Seraprevir and sofosbuvir for treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection: A single-arm, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Background And Aim: This single-arm, open-label, multicenter, phase 3 trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of seraprevir, an hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural protein 3/4A (NS3/4A) inhibitor, combined with sofosbuvir for treating Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection without cirrhosis.

Methods: Treatment-naive or interferon-experienced adult patients without cirrhosis were treated with a universal, combinational regimen of seraprevir 100 mg, twice daily and sofosbuvir 400 mg, once daily, for 12 or 24 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virologic response at week 12 after treatment (SVR12).

A Multi-Hop Energy Neutral Clustering Algorithm for Maximizing Network Information Gathering in Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks.

Energy resource limitation is a severe problem in traditional wireless sensor networks (WSNs) because it restricts the lifetime of network. Recently, the emergence of energy harvesting techniques has brought with them the expectation to overcome this problem. In particular, it is possible for a sensor node with energy harvesting abilities to work perpetually in an Energy Neutral state.

Analysis of 777 cases with obstruction of the ureter or extrahepatic bile duct by ultrasonography after normal saline retention enema.

Background: Conventional transabdominal ultrasound usually fails to visualize parts of the ureter or extrahepatic bile duct covered by bowel gas. In this study, we propose a new method for gaining acoustic access to the ureters and extrahepatic bile duct to help determine the nature of obstruction to these structures when conventional transabdominal ultrasound fails.

Methods: The normal saline retention enema method, that is, using normal saline-filled colons to gain acoustic access to the bilateral ureters and extrahepatic bile duct and detecting the lesions with transabdominal ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, was applied to 777 patients with obstructive lesions, including 603 with hydroureter and 174 with dilated common bile duct, which were not visualized by conventional ultrasonography.

Effects of high-AGE beverage on RAGE and VEGF expressions in the liver and kidneys.

Background: The formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) increase in some lifestyle-related diseases as well as in aging; however, little is known about the relationship between food-derived AGEs and the pathology of such diseases.

Aim Of The Study And Methods: To explore whether food items containing high levels of AGEs are involved in the development of lifestyle-related diseases, rats were orally administered a commercial high-AGE beverage [Lactobacillus beverage-A (LB-A)]. With a particular focus on angiogenesis-associated diseases, the gene expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the receptor for AGEs (RAGE) were examined in the liver and kidneys using real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.

Toxic advanced glycation end products (TAGE) theory in Alzheimer's disease.

Several epidemiological studies have reported moderately increased risks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in diabetic patients compared with general population. In diabetes mellitus, the formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) progress more rapidly. Recent understanding of this process has confirmed that interactions between AGEs and their receptor (RAGE) may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications and AD.

TAGE (toxic AGEs) theory in diabetic complications.

Diabetic complication is a leading cause of acquired blindness, end-stage renal failure, a variety of neuropathies and accelerated atherosclerosis. Chronic hyperglycemia is initially involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic micro- and macro-vascular complications via various metabolic derangements. High glucose increased production of various types of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs).