Prediction model for hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B with peginterferon-alfa treated based on a responseguided therapy strategy

BACKGROUND Models for predicting hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg)seroconversion in patients with HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B(CHB)after nucleos(t)ide analog treatment are rare.AIM To establish a simple scoring model based on a response-guided therapy(RGT)strategy for predicting HBeAg seroconversion and hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)clearance.METHODS In this study,75 previously treated patients with HBeAg-positive CHB underwent a 52-week peginterferon-alfa(PEG-IFNα)treatment and a 24-wk follow-up.Logistic regression analysis was used to assess parameters at baseline,week 12,and week 24 to predict HBeAg seroconversion at 24 wk post-treatment.The two best predictors at each time point were used to establish a prediction model for PEG-IFNαtherapy efficacy.Parameters at each time point that met the corresponding optimal cutoff thresholds were scored as 1 or 0.RESULTS The two most meaningful predictors were HBsAg≤1000 IU/mL and HBeAg≤3 S/CO at baseline,HBsAg≤600 IU/mL and HBeAg≤3 S/CO at week 12,and HBsAg≤300 IU/mL and HBeAg≤2 S/CO at week 24.With a total score of 0 vs 2 at baseline,week 12,and week 24,the response rates were 23.8%,15.2%,and 11.1%vs 81.8%,80.0%,and 82.4%,respectively,and the HBsAg clearance rates were 2.4%,3.0%,and 0.0%,vs 54.5%,40.0%,and 41.2%,respectively.CONCLUSION We successfully established a predictive model and diagnosis-treatment process using the RGT strategy to predict HBeAg and HBsAg seroconversion in patients with HBeAg-positive CHB undergoing PEG-IFNαtherapy.

Single-atom sites regulation by the second-shell doping for efficient electrochemical CO_(2)reduction

Nitrogen-doped carbon loaded single-atom catalysts(SACs)are promising candidates for electrocatalytic conversion of CO_(2)into high-valuable chemicals,and the modification of catalysts by heteroatom-doping strategy is an effective approach to enhance the CO_(2)reduction performance.However,the large difference exists in atomic radius between nitrogen atoms and the doped heteroatoms may lead to the poor stability of active sites.In this study,we have synthesized a Ni single atom catalyst with S doping at the secondshell on the ultrathin carbon nanosheets support(Ni-N_(4)-SC)by solid-phase pyrolysis.The S atom in the second-shell contributes to the higher efficiency of CO_(2)conversion at lower potentials while the Ni-N_(4)-SC can be more stable.The experimental results and theoretical calculations indicate that the S atom in second-shell breaks the uniform charge distribution and reduces the free energy of hydrogenation,which can increase the adsorption of CO_(2),accelerate charge transfer,and reduce the reaction energy barrier.This work reveals the close relationship between the second-shell and the electrocatalytic activity of single atom sites,which also provides a new perspective to design efficient single atom catalysts.