Acute fatty liver of pregnancy:Over six months follow-up study of twenty-five patients

AIM:To evaluate the prognosis of patients with acute fatty liver of pregnancy(AFLP)6 mo or longer after discharge.METHODS:The records of pregnant patients diagnosed with AFLP at Beijing Ditan Hospital over a 16-year period were reviewed in November 2012.Patients weremonitored using abdominal ultrasound,liver and kidney functions,and routine blood examination.RESULTS:A total of 42 patients were diagnosed with AFLP during the study period,and 25 were followed.The mean follow-up duration was 54.5 mo(range:6.5-181 mo).All patients were in good physical condition,but one patient had gestational diabetes.The renal and liver functions normalized in all patients after recovery,including in those with pre-existing liver or kidney failure.The ultrasound findings were normal in12 patients,an increasingly coarsened echo-pattern and increased echogenicity of the liver in 10 patients,and mild to moderate fatty liver infiltration in 3 patients.Cirrhosis or liver nodules were not observed in any patient.CONCLUSION:Acute liver failure and acute renal failure in AFLP patients is reversible.Patients do not require any specific long-term follow-up after recovery from AFLP if their liver function tests have normalized and they remain well.

Impact of Fiber Dispersion on Performance of Entanglement-Based Dispersive Optics Quantum Key Distribution

Dispersive optics quantum key distribution(DO-QKD)based on energy-time entangled photon pairs is an important QKD scheme.In DO-QKD,the arrival time of photons is used in key generation and security analysis,which would be greatly affected by fiber dispersion.In this work,we establish a theoretical model of the entanglement-based DO-QKD system,considering the protocol,physical processes(such as fiber transmission and single-photon detection),and the analysis of security tests.Based on this theoretical model,we investigate the influence of chromatic dispersion introduced by transmission fibers on the performance of DO-QKD.By analyzing the benefits and costs of dispersion compensation,the system performance under G.652 and G.655 optical fibers are shown,respectively.The results show that dispersion compensation is unnecessary for DO-QKD systems in campus networks and even metro networks.Whereas,it is still required in DO-QKD systems with longer fiber transmission distances.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in curing a young man after modified Fontan operation:A case report

BACKGROUND The Fontan operation is the only treatment option to change the anatomy of the heart and help improve patients’ hemodynamics.After successful operation,patients typically recover the ability to engage in general physical activity.As a better ventilatory strategy,extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO) provides gas exchange via an extracorporeal circuit,and is increasingly being used to improve respiratory and circulatory function.After the modified Fontan operation,circulation is different from that of patients who are not subjected to the procedure.This paper describe a successful case using ECMO in curing influenza A infection in a young man,who was diagnosed with Tausing-Bing syndrome and underwent Fontan operation 13 years ago.The special cardiac structure and circulatory characteristics are explored in this case.CASE SUMMARY We report a successful case using ECMO in curing influenza A infection in a 23-year-old man,who was diagnosed with Tausing-Bing syndrome and underwent Fontan operation 13 years ago.The man was admitted to the intensive care unit with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome as a result of influenza A infection.He was initially treated by veno-venous(VV) ECMO,which was switched to veno-venous-arterial ECMO(VVA ECMO) 5 d later.As circulation and respiratory function gradually improved,the VVA ECMO equipment was removed on May 1,2018.The patient was successfully withdrawn from artificial ventilation on May 28,2018 and then discharged from hospital on May 30,2018.CONCLUSION After the modified Fontan operation,circulation is different compared with that of patients who are not subjected to the procedure.There are certainly many differences between them when they receive the treatment of ECMO.Due to the special cardiac structure and circulatory characteristics,an individualized liquid management strategy is necessary and it might be better for them to choose an active circulation support earlier.

Chinese Consensus on Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy(HE)is a complex,neuropsychiatric abnormality that occurs as a consequence of metabolic disorders in patients with hepatic insufficiency.The pathogenesis is complex with a strong prognosticator of death.To standardize the clinical management of HE,relevant new data were reviewed and assessed by Chinese Committee of Experts on Hepatic Encephalopathy in China and was discussed and debated extensively.Then the consensus on the management of HE was developed.The final recommendations are based on the data available at the time of production of the document and may be updated with pertinent scientific developments at a later time.All the discussion was organized by the editorial board of Chinese Journal of Experimental and Clinical Infectious Diseases(Electronic Edition),Chinese Journal of Liver Diseases(Electronic Edition)and Infection International(Electronic Edition).The evidence gradings in the consensus are listed in Table1.

Acute Onset Pancreatitis in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy in HBV Carrier Women Taking Telbivudine for Blocking Mother-to-Infant Transmission

Acute pancreatitis in pregnancy(APIP) is rare and the reasons for APIP are biliary disease and congenital or acquired hypertriglyceridemia, which could occur during any trimester but more than 50% cases happened during the third trimester. In this report, one case of a young pregnant woman, a HBV carrier in her 37 th week + 5 d of gestation, was admitted to Emergency Department due to acute abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. The patient was in antiretroviral treatment with telbivudine from 28 weeks of gestation to prevent motherto-child transmission of HBV. Laboratory tests demonstrated hypertriglyceridemia, abdominal computed tomography scan revealed peripancreatic edema. Hyperlipidemic pancreatitits was primary diagnosed and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. Considering the possible role in the pathogenesis of pancreatitis, telbivudine was interrupted after birth giving. After supportive treatment, her condition gradually improved. Since it is the first description of APIP during treatment with telbivudine, the association between pregnancy, hyperlipidemia, telbivudine and acute pancreatitis has been well investigated.

Impact of Carbon Chain Structures in the Backbone on the Flexibility of Modified Polyarylene Sulfide Resins: Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Mesoscopic Analysis

In the domain of high-performance engineering polymers, the enhancement of mechanical flexibility in poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) resins has long posed a significant challenge. A novel molecular structure, designated as PP-He-IS, wherein imide rings and an aliphatic hexylene chain are covalently incorporated into the PPS backbone to enhance its flexibility, is introduced in this study. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to systematically explore the effects of diversifying the backbone chain structures by substituting phenyl units with alkyl chains of varying lengths, referred to as PP-A-IS where “A” signifies the distinct intermediary alkyl chain configurations. Computational analyses reveal a discernable decrement in the glass transition temperature (Tg) and elastic modulus, counterbalanced by an increment in yield strength as the alkyl chain length is extended. Notably, the PP-He-IS variant is shown to exhibit superior yield strength while simultaneously maintaining reduced elastic modulus and Tg values, positioning it as an advantageous candidate for flexible PPS applications. Mesoscopic analyses further indicate that structures such as PP-He-IS, PP-Pe-IS, and PP-Bu-IS manifest remarkable flexibility, attributable to the presence of freely rotatable carbon-carbon single bonds. Experimental validation confirms that a melting temperature of 504 K which is lower than that of conventional PPS, and lower crystallinity are exhibited by PP-He-IS, thereby affording enhanced processability without compromising inherent thermal stability. Novel insights into the strategic modification of PPS for mechanical flexibility are thus furnished by this study, which also accentuates the pivotal role played by molecular dynamics simulations in spearheading high-throughput investigations in polymer material modifications.

Investigation of international demand for Clinical Practice Guidelines of Acupuncture and moxibustion:A cross-sectional study

Objective:This study aims to get the medical management of acupuncture and moxibustion in the countries and regions where the society members of World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies(WFAS)are located,including the educational background of acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners and the local clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion,and the demands of the content and evidence types of Clinical Practice Guidelines(CPGs)of acupuncture and moxibustion in accordance with WFAS standards,so as to provide requirements and reference principles for the development of CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion in accordance with WFAS standards.Methods:The convenient sampling method was used to collect the questionnaires,and the WFAS secretariat distributed the questionnaires to 294 contacts of society members from 70 countries and regions in the form of Questionnaire Star four times in April 2020,July 2020,March 2021,and April 2021 respectively.They were then distributed to individual members of acupuncture-moxibustion societies by the contacts.The study content involved the basic information of respondents,including their nationality,occupation,educational background of acupuncture and moxibustion,their local clinical practice and medical management of acupuncture and moxibustion,as well as their demand for CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion,etc.After the questionnaires were collected,the data were analyzed and described by quantitative research method.Results:In all,302 respondents from 37 countries of six continents responded.The 302 respondents were members of the WFAS society members.(1)Basic information of respondents.They all had acupuncture and moxibustion learning experience,among which,76.5%(231/302)had the education background of acupuncture and moxibustion professional college training,and 88.4%(267/302)had experience of acupuncture and moxibustion clinical practice.Acupuncturists or traditional Chinese medicine doctors accounted for 63.9%(193/302),western medicine doctors,nurses,and pharmacists accounted for 18.2%(55/302),and researchers and teachers accounted for 6.3%(19/302).(2)Local clinical practice and medical management of acupuncture and moxibustion.The level of clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion varies greatly among the regions where the WFAS society members lived.Among them,more countries in Europe have not included acupuncture and moxibustion in medical insurance than those in other continents(x^(2)=26.049,P<0.01),and more countries have not included acupuncture and moxibustion in public hospital treatment system than those in other continents(x^(2)=113.488,P<0.01).(3)Demand for CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion.A total of 93.0%(281/302)respondents believed that WFAS CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion would be helpful for their local practice.The order of their demand and concern for WFAS CPGs was:acupuncture manipulation>latest progress of acupuncture treatment>choice of acupuncture therapies>safety of acupuncture and moxibustion>combination of acupuncture and other programs.A total of 87.4%(264/302)respondents believed that ancient classics could guide clinical practice,and the ancient literature should be used as evidence for the development of guidelines.Conclusion:The respondents are those future practitioners of CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion conforming to WFAS standards.Commonly they have clinical practice experience and professional education background.They believe that guidelines will be of help to the clinical practice of acupuncture and moxibustion,hope that WFAS CPGs would recommend effective guidelines for acupuncture manipulation and provide the latest progress in acupuncture treatment and so on,and they believe that classical ancient books can guide their clinical practice.It indicates the necessity and feasibility of formulating the WFAS CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion.In view of the results of this study,it is suggested that the formulation process of WFAS CPGs of acupuncture and moxibustion should take into account the clinical practice level of acupuncture and moxibustion in each region,as well as its legislation and management situation of acupuncture and moxibustion,so as to meet the needs of users as much as possible.

Anions Distorting Triggering Ferroelectricity in a Molecular Crystal

Recently,molecular ferroelectrics have attracted more and more attention due to their structural diversity,low cost of manufacture,and environmental-friendly processing.However,most of the design strategies for molecular ferroelectrics have focused on the selection and modification of cations,and the use of anions has been rarely reported.Here,introducing distorted[CuBr_(4)]^(2-) tetrahedra,we obtained a high curie temperature(T_(c))ferroelectric,[cyclopentylammonium]_(2)CuBr_(4),with a T_(c) as high as 393 K,and exceeding commercial and most of reported molecular ferroelectric BaTiO_(3)(393 K).Variable-temperature hysteresis loop shows the nonlinear P-E loop of the crystal under a wide temperature range.Variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that the Aizu expression can be written as mmmFmm2.In short,this work will inspire more creative strategies by exploiting the tunability of the anion module.

Integrate Omics Data and Molecular Dynamics Simulations toward Better Understanding of Human 14-3-3 Interactomes and Better Drugs for Cancer Therapy

The 14-3-3 protein family is among the most extensively studied, yet still largely mysterious protein families in mammals to date. As they are well recognized for their roles in apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, and proliferation in healthy cells, aberrant 14-3-3 expression has unsurprisingly emerged as instrumentalin the development of many cancers and in prognosis. Interestingly, while the seven known 14-3-3 isoforms in humans have many similar functions across cell types, evidence of isoform-specific functions and localization has been observed in both healthy and diseased cells The strikingly high similarity among 14-3-3 isoforms has made it difficult to delineate isoform-specific functions and for isoform-specific targeting. Here, we review our knowledge of 14-3-3 interactome（s） generated by high- throughput techniques, bioinformatics, structural genomics and chemical genornics and point out that integrating the information with molecular dynamics （MD） simulations may bring us new opportunity to the design of isoform-specific inhibitors, which can not only be used as powerful research tools for delineating distinct interactomes of individual 14-3-3 isoforms, but also can serve as potential new anti-cancer drugs that selectively target aberrant 14-3-3 isoform.