Recurrence and influencing factors of hepatitis B surface antigen seroclearance induced by peginterferon alpha-based regimens

BACKGROUND The long-term stability of hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg)seroclearance following peginterferon alpha(peg-IFN-α)-based therapy has not been extensively studied,leaving the full potential and limitations of this strategy unclear.AIM To assess HBsAg recurrence after seroclearance achieved by peg-IFN-αregimens.METHODS This prospective,multicenter,observational study was conducted from November 2015 to June 2021 at three Chinese hospitals:The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University,Ankang Central Hospital,and The Affiliated Hospital of Yan’an University.Participants who achieved HBsAg seroclearance following peg-IFN-α-based treatments were monitored every 4-12 weeks post-treatment for hepatitis B virus(HBV)markers,HBV DNA,and liver function.The primary outcome was HBV recurrence,defined as the reemergence of HBsAg,HBV DNA,or both,at least twice within 4-8 weeks of follow-up.RESULTS In total,121 patients who achieved HBsAg seroclearance were enrolled.After a median follow-up of 84.0(48.0,132.0)weeks,four subjects were lost to follow-up.HBsAg recurrence was detected in 16 patients.The cumulative HBsAg recurrence rate in the intention-to-treat population was 15.2%.Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that consolidation time<12 weeks[odds ratio(OR)=28.044,95%CI:4.525-173.791]and hepatitis B surface antibody disappearance during follow-up(OR=46.445,95%CI:2.571-838.957)were strong predictors of HBsAg recurrence.HBV DNA positivity and decompensation of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma were not observed.CONCLUSION HBsAg seroclearance following peg-IFN-αtreatment was durable over 84 weeks of follow-up with a cumulative recurrence rate of 15.2%.

Development of genomic resources for Wenchengia alternifolia(Lamiaceae)based on genome skimming data

Wenchengia alternifolia(Lamiaceae),the sole species of the genus Wenchengia is extremely rare and is currently listed as Critically Endangered(CR) on the IUCN Red List. The species had long been considered endemic to Hainan Island,China and was once believed to be extinct until a small remnant population was rediscovered at the type locality in 2010.Four more populations were later found on Hainan and in Vietnam.In order to develop genomic resources for further studies on population genetics and conservation biology of this rare species,we identified infraspecific molecular markers in the present study,using genome skimming data of five individuals collected from two populations on Hainan Island and three populations in Vietnam respectively.The length of plastome of the five individuals varied from 152,961 bp to 150,204 bp,and exhibited a typical angiosperm quadripartite structure.Six plastid hotspot regions with the Pi> 0.01(trnH-psbA,psbA-trnK,rpl22,ndhE,ndhG-ndhI rps15-ycf1),and 1621 polymorphic gSSRs,as well as 1657 candidate SNPs in 237 variant nuclear genes were identified,thereby providing important information for further genetic studies.

Experimental investigation of electrode cycle performance and electrochemical kinetic performance under stress loading

Lithium-ion batteries suffer from mechano–electrochemical coupling problems that directly determine the battery life. In this paper, we investigate the electrode electrochemical performance under stress conditions, where seven tensile/compressive stresses are designed and loaded on electrodes, thereby decoupling mechanics and electrochemistry through incremental stress loads. Four types of multi-group electrochemical tests under tensile/compressive stress loading and normal package loading are performed to quantitatively characterize the effects of tensile stress and compressive stress on cycle performance and the kinetic performance of a silicon composite electrode. Experiments show that a tensile stress improves the electrochemical performance of a silicon composite electrode, exhibiting increased specific capacity and capacity retention rate, reduced energy dissipation rate and impedances, enhanced reactivity, accelerated ion/electron migration and diffusion, and reduced polarization. Contrarily, a compressive stress has the opposite effect, inhibiting the electrochemical performance. The stress effect is nonlinear, and a more obvious suppression via compressive stress is observed than an enhancement via tensile stress. For example, a tensile stress of 675 k Pa increases diffusion coefficient by 32.5%, while a compressive stress reduces it by 35%. Based on the experimental results, the stress regulation mechanism is analyzed. Tensile stress loads increase the pores of the electrode material microstructure, providing more deformation spaces and ion/electron transport channels. This relieves contact compressive stress, strengthens diffusion/reaction, and reduces the degree of damage and energy dissipation. Thus, the essence of stress enhancement is that it improves and optimizes diffusion, reaction and stress in the microstructure of electrode material as well as their interactions via physical morphology.

Effects of interface adhesive and resin cohesive strength on tensile strength of resin sand based on numerical analysis

A plane-strain unit-cell finite element model was proposed to study the effects of resin/sand interface adhesive and resin cohesive strength on the overall tensile strength of resin sand,as well as the fracture modes.The main micro-scale characteristics of the numerical model were extracted from the micrograph of resin sand specimens by three-dimensional X-ray microscopy(3 D-XRM).The extended finite element method(XFEM)and cohesive behavior method were employed to explicitly describe the resin fracture and sand/resin interface debonding,separately.The corresponding experimental observation of micro-scale failure behavior based on the scanning electron microscopy(SEM)was presented for a comparison.The numerical results show that the initial failure of the model occurs at the sand/resin interface,followed by consequent resin failure.Dependent on the resin cohesive strength,the location of resin failure varies from the central zones to resin neck arc zones.A typical mixed mode fracture is observed,which is consistent with the corresponding micro-scale experimental observation.When the resin cohesive strength ranges between 8 and 12 MPa,the resin cracks occur at the central zone of resin bridges and propagate perpendicularly to the tensile direction until through cracks happen.At a higher range(between 12 and 16 MPa),interface cracks cross with resin cracks,bonding bridges of resin sand are broken.The interface adhesive strength has a more significant effect on the overall tensile strength of resin sand than the resin cohesive strength.The overall tensile strength of resin sand increases first then keeps stable with the increase of the resin cohesive strength.This work attempts to establish a numerical model which accurately describes the complicated mixed mode fracture of resin sand,which is beneficial to understand deeply the fracture mechanism of resin sand.

Raman and infrared spectra of complex low energy tetrahedral carbon allotropes from first-principles calculations

Up to now,at least 806 carbon allotropes have been proposed theoretically.Three interesting carbon allotropes(named Pbam-32,P6/mmm,and I43d)were recently uncovered based on a random sampling strategy combined with space group and graph theory.The calculation results show that they are superhard and remarkably stable compared with previously proposed metastable phases.This indicates that they are likely to be synthesized in experiment.We use the factor group analysis method to analyze theirΓ-point vibrational modes.Owing to their large number of atoms in primitive unit cells(32 atoms in Pbam-32,36 atoms in P6/mmm,and 94 atoms in I43d),they have many Raman-and infrared-active modes.There are 48 Raman-active modes and 37 infrared-active modes in Pbam-32,24 Raman-active modes and 14 infrared-active modes in P6/mmm,and 34 Raman-active modes and 35 Raman-and infrared-active modes in I43d.Their calculated Raman spectra can be divided into middle frequency range from 600 cm-1 to 1150 cm-1 and high frequency range above 1150 cm-1.Their largest infrared intensities are 0.82,0.77,and 0.70(D/Å)2/amu for Pbam,P6/mmm,and I43d,respectively.Our calculated results provide an insight into the lattice vibrational spectra of these sp3 carbon allotropes and suggest that the middle frequency Raman shift and infrared spectrum may play a key role in identifying newly proposed carbon allotropes.

Vascular wall microenvironment:Endothelial cells original exosomes mediated melatonin-suppressed vascular calcification and vascular ageing in a m6A methylation dependent manner

Vascular calcification and vascular ageing are“silent”diseases but are highly prevalent in patients with end stage renal failure and type 2 diabetes,as well as in the ageing population.Melatonin(MT)has been shown to induce cardiovascular protection effects.However,the role of MT on vascular calcification and ageing has not been well-identified.In this study,the aortic transcriptional landscape revealed clues for MT related cell-to-cell communication between endothelial cells(ECs)and vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs)in vascular calcification and vascular ageing.Furthermore,we elucidated that it was exosomes that participate in the information transportation from ECs to VSMCs.The exosomes secreted from melatonin-treated ECs(MT-ECs-Exos)inhibited calcification and senescence of VSMCs.Mechanistically,miR-302d-5p was highly enriched in MT-ECs-Exos,while depletion of miR-302d-5p blocked the ability of MT-ECs-Exos to suppress VSMC calcification and senescence.Notably,Wnt3 was a bona fide target of miR-302d-5p and modulated VSMC calcification and senescence.Furthermore,we found that maturation of endothelial derived exosomal miR-302d-5p was promoted by WTAP in an N^(6)-methyladenosine(m^(6)A)-dependent manner.Interestingly,MT alleviated vascular calcification and ageing in 5/6-nephrectomy(5/6 NTP)mice,a chronic kidney disease(CKD)induced vascular calcification and vascular ageing mouse model.MT-ECs-Exos was absorbed by VSMCs in vivo and effectively prevented vascular calcification and ageing in 5/6 NTP mice.ECs-derived miR-302d-5p mediated MT induced anti-calcification and anti-ageing effects in 5/6 NTP mice.Our study suggests that MT-ECs-Exos alleviate vascular calcification and ageing through the miR-302d-5p/Wnt3 signaling pathway,dependent on m^(6)A methylation.