Impact of prior lamivudine use on the antiviral efficacy and development of resistance to entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Background/aims: To determine the efficacies of entecavir (ETV) in nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and in those with prior lamivudine (LAM) use who did not develop resistance.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 337 patients with CHB who were treated with ETV (0.5 mg daily) for at least 30 months.

Microstructural characterization of dehydrogenated products of the LiBH4-YH3 composite.

The dehydrogenated microstructure of the lithium borohydride-yttrium hydride (LiBH4-YH3) composite obtained at 350°C under 0.3 MPa of hydrogen and static vacuum was investigated by transmission electron microscopy combined with a focused ion beam technique. The dehydrogenation reaction between LiBH4 and YH3 into LiH and YB4 takes place under 0.

Association between apolipoprotein E genotype, chronic liver disease, and hepatitis B virus.

Background/aims: Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) plays an important role in regulating lipid and lipoprotein metabolism, and ApoE genotypes are known to affect plasma lipoprotein concentrations. We investigated whether ApoE genotype determines the disease outcome in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected individuals, and verified the association between ApoE genotype and the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver diseases of various etiologies.

Methods: This hospital-based, case-controlled study enrolled 156 subjects (47 healthy controls, 50 HBV-related liver cirrhosis patients, and 59 HCC patients).

Pressure-enhanced dehydrogenation reaction of the LiBH4-YH3 composite.

The increase in hydrogen back pressure unexpectedly enhances the overall dehydrogenation reaction rate of the 4LiBH(4) + YH(3) composite significantly. Also, argon back pressure has a similar influence on the composite. Gas back pressure seems to enhance the dehydrogenation reaction by kinetically suppressing the formation of the diborane by-product.

The effect of exercise in cool, control and hot environments on cardioprotective HSP70 induction.

A number of environmental and metabolic stimuli rapidly induce the expression of several highly conserved proteins such as heat shock proteins (HSPs) or stress proteins. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a single bout of submaximal exercise in varying ambient temperatures on cardiac and skeletal muscle. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly placed in one of three ambient temperature groups; control (23 degrees C), hot (41 degrees C) and cool (11 degrees C).