen loading rate (NLRTN) reached 1.72 Kg/(m3 ·d), the total nitrogen removal rate (NRRTN) reached 1.33 Kg/(m³·d), and the removal efficiencies of NH+4-N (NRENH+4-N) and NO2-N (NRENO2-N) were over 95%. The ratio of ΔNO2-N/ΔNH+4-N was 1.31 and ΔNO3-N/ΔNH+4-N was 0.24, which complied with the chemical reaction stoichiometry of anammox. The colour of anammox granular sludge changed from light red to deep red; the percentage of granular sludge larger than 1.5 mm was the highest, which proportionately accounted for 62.32%; and the surface of the granular sludge was found, via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to contain abundant functional groups. The inhibitory effect of substrates (NH+4-N and NO2-N) on anammox was studied via an inhibition kinetics batch test using anammox granular sludge (Day 159) in the UASB reactor, and the test results were fitted in the Haldane inhibition model with correlation coefficients (R² ) of 0.9912 and 0.9949. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel B*51:63 is identical to B*51:01:01 with an exception of one base substitution at position 76 (A > C) of exon 3 resulting in codon #116 changed from TAC (Tyr) to TCC (Ser). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: The appearance of human regulatory CD8+ CD28− T-suppressor (Ts) cells has been associated with a reduced need for maintenance immunosuppression in cadaveric heart- kidney transplant recipients and pediatric liver-intestine transplant recipients. However, few data are available in adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (A-A LDLT). Materials and Methods: To study the population of CD8+ CD28− Ts cells in A-A LDLT, we performed flow cytometry on whole blood specimens obtained from 20 transplant recipients, 18 end-stage liver disease patients, and 20 normal controls. Meanwhile, we measured the trough levels of immunosuppressants and monitored graft function in transplant recipients. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of the 20 recipients. Results: A significant expansion of CD8+ CD28− Ts cells was observed among recipients of A-A LDLT as compared with a disease control group (P = .000) or healthy individuals (P = .000). All recipients were free of acute cellular rejection episodes. During the follow-up period, no grafts were lost due to acute or chronic rejection. Conclusion: Expansion of CD8+ CD28− Ts cells in A-A LDLT seemed to be associated with a decreased occurrence of acute or chronic rejection and sustained good graft function. Based on our low dosages of immunosuppressants for recipients of A-A LDLT, we suggest that this strategy may promote expansion of CD8+ CD28− Ts cells, which can conversely maintain the low immunosuppressant dosages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The novel A*33:22 differs from A*33:03:01 by two nucleotides at position 12(A>G)and 19(T>G)of exon 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP A2B1) is a key component of the hnRNP complex involving RNA modulation in eukaryotic cells and it has also been reported to be involved in the replication of the hepatitis E virus, influenza A virus, and hepatitis B virus. However, it is not clear whether the role of the hnRNP A2B1 in viral replication is conserved among RNA viruses and what is the mechanism of hnRNP A2B1 in RNA virus replication. In this study, we first used severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), a tick-borne RNA virus that causes a severe viral hemorrhagic fever as well as other RNA viruses including VSV-GFP, SeV, EV71, and ZIKV to demonstrate that knockout hnRNPA2B1 gene inhibited viral RNA replication and overexpression of hnRNP A2B1 could restore the RNA levels of all tested RNA viruses. These results suggest that hnRNPA2B1 upregulation of viral replication is conserved among RNA viruses. Next, we demonstrated that hnRNP A2B1 was translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm under RNA virus infection including SFTSV, VSV-GFP, SeV, EV71, and ZIKV, suggesting translocation of hnRNP A2B1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm is crucial for RNA virus replication. We then used SFTSV as a model to demonstrate the mechanism of hnRNP A2B1 in the promotion of RNA virus replication. We found that overexpression of SFTSV nucleoprotein can also cause hnRNP A2B1 translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and that the SFTSV NP interacted with the RNA recognition motif 1 domain of hnRNP A2B1. We further demonstrated that the hnRNP A2B1 interacted with the 5' UTR of SFTSV RNA. In conclusion, we revealed that the hnRNP A2B1 upregulation of viral RNA replication is conserved among RNA viruses; the mechanism of hnRNP A2B1 in promotion of SFTSV viral RNA replication is that SFTSV NP interacted with the hnRNPA2B1 to retain it in the cytoplasm where the hnRNP A2B1 interacted with the 5' UTR of SFTSV RNA to promote the viral RNA replication.IMPORTANCESevere fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne RNA virus with a high mortality rate of up to 30%. In this study, we first used SFTSV as a model to demonstrate that the role of hnRNPA2B1 in viral replication is conserved in SFTSV. Then we used other RNA viruses, including VSV-GFP, SeV, EV71, and ZIKV, to repeat the experiment and demonstrated the same results as SFTSV in all tested RNA viruses. By knocking out the hnRNPA2B1 gene, SFTSV RNA replication was inhibited, and overexpression of hnRNPA2B1 restored RNA levels of SFTSV and other tested RNA viruses. We revealed a novel mechanism where the SFTSV nucleoprotein interacts with hnRNPA2B1, retaining it in the cytoplasm. This interaction promotes viral RNA replication by binding to the 5' UTR of SFTSV RNA. The findings suggest that targeting hnRNPA2B1 could be a potential strategy for developing broad-spectrum antiviral therapies, given its conserved role across different RNA viruses. This research provides significant insights into the replication mechanisms of RNA viruses and highlights potential targets for antiviral interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) is an important DNA pattern recognition receptor that senses double-stranded DNA derived from invading pathogens or self DNA in cytoplasm, leading to an antiviral interferon response. A tick-borne Bunyavirus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), is an RNA virus that causes a severe emerging viral hemorrhagic fever in Asia with a high case fatality rate of up to 30%. However, it is unclear whether cGAS interacts with SFTSV infection. In this study, we found that SFTSV infection upregulated cGAS RNA transcription and protein expression, indicating that cGAS is an important innate immune response against SFTSV infection. The mechanism of cGAS recognizing SFTSV is by cGAS interacting with misplaced mitochondrial DNA in the cytoplasm. Depletion of mitochondrial DNA significantly inhibited cGAS activation under SFTSV infection. Strikingly, we found that SFTSV nucleoprotein (N) induced cGAS degradation in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanically, N interacted with the 161-382 domain of cGAS and linked the cGAS to LC3. The cGAS-N-LC3 trimer was targeted to N-induced autophagy, and the cGAS was degraded in autolysosome. Taken together, our study discovered a novel antagonistic mechanism of RNA viruses, SFTSV is able to suppress the cGAS-dependent antiviral innate immune responses through N-hijacking cGAS into N-induced autophagy. Our results indicated that SFTSV N is an important virulence factor of SFTSV in mediating host antiviral immune responses., Importance: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) is a tick-borne RNA virus that is widespread in East and Southeast Asian countries with a high fatality rate of up to 30%. Up to now, many cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors, such as RIG-I, MDA5, and SAFA, have been reported to recognize SFTSV genomic RNA and trigger interferon-dependent antiviral responses. However, current knowledge is not clear whether SFTSV can be recognized by DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). Our study demonstrated that cGAS could recognize SFTSV infection via ectopic mitochondrial DNA, and the activated cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes signaling pathway could significantly inhibit SFTSV replication. Importantly, we further uncovered a novel mechanism of SFTSV to inhibit innate immune responses by the degradation of cGAS. cGAS was degraded in N-induced autophagy. Collectively, this study illustrated a novel virulence factor of SFTSV to suppress innate immune responses through autophagy-dependent cGAS degradation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Objective: To apply artificial intelligence technology in clinical real-world data of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, explore the precise treatment of disease and build up artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support system. Methods: A total of 5 642 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma admitted to West China Hospital from July 2004 to June 2016 with complete follow-up records were included in the study. A merged model composed of multiple sub-classifiers was adopted to calculate therapy recommendation coefficient, and receiver operator characteristic curve was analyzed. Survival risk and recurrence risk were predicted by DeepSurv algorithm, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were further compared among low, middle and high risk groups. Siamese-Net was applied to find similar patients. Results: The Top-1 and Top-2 accuracy of therapy recommendation coefficient reached 82.36% and 94.13% respectively. In internal verification of West China Hospital, the above-mentioned value reached 95.10% in accordance with multi-disciplinary team results. The C-index derived from survival risk model was 0.735 (95 %CI: 0.70-0.77), and the difference of Kaplan-Meier in pairwise comparison was of statistical significance under log-rank test ( P< 0.001). Meanwhile, the C-index derived from recurrence risk model was 0.705 (95 %CI: 0.68-0.73), and the difference of Kaplan-Meier in pairwise comparison was of statistical significance under log-rank test ( P< 0.001). Conclusions: The artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support system for primary hepatocellular carcinoma has can accurately make therapy recommendation and prognosis prediction for primary hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: The impact of using liver allografts from donors who are younger than 14 years at the time of donation after cardiac death (DCD) liver transplantation in terms of early allograft dysfunction (EAD) and graft survival is undefined. To determine if adults undergoing DCD liver transplantation who receive a graft from a donor age younger than or equal to 13 years have similar outcomes to recipients of organs from older than 18-year-old donors., Methods: Records from adult patients undergoing DCD liver transplantation between March 2012 and December 2015 who received whole grafts from donors after cardiac death were reviewed. Patients with donors younger than or equal to 13 years (group 1) and older than 18 years (group 2) were compared for EAD rates, hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), and graft survival., Results: Records of 60 DCD liver transplantation patients were analyzed. The 90-day and 1-year graft survival rate of both groups was 90% versus 96% (P = .427) and 80% versus 84% (P = .668), respectively. The EAD rates of groups 1 and 2 were 30% versus 34% (P = .806). The incidence of HAT was 20% in group 1 compared with 12% in group 2 (P = .610). Also, 0.7% < graft to recipient weight ratio (GRWR) <0.8% was also usable for pediatric donor to adult recipients., Conclusions: Whole liver grafts from donors younger than or equal to 13 years can potentially be used in selected size-matched (GRWR >0.7%) DCD adult recipients., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of our study was to compare the post-operative health-related quality of life in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; within the Milan criteria) after liver resection or liver transplantation., Methods: From August 2000 to December 2010, 207 patients were diagnosed with early HCC within the Milan criteria. We divided these patients into 2 groups according to their curative schedule: the liver transplantation group (n = 95) and the liver resection group (n = 110). We compared the baseline characteristics of these 2 groups of patients, after which we focused on comparing the post-operative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychological outcome in these 2 groups., Results: The demographics of the patients in the 2 groups were similar, and there were no significant differences except for higher family income in the transplantation group (P = .002).With long-term follow-up, there were no significant differences in the 8 domains of the HRQOL and the 9 domains of the psychological outcome measure between the 2 groups. Both the transplantation and resection groups exhibited good outcomes in both HRQOL and psychological outcome measures., Conclusions: Several years after operation, early-stage HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation or resection had similar long-term HRQOL and psychological outcomes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the effects of valproic acid (VPA) on autophagy in multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines RPMI8226 and U266., Methods: The method of dye acridine orange (AO) was used for observing morphological changes of autophagy under fluorescence microscope; The cell proliferation inhibition was measured by MTT assay; Cells apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry; Autophagy-related factors LC3, Beclin1 expressions changes were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (Real-time PCR) and western blot assay., Results: AO stainings as dispersively brownish red vesicles were observed both in the control and chloroquine groups, while a lot of brownish red acidic vesicles in clusters were seen in rapamycin and VPA groups. The growths of RPMI8226 and U266 cells were suppressed by VPA treatment in a dose-and time-dependent manner, after treatment with VPA for 24 h, the IC50 were (12.03 ± 0.23) mmol/L for RPMI8226 cells and (10.16 ± 0.37) mmol/L for U266 cells respectively; Poptotie cells of RPMI8226 and U266 increased in a time-dependent manner after exposure to VPA. Real-time PCR and Western blot results of RPMI8226 and U266 cells showed that gradually increased LC3, Beclin1 mRNA and protein expressions with LC3 Ⅰ to LC3 Ⅱ conversion rate after increasing the concentration of VPA and prolonging duration of action of VPA., Conclusions: The results reveal disclosed the basal level of autophagy in MM cells, VPA as a autophagy activator may be one of its actions on the treatment of MM.

Objective: To report the first clinical experience of living donor liver transplantation(LDLT) in patient with complicated hepatic cystic echinococcosis in China., Methods: First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University successfully implemented LDLT in the treatment of one patient with complicated hepatic cystic echinococcosis after four times liver surgery and secondary congestive cirrhosis on May 9, 2015. The clinical data of the patient has been retrospectively analyzed., Results: LDLT procedure was successfully performed in a patient with four previous liver intervention due to his recurrence. The patient was lack of right lobe, while with significant hypertrophy in left lobe. The reoccurred lesion compressed the retrohepatic vena cava, left hepatic vein, portal vein, that led to the stricture of retrohepatic vena cava, left hepatic vein orifice. The phlebography displayed remarkable stricture in retrohepatic vena cava and rich collateral circulation by which the venous blood flow back to the right atrium via paravertebral vein. The orifice of left hepatic vein shaped as hair-like so that the stenting was impossibly. After the multi-disciplinary team discussion, the liver transplantation was proposed, while the autotransplantation was considered as first line option, and with the backup of living related donor. The laparotomy showed the hugely enlarged liver with nodular changes. The frozen section was tested twice and showed as spotty necrosis with pseudo-lobe formation. Although the enlarged left lobe about 2 000 g weight, the liver colored as grey with cotton-like texture, the plan for autotransplantation was abandoned regarding the high risk for post-operative liver failure. Therefore, LDLT was performed. The donor was her brother who donated right lobe with 685 g weight. The operation time was 1 005 min with anhepatic time 335 min. Total of 12 units red blood cell suspension was transfused. The coagulating function was back to normal in 3 days after operation. The patient was discharged at 30 days after operation, while the routine blood test and biochemical markers had back to normal levels. The patient had taken tacrolimus and methylprednisolone with normal life. The liver functions of transplanted liver were normal in 90 days after surgery. The patient was able to self-activity and regular outpatient follow-up., Conclusion: Hepatic CE is an infectious disease, and liver transplantation could be the last choice for complicated case, especially in combination with severe complications, like Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Background: Liver transplantation has been the first choice for most early- or intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases. However, postoperative anti-HCC therapies remain controversial. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Huaier aqueous extract (Jinke), when used as an adjuvant postoperative anti-HCC therapy., Methods: We retrospectively collected the clinical and follow-up data of HCC patients who underwent liver transplantation at our center. We divided them into 2 groups: a control liver transplantation group and a Huaier treatment group. The baseline characteristics, tumor characteristics, intraoperative data, postoperative recovery, long-term overall survival rate, and tumor-free survival rate were compared between the 2 groups., Results: Fifty-three patients were included in our study, including 28 patients who underwent postoperative Huaier therapy and 25 patients who underwent liver transplantation without postoperative Huaier therapy. The baseline and tumor characteristics were similar between the 2 groups. None of the patients in the Huaier group experienced any severe adverse events. The long-term predictive overall survival was similar between the 2 groups (P = .202). However, the Huaier group had a higher predictive tumor-free survival rate than the control group (P = .029). And the 10- and 30-month predictive tumor recurrence rates were 17.9% and 35.7% in the Huaier group, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (60% and 64%; P < .05)., Conclusions: HCC patients may benefit from Huaier therapy after liver transplantation, but a longer follow-up time and larger cohort study may be necessary to be sure., (Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background and Objective: Although there are many reports on donor safety, there are few concerning aborted donations. We sought to analyze the "no go" donor hepatectomies in our liver transplantation center over 10 years' experience., Methods: Among 290 living donors brought to the operating room for liver graft harvest from March 2002 to April 2012, we examined the reasons to abandon the procedure, comparing their data with those of successful donors., Results: The donor operation was aborted in 5 cases various for reasons. The main reason for the abandonment of the operation process was poor liver quality: in single cases there was: poor liver quality due to a massive cirrhotic nodule observed by laparoscopy; serious steatosis of the liver, indicated by an intraoperative biopsy; and an unsuitable biliary anatomy, including 4 branches with 2 small ones. In another case, a biliary duct variation in the intraoperative cholangiogram showed a narrow crotch of the left and right ducts. In the 5th case, the donor would have been left with only a small remaining left lobe (<30%) if the right lobe had been harvested. All 5 donors proceeded to accept a right lobe hepatectomy. Comparison with the 285 successful donors showed no significant differences in preoperative demographic data. All 5 donors recovered without complication and were in good condition over long-term follow-up., Conclusions: A low rate of "no go" donor hepatectomy can be achieved. There was no short- or long-term harm to the living donor owing to abandonment of the procedure., (Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Hyperbilirubinemia in living liver donor is very common, but the causes are still unclear., Aims: We sought to clarify the risk factors and predictors of nonobstructive hyperbilirubinemia among living donors., Methods: We divided 210 consecutive right liver lobe donors into two groups according to the peak total bilirubin postoperatively. We collected data on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative biochemical measurements retrospectively, performing multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusting for potential confounders of the risk of hyperbilirubinemia., Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in donor age, body mass index, operative time, blood loss, macrovescicular steatosis, allogeneic blood transfusion rate, intensive care unit stay, hospital stay and Clavien score after donation (P < .05). Age, graft/donor weight, operative time, and blood loss were significantly associated with the risk of hyperbilirubinemia upon logistic regression analysis., Conclusion: Hyperbilirubinemia, one type of hepatic dysfunction after a living donor procedure, was associated with multiple independent risk factors., (Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation (A-A LDLT) is an effective therapeutic modality to treat patients with end-stage liver disease. The aims of this study were to identify recipient characteristics of A-A LDLT seeking to determine variables that affected patient survival. We retrospectively examined a cohort of 154 consecutive A-A LDLT recipients with end-stage liver disease in our center over 4 years. All donors volunteered to give their partial livers with written consent. There were no organs from prisoners and no prisoner subjects. The overall survivals at 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months were 93.5%, 90.9%, 88.9%, 86.3%, 80%, 65.6%, 63.8%, and 63.8%, respectively. About 31 pre- and intraoperative factors were analyzed to identify correlations with posttransplant survival using the Cox proportional-hazards regression model. Recipient age, serum creatinine concentration, intraoperative blood loss, and graft-to-recipient weight ratio were significant predictors of survival after transplantation. The prognostic index model, which was calculated by combining these four prognostic values with their regression coefficients, showed a c-statistic of 0.706 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.621-0.792) compared with the Model for End-stage Liver Disease value of 0.546 (95% CI = 0.350-0.558). There was a significant difference between the predictions achieved with the two models (P = .012). In conclusion, selecting younger recipients, better pretransplant renal condition, reduced intraoperative blood loss, and graft-to-recipient size match appeared to be advantageous to achieve better survivals among patients undergoing A-A LDLT., (Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: This study reports the preliminary experience of dual grafts living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (AoCLF) caused by hepatitis B., Methods: Two patients who demonstrated acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure and portal hypertension with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores of 42 and 37, respectively, underwent dual LDLT grafts including one right lobe without a middle hepatic vein and one left lobe because the graft-to-recipient body weight ratio of the right lobe grafts were 0.53% and 0.66%. The donors and the recipients have been followed for over 1 year., Results: Mortality and operative complications were not observed in the donors or recipients. At present, the donors and recipients have returned to their daily routine. No prisoners or organs from prisoners were used to obtain these data., Conclusion: Dual LDLT grafts including one right lobe without the middle hepatic vein and one left lobe may be a possible therapeutic option for subjects with acute-on-chronic hepatitis B-induced liver failure., (Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.)