Predicting clinical outcomes in chronic hepatitis B patients receiving nucleoside analogues and pegylated interferon alpha: a hematochemical and clinical analysis.

Background: The best antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) poses a complex challenge. The treatment effect of the combination of nucleoside analogues (NAs) and pegylated interferon alpha (PegIFN) was still in debate.

Methods: We studied patients treated with NAs and PegIFN-2b at our institution from November 2019 to January 2022.

Assessing and Optimizing Large Language Models on Spondyloarthritis Multi-Choice Question Answering: Protocol for Enhancement and Assessment.

Background: Spondyloarthritis (SpA), a chronic inflammatory disorder, predominantly impacts the sacroiliac joints and spine, significantly escalating the risk of disability. SpA's complexity, as evidenced by its diverse clinical presentations and symptoms that often mimic other diseases, presents substantial challenges in its accurate diagnosis and differentiation. This complexity becomes even more pronounced in nonspecialist health care environments due to limited resources, resulting in delayed referrals, increased misdiagnosis rates, and exacerbated disability outcomes for patients with SpA.

The Protective Roles of Self-Compassion and Parental Autonomy Support Against Depressive Symptoms in Peer-Victimized Chinese Adolescent Girls: A Longitudinal Study.

Peer victimization (PV) is a common and serious problem in school contexts, which hinders adolescents' emotional development and social adaptation. The present study aimed to test the longitudinal relationship between PV and the increase of depressive symptoms (DSs) among Chinese mid-late adolescents using a two-wave longitudinal design and examine the buffering effects of self-compassion (SC) and parental autonomy support (PAS) on this relationship. A relatively large sample of Chinese high school students ( = 722, 52.

Associations of CKIP-1 and LOX-1 polymorphisms with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus with hypertension among Chinese adults.

Aims: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension are common high-incidence diseases, closely related, and have common pathogenic basis such as oxidative stress. Casein kinase 2 interacting protein-1 (CKIP-1) and low-density lipoprotein receptor (LOX-1) are considered to be important factors affect the level of oxidative stress in the body. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between CKIP-1 (rs6693817 A > T, rs2306235 C > G) and LOX-1 (rs1050283 G > A, rs11053646 C > G) polymorphisms and the risk of hypertension and diabetes, and try to find new candidate genes for diabetes and diabetes with hypertension etiology in Chinese population.

Development of a mammalian cell-based ZZ display system for IgG quantification.

Background: Biological laboratories and companies involved in antibody development need convenient and versatile methods to detect highly active antibodies.

Methods: To develop a mammalian cell-based ZZ display system for antibody quantification, the eukaryotic ZZ-displayed plasmid was constructed and transfected into CHO cells. After screening by flow cytometric sorting, the stable ZZ display cells were incubated with reference IgG and samples with unknown IgG content for 40 min at 4℃, the relative fluorescence intensity of cells was analyzed and the concentration of IgG was calculated.

2D Ferroionics: Conductive Switching Mechanisms and Transition Boundaries in Van der Waals Layered Material CuInP S.

The recently unfolded ferroionic phenomena in 2D van der Waals (vdW) copper-indium-thiophosphate (CuInP S or CIPS) have received widespread interest as they allow for dynamic control of conductive switching properties, which are appealing in the paradigm-shift computing. The intricate couplings between ferroelectric polarization and ionic conduction in 2D vdW CIPS facilitate the manipulation and dynamic control of conductive behaviors. However, the complex interplays and underlying mechanisms are not yet fully explored and understood.

Current crowding in graphene-silicon schottky diodes.

The performance of the Graphene/Si (Gr/Si) Schottky interface and its potential in future electronics strongly rely on the quality of interconnecting contacts with external circuitry. In this work, we investigate the dominating and limiting factors of Gr/Si interfaces designed for high light absorption, paying particular attention to the nature of the contact failure under high electrostatic discharge (ESD) conditions. Our findings indicate that severe current crowding at contact edges of the graphene is the dominating factor for the device breakdown.

Introduction of defects in hexagonal boron nitride for vacancy-based 2D memristors.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have become potential resistive switching (RS) layers to prepare emerging non-volatile memristors. The atomically thin thickness and the highly controllable defect density contribute to the construction of ultimately scaled memory cells with stable switching behaviors. Although the conductive bridge random-access memory based on 2D hexagonal boron nitride has been widely studied, the realization of RS completely relying on vacancies in 2D materials has performance superiority.

Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Synapse Based on Vertical van der Waals Heterostructures.

Brain-inspired intelligent systems demand diverse neuromorphic devices beyond simple functionalities. Merging biomimetic sensing with weight-updating capabilities in artificial synaptic devices represents one of the key research focuses. Here, we report a multiresponsive synapse device that integrates synaptic and optical-sensing functions.

Improvements on sampling of point spread function in optical transfer function measurement.

Point spread function (PSF), which is the intensity distribution of optical system impulse response and usually acquired by imaging a single pinhole in experiment, can characterize the quality of optical imaging system. Faithful recording of the two-dimensional intensity distribution of PSF is key for accurate measurement of optical transfer function (OTF), however distortions in recorded PSF can be easily caused by a large sampling interval and the electronic noise of the detector. Under a given sampling interval, the position-phase difference between pixels and intensity signals can change the intensity distribution of acquired PSF remarkably, making the computed OTF or MTF (modulation transfer function) error prone.

Iterative reconstruction method for the accurate measurement of optical transfer function.

An iterative computation method was proposed to accurately reconstruct the optical transfer function (OTF) of an imaging lens from a series of recorded images of different patterns displayed on a digital micromirror device (DMD). Since several tens of recorded images are adopted in combination, the measurement noise is remarkably reduced in comparison with the conventional measurement method using a point object, and quite high measurement accuracy is reached by taking the known shape of each tiny mirror of the DMD into computation. While theoretical analysis is demonstrated, the validity of this proposed method is verified both numerically and experimentally.

Single-electron detection utilizing coupled nonlinear microresonators.

Since the discovery of the electron, the accurate detection of electrical charges has been a dream of the scientific community. Owing to some remarkable advantages, micro/nanoelectromechanical system-based resonators have been used to design electrometers with excellent sensitivity and resolution. Here, we demonstrate a novel ultrasensitive charge detection method utilizing nonlinear coupling in two micromechanical resonators.

Single cell imaging reveals cisplatin regulating interactions between transcription (co)factors and DNA.

Cisplatin is an extremely successful anticancer drug, and is commonly thought to target DNA. However, the way in which cisplatin-induced DNA lesions regulate interactions between transcription factors/cofactors and genomic DNA remains unclear. Herein, we developed a dual-modal microscopy imaging strategy to investigate, , the formation of ternary binding complexes of the transcription cofactor HMGB1 and transcription factor Smad3 with cisplatin crosslinked DNA in single cells.

Effects of Photoperiod on Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice.

Purpose: Acetaminophen (APAP) is a clinically popular analgesic and antipyretic drug, but excessive APAP can cause fatal hepatotoxicity. Many factors affect the degree of APAP-induced liver injury. This study aimed to investigate how circadian rhythm affects the development of APAP-induced hepatotoxicity and to clarify the roles of photoperiod and dietary rhythm on APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in mice.

MiR-140 modulates the inflammatory responses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected macrophages by targeting TRAF6.

This study aimed to examine miR-140 expression in clinical samples from tuberculosis (TB) patients and to explore the molecular mechanisms of miR-140 in host-bacterial interactions during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M tb) infections. The miR-140 expression and relevant mRNA expression were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR); the protein expression levels were analysed by ELISA and western blot; M tb survival was measured by colony formation unit assay; potential interactions between miR-140 and the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. MiR-140 was up-regulated in the human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from TB patients and in THP-1 and U937 cells with M tb infection.

The adverse effect of selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor on random skin flap survival in rats.

Background: Cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) inhibitors provide desired analgesic effects after injury or surgery, but evidences suggested they also attenuate wound healing. The study is to investigate the effect of COX-2 inhibitor on random skin flap survival.

Methods: The McFarlane flap model was established in 40 rats and evaluated within two groups, each group gave the same volume of Parecoxib and saline injection for 7 days.

[Efficacy of interferon alpha with ribavirin for treatment of chronic Hepatitis C].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and distribution of HCV genotypes and the clinical effect of interferon-alpha combined with ribavirin treatment in chronic hepatitis C patients in Kunming.

Methods: 60 patients were divided into two groups based on drug therapies: PEG-interferon-a plus ribavirin treatment group for HCV 1b and interferon-a plus ribavirin treatment group for non-HCV-1b. Serum ALT levels and HCV RNA quantitations of the patients were detected during treatment and follow-up.