Hypermethylation of thymosinβ4 predicts a poor prognosis for patients with acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure

Background:It has been demonstrated that thymosinβ4(Tβ4)could inflect the severity of acute-on-chronic hepatitis B liver failure(ACHBLF),but the relationship between its methylation status and the prognosis of liver failure is not clear.This study aimed to determine Tβ4 promoter methylation status in patients with ACHBLF and to evaluate its prognostic value.Methods:The study recruited 115 patients with ACHBLF,80 with acute-on-chronic hepatitis B pre-liver failure(pre-ACHBLF),and 86 with chronic hepatitis B(CHB).In addition,there were 36 healthy controls(HCs)from the Department of Hepatology,Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.The 115 patients with ACHBLF were divided into three subgroups:33 with early stage ACHBLF(E-ACHBLF),42 with mid-stage ACHBLF(M-ACHBLF),and 40 with advanced stage ACHBLF(A-ACHBLF).Tβ4 promoter methylation status in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)was measured by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction,and mRNA was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.Results:Methylation frequency of Tβ4 was significantly higher in patients with ACHBLF than in those with pre-ACHBLF,CHB or HCs.However,expression of Tβ4 mRNA showed the opposite trend.In patients with ACHBLF,Tβ4 promoter methylation status correlated negatively with mRNA levels.The 3-month mortality of ACHBLF in the methylated group was significantly higher than that in the unmethylated group.Also,Tβ4 promoter methylation frequency was lower in survivors than in non-survivors.When used to predict the 1-,2-,and 3-month incidence of ACHBLF,Tβ4 methylation status was better than the model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)score.The predictive value of Tβ4 methylation was higher than that of MELD score for the mortality of patients with E-ACHBLF and M-ACHBLF,but not for A-ACHBLF.Conclusions:Tβ4 methylation might be an important early marker for predicting disease incidence and prognosis in patients with ACHBLF.

Effects of aerobic exercise and medical nutrition intervention on endothelial injury and placental blood perfusion in patients with preeclampsia

Objective:To study the effects of aerobic exercise and medical nutrition intervention on endothelial injury and placental blood perfusion in patients with preeclampsia.Methods: 72 cases of patients diagnosed with preeclampsia in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Zigong Third People's Hospital between January 2013 and August 2016 were selected randomly divided into two groups, the observation group received aerobic exercise, medical nutrition combined with routine intervention, and the control group received routine intervention. Before and after intervention, serum endothelial injury markers were detected. After delivery, the expression of apoptosis molecules and the contents of stress molecules caused by hypoxia in placenta were detected.Results:After intervention, serum AnnexinV, vWF, ET-1 and oxLDL contents of both groups were lower than those before intervention while NO, PLGF and ABCA1 contents were higher than those before intervention and serum AnnexinV, vWF, ET-1 and oxLDL contents of observation group were lower than those of control group while NO, PLGF and ABCA1 contents were higher than those of control group;after delivery, Bax, Fas, FasL and Caspase-3 mRNA expression as well as MDA, AOPP, CHOP and GRP78 protein contents in placenta of observation group were lower than those of control group.Conclusion:Aerobic exercise and medical nutrition intervention can reduce the endothelial injury and improve the placental hypoxia of preeclampsia.

FePO4-coated Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54]O2 with improved cycling performance as cathode material for Li-ion batteries

Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Coo.13Mn0.54]O2 cathode materials were synthesized by carbonate-based co-precipitation method, and then, its surface was coated by thin layers of FePO4. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, field emission scanning electron micro- scope （FESEM）, energy-dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The XRD and TEM results suggest that both the pristine and the coated materials have a hexagonal layered structure, and the FePO4 coating layer does not make any major change in the crystal structure. The FePO4-coated sample exhibits both improved initial discharge capacity and columbic efficiency compared to the pristine one. More significantly, the FePO4 coating layer has a much positive influence on the cycling perfor- mance. The FePO4-coated sample exhibits capacity reten- tion of 82 % after 100 cycles at 0.5℃ between 2.0 and 4.8 V, while only 28 % for the pristine one at the same charge-discharge condition. The electrochemical impe- dance spectroscopy （EIS） results indicate that this improved cycling performance could be ascribed to the presence of FePO4 on the surface of Li[Li0.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mno.54102 par- ticle, which helps to protect the cathode from chemical attacks by HF and thus suppresses the large increase in charge transfer resistance.