Historical reconstruction of glacier mass balance and its contribution to water resources in the Sawir Mountains from 2000 to 2020.

Glacial changes are crucial to regional water resources and ecosystems in the Sawir Mountains. However, glacial changes, including the mass balance and glacial meltwater of the Sawir Mountains, have sparsely been reported. Three model calibration strategies were constructed including a regression model based on albedo and in-situ mass balance of Muz Taw Glacier (A-Ms), regression model based on albedo and geodetic mass balance of valley, cirque, and hanging glaciers (A-Mr), and degree-day model (DDM) to obtain a reliable glacier mass balance in the Sawir Mountains and provide the latest understanding in the contribution of glacial meltwater runoff to regional water resources. The results indicated that the glacial albedo reduction was significant from 2000 to 2020 for the entire Sawir Mountains, with a rate of 0.015 (10a)-1, and the spatial pattern was higher in the east compared to the west. Second, the three strategies all indicated that the glacier mass balance has been continuously negative during the past 20 periods, and the average annual glacier mass balance was -1.01 m w.e. Third, the average annual glacial meltwater runoff in the Sawir Mountains from 2000 to 2020 was 22 × 106 m3, and its contribution to streamflow was 25.81 % from 2000 to 2018. The glacier contribution rates in the Ulkun- Ulastu, Lhaster, and Kendall River basins were 31.37 %, 22.51 %, and 19.27 %, respectively.

Fostering employees' innovative behavior: The importance of proactive personality and work-related flow.

Employees' innovative behaviors (EIB) play a crucial role in driving enterprises' innovation and enabling them to adapt to the complex business environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of proactive personality in EIB, whereby a mediating effect of work-related flow is proposed in this relationship. The moderating effect of organizational innovation climate is also examined on the indirect of proactive personality on EIB through work-related flow. With purposive sampling, a questionnaire survey was conducted on front-line employees of two digital cultural and creative industrial parks in Southwest China. A total of 279 valid questionnaires were used for hypothesis verification. The findings indicate that employees' proactive personality has a significant positive effect on EIB. Employees with a proactive personality are more likely to experience work-related flow, which in turn promotes their EIB. However, we did not find evidence of the organizational innovation climate moderating the relationship between proactive personality and EIB.

Nourishing Yin traditional Chinese medicine: potential role in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a common and frequently occurring disease in contemporary society, has become a global health threat. However, current mainstream methods of prevention and treatment, mainly including oral hypoglycemic drugs and insulin injections, do not fundamentally block the progression of T2DM. Therefore, it is imperative to find new ways to prevent and treat diabetes. Traditional Chinese medicine is characterized by multiple components, pathways, and targets with mild and long-lasting effects. Pharmacological studies have shown that nourishing yin traditional Chinese medicine (NYTCM) can play a positive role in the treatment of T2DM by regulating pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, nuclear factor-kappa B, and other pathways to stimulate insulin secretion, protect and repair pancreatic ß cells, alleviate insulin resistance, ameliorate disordered glucose and lipid metabolism, mitigate oxidative stress, inhibit inflammatory responses, and regulate the intestinal flora. The pharmacologic activity, mechanisms, safety, and toxicity of NYTCM in the treatment of T2DM are also reviewed in this manuscript.

Explorative study for the rapid detection of Fritillaria using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry.

Fritillaria is a well-known health-promoting food, but it has many varieties and its market circulation is chaotic. In order to explore the differences in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) among different varieties of Fritillaria and quickly and accurately determine the variety of Fritillaria, this study selected six varieties of Fritillaria and identified and analyzed their volatile components using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), establishing the characteristic fingerprints of VOCs in Fritillaria. In all samples, a total of 76 peaks were detected and 67 VOCs were identified. It was found that the composition of VOCs in different varieties of Fritillaria was similar, but the content was different. Combined with chemometric analysis, the differences between VOCs were clearly shown after principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and partial least-squares discriminant analysis. This may provide theoretical guidance for the identification and authenticity determination of different varieties of Fritillaria.

Synthesis of Allenes by Hydroalkylation of 1,3-Enynes with Ketones Enabled by Cooperative Catalysis.

A method for the synthesis of allenes by the addition of ketones to 1,3-enynes by cooperative Pd(0)Senphos/B(C6F5)3/NR3 catalysis is described. A wide range of aryl- and aliphatic ketones undergo addition to various 1,3-enynes in high yields at room temperature. Mechanistic investigations revealed a rate-determining outer-sphere proton transfer mechanism, which was corroborated by DFT calculations.

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS, network analysis, and molecular docking to investigate the effect and active ingredients of tea-seed oil against bacterial pathogens.

Object: This research intended to probe the antibacterial effect and pharmacodynamic substances of Tea-Seed Oil (TSO) through the use of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) analysis, network analysis, and molecular docking. Methods: The major chemical components in the methanol-extracted fractions of TSO were subjected to UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques were integrated to investigate the core components, targets, and potential mechanisms of action through which the TSO exert their antibacterial properties. To evaluate the inhibitory effects, the minimum inhibitory concentration and diameter of the bacteriostatic circle were calculated for the potential active ingredients and their equal ratios of combinatorial components (ERCC) against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Moreover, the quantification of the active constituents within TSO was achieved through the utilization of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: The methanol-extracted fractions contained a total of 47 chemical components, predominantly consisting of unsaturated fatty acids and phenolic compounds. The network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking analysis revealed that various components, including gallocatechin, gallic acid, epigallocatechin, theophylline, chlorogenic acid, puerarin, and phlorizin, have the ability to interact with critical core targets such as serine/threonine protein kinase 1 (AKT1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a monoclonal antibody to mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), HSP90AA1, and estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1). Furthermore, these components can modulate the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase protein kinase B (PI3K-AKT), estrogen, MAPK and interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling pathways, hereby exerting antibacterial effects. In vitro validation trials have found that seven components, namely gallocatechin, gallic acid, epigallocatechin, theophylline, chlorogenic acid, puerarin, and phloretin, displayed substantial inhibitory effects on E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and C. albicans, and are typically present in tea oil, with a total content ranging from 15.87∼24.91 µg·g-1. Conclusion: The outcomes of this investigation possess the possibility to expand our knowledge base concerning the utilization of TSO, furnish a theoretical framework for the exploration of antibacterial drugs and cosmetics derived from inherently occurring TSO, and establish a robust groundwork for the advancement and implementations of TOS products within clinical settings.

How organizational trust impacts organizational citizenship behavior: Organizational identification and employee loyalty as mediators.

Research on the influence of organizational trust (OT) on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of employees has been conducted for years, but the influence of internal mechanism for OT on OCB is not well studied. Based on social exchange theory and organizational identity theory, this paper explored the OT on the OCB and revealed the chain-mediating role of organizational identification (OI) and employee loyalty (EL) from both employees' cognitive and psychological perspectives. The research employed a two-wave and multi-source strategy to conduct hypothesis validation with 305 validated questionnaires of Chinese enterprises. The results of the empirical analysis show that: (1) OT has a significant effect on OCB; (2) OI plays a mediating role between OT and OCB; (3) EL plays a mediating role between OT and OCB; and (4) OI and EL have a significant chain-mediating role between OT and OCB. The results of this study have deepened the understanding of organizational trust and have important practical implications for improving organizational citizenship behavior, organizational identification, and employee loyalty.

Is not workplace gossip bad? The effect of positive workplace gossip on employee innovative behavior.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the role of positive workplace gossip (PWG) in employee innovative behavior, whereby a mediating effect of employee loyalty is proposed in this relationship. The moderating effect of organizational trust (OT) is also examined on the indirect of PWG on employee innovative behavior through employee loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: This research used a survey data of 327 employees from the enterprises selected from the Pearl River and Yangtze River Delta region of China. Based on the literature review, five main hypotheses were formulated and explored. The SPSS-Process Macro Plugin was used to analyze the hypothesized model. Findings: Results show there is a positive and significant relationship between PWG and employee innovative behavior. This study also confirm that employee loyalty is an intervening variable and OT as a moderator. Practical implications: Organizations should pay more attention to workplace gossip phenomena, encourage employees to take appropriate part in positive workplace gossip and to communicate positive information about other colleagues, and build an inclusive, open, sincere, and interdependent platform in the organization. Originality/value: Employee innovative behavior plays an essential role in organization's survival and development. Few studies have investigated PWG may promote employee innovative behavior through employee loyalty. The data, model, and findings of this research address the gap and complement the current state of knowledge.

Identification of a Potential PPAR-Related Multigene Signature Predicting Prognosis of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and part of their target genes have been reported to be related to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The prognosis of HCC is not optimistic, and more accurate prognostic markers are needed. This study focused on discovering potential prognostic markers from the PPAR-related gene set. The mRNA data and clinical information of HCC were collected from TCGA and GEO platforms. Univariate Cox and lasso Cox regression analyses were used to screen prognostic genes of HCC. Three genes (MMP1, HMGCS2, and SLC27A5) involved in the PPAR signaling pathway were selected as the prognostic signature of HCC. A formula was established based on the expression values and multivariate Cox regression coefficients of selected genes, that was, risk score = 0.1488∗expression value of MMP1 + (-0.0393)∗expression value of HMGCS2 + (-0.0479)∗expression value of SLC27A5. The prognostic ability of the three-gene signature was assessed in the TCGA HCC dataset and verified in three GEO sets (GSE14520, GSE36376, and GSE76427). The results showed that the risk score based on our signature was a risk factor with a HR (hazard ratio) of 2.72 (95%CI (Confidence Interval) = 1.87 ~ 3.95, p < 0.001) for HCC survival. The signature could significantly (p < 0.0001) distinguish high-risk and low-risk patients with poor prognosis for HCC. In addition, we further explored the independence and applicability of the signature with other clinical indicators through multivariate Cox analysis (p < 0.001) and nomogram analysis (C-index = 0.709). The above results indicate that the combination of MMP1, HMGCS2, and SLC27A5 selected from the PPAR signaling pathway could effectively, independently, and applicatively predict the prognosis of HCC. Our research provided new insights to the prognosis of HCC.

Compare two different usages of FRD for detecting high-grade cervical lesions and invasive cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate two usages of the folate receptor-mediated staining solution (FRD) for detecting high-grade cervical lesions and invasive cancer, and compared with cytology test (TCT) and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. METHODS: FRD sampling and FRD direct staining methods were used for detecting high-grade cervical lesions and invasive cancer. As a comparison, TCT and HPV testing were also applied for screening high-grade cervical lesions and invasive cancer. The sensitivity and specificity of TCT, HPV testing, and staining results of FRD were analyzed by the SPSS software. RESULTS: In this study, 317 patients with biopsy were collected. The positive rate of FRD sampling method was 35.33% (112/317), and positive rate of FRD direct staining was 48.90% (155/317). Area under the curve (AUC) of TCT, HPV testing, FRD sampling and FRD direct staining were 0.53, 0.55, 0.58, and 0.75, respectively. The sensitivity of TCT, HPV, FRD sampling and FRD direct staining was 69.72%, 97.25%, 64.22% and 81.65%, respectively, and the specificity was 37.98%, 12.98%, 79.81% and 68.27%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Compared with TCT and HPV testing, two usages of FRD methods have compatible sensitivity and high specificity to detect high-grade cervical lesions and invasive cancer. FRD direct staining may be comfortable for routine cervical cancer screening.

Application of fluorescence in situ hybridization in the detection of bladder transitional-cell carcinoma: A multi-center clinical study based on Chinese population.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in bladder cancer. METHODS: We enrolled healthy volunteers and patients who were clinically suspected to have bladder cancer and conducted FISH tests and cytology examinations from August 2007 to December 2008. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed and the area under curve (AUC) values were calculated for both the FISH and urine cytology tests. RESULTS: A cohort of 988 healthy volunteers was enrolled to establish a reference range for the normal population. A total of 4807 patients with hematuria were prospectively, randomly enrolled for the simultaneous analysis of urine cytology, FISH testing, and a final diagnosis as determined by the pathologic findings of a biopsy or a surgically-excised specimen. Overall, the sensitivity of FISH in detecting transitional-cell carcinoma was 82.7%, while that of cytology was 33.4% (p < 0.001). The sensitivity values of FISH for non-muscle invasive and muscle invasive bladder transitional-cell carcinoma were 81.7% and 89.6%, respectively (p = 0.004). The sensitivity values of FISH for low and high grade bladder cancer were 82.6% and 90.1%, respectively (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: FISH is significantly more sensitive than voided urine cytology for detecting bladder cancer in patients evaluated for gross hematuria at all cancer grades and stages. Higher sensitivity using FISH was obtained in high grade and muscle invasive tumors.

Synthesis and nitric oxide releasing properties of novel fluoro S-nitrosothiols.

A series of new fluoro S-nitrosothiols is reported as potential nitric oxide (NO) donors. A three-step synthesis and the NO releasing kinetic profiles of these species are presented. The stoichiometric release of NO, with the clean formation of corresponding disulfides, confirms that these new species can facilitate their application as NO donors for various applications including creating novel antimicrobial and thromboresistant fluoropolymer-based medical devices.

Effectiveness of novel folate receptor-mediated staining solution detection (FRD) for cervical cancer screening.

Folate receptor-mediated staining solution detection (FRD) has been recently suggested as an effective tool in the cervical cancer screening. We aim to compare the accuracy of FRD to human papillomavirus (HPV) and thinprep cytology test (TCT) based on cytology-based biopsy.During May 2016 and December 2016, we recruited women who presented for routine cervical lesion screening. The eligible cases were nonpregnant women and not in the menstrual period, aging between 25 and 65. All eligible women were screened with TCT, HPV, FRD testing, and colposcopy.A total of 216 women include 137 (63.4%) cases of cervical inflammation, 27 (12.5%) cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (CIN 1), 51 (23.6%) cases of CIN 2, 34 (15.7%) cases of CIN 3, and 12 (5.6%) cases of cervical cancer. The sensitivity were 93.81%, 76.29%, 80.41% for HPV testing, TCT testing, and FRD testing, respectively. The specificities were 16.46%, 34.15%, and 68.29%, respectively. FRD has statistically significant higher specificity than HPV testing and TCT (both P < .05). However, no differences were found in sensitivity (both P > .05). The positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and Kappa consistency coefficient were 39.91%, 81.82%, and 0.08% for HPV testing, 40.66%, 70.89%, and 0.09% for TCT, and 60%, 85.5%, and 0.46% for FRD testing.FRD had favorable accuracy and efficacy in detecting cervical cancer, and therefore could be used as an effective screening tool for cervical cancer screening.

Methylation of STK11 promoter is a risk factor for tumor stage and survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Inactivation of tumor suppressor gene serine-threonine kinase 11 (STK11) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has been demonstrated; however, the mechanism of this inactivation remains to be investigated. To investigate whether epigenetic alteration plays a role in the inactivation of STK11 in RCC, the present study aimed to investigate the methylation status of the STK11 promoter and its association with tumor stage and survival in ccRCC patients. Paraffin-embedded specimens were obtained from 42 ccRCC patients. The specimens were analyzed for the methylation status of the STK11 promoter CpG island using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Survival, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM)/American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages, and hematological parameters were compared between patients with unmethylated (U), partially methylated (P) and methylated (M) STK11 promoter. Among the 42 patients, there were 12 (28.6%), 18 (42.9%) and 12 (28.6%) patients in the M, P and U groups, respectively. The methylation status of the STK11 promoter was associated with T, N and AJCC stages in RCC. Survival analysis showed that the M group had a significantly shorter survival time compared with the P and U groups. These findings suggested that methylation of the STK11 promoter in RCC is a not rare event, and it may have an important role in the pathogenesis of RCC and be a risk factor for the prognosis of RCC.

Effects of programmed death-ligand 1 expression on OK-432 immunotherapy following transurethral resection in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the negative costimulatory molecule programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on immunotherapy with OK-432, following transurethral resection of bladder tumors in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), and to elucidate the underlying mechanism. PD-L1 was detected by immunohistochemical staining in tumor specimens from 55 cases of NMIBC following postoperative immunotherapy with OK-432. The PD-L1 mRNA and protein expression levels were measured in the bladder cancer T24 cell line and the human uroepithelial SV-HUC-1 cell line, following treatment with interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-α and IFN-γ, by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis, respectively. PD-L1 was widely expressed in the NMIBC tumors, with 56.4% (31/55) of specimens exhibiting positive staining. When compared with PD-L1-negative patients, PD-L1-positive patients exhibited significantly increased recurrence [48.4% (15/31) vs. 16.7% (4/24)] and progression [16.1% (5/31) vs. 4.2% (1/24)] rates (P<0.05). RT-qPCR and western blotting demonstrated that cytokines IL-2, IFN-α and IFN-γ markedly upregulated PD-L1 mRNA expression rates and protein levels in bladder cancer T24 cells (P<0.05), but had no significant effect in non-tumor SV-HUC-1 cells. In conclusion, PD-L1 expression was negatively-associated with the efficacy of OK-432 intravesical immunotherapy in patients with NMIBC. The results indicated that the involved mechanism occurred via upregulation of PD-L1 by immune cytokines, which in turn suppressed the antitumor effectiveness of the immune system, thereby promoting tumor recurrence and progression.

The effect of TMEFF2 methylation on the tumor stage and survival outcome of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the methylation status of EGF-like and two follistatin-like domains 2 (TMEFF2) promoter and its correlation with tumor stage and survival outcome in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paraffin-embedded specimens from 42 RCC patients were analyzed for TMEFF2 methylation by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The distribution of TNM/AJCC stages and survival time were compared among patients with unmethylated and methylated TMEFF2. RESULTS: There were 25 (59.5%) and 17 (40.5%) cases with methylated (M group) and unmethylated (M group) TMEFF2, respectively. There were more early-stage cancer patients in U group than in M group. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that U group had a better but not significant survival outcome than M group (P = 0.123). CONCLUSION: These findings showed that TMEFF2 methylation is not rare in RCC, and methylation may play an important role in the tumorigenesis of ccRCC.

Clinical application of a rapid cervical cancer screening method: Folate receptor-mediated staining of cervical neoplastic epithelia.

AIM: A newly developed cervical cancer screening method - folate receptor-mediated epithelium staining utilizes methylene blue internalized by folate receptor-mediated endocytosis to stain cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia. We test the clinical feasibility of this method in this study. METHODS: A total of 14 344 women who were at least 21 years old and had been sexually active, participated in the study. In gynecological clinics, participants underwent cervical cancer screening with folate receptor-mediated epithelium staining followed by cytology sampling. The color change of methylene blue in the cervical neoplastic epithelium can then be detected by the cotton swabs placed inside the cervix. A change of color to blue, bluish black or black is positive, whereas a change of color to green or no color change indicates negative result. Three hundred and twenty-three women who were positive with either or both tests had histopathologic diagnosis. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of folate receptor-mediated epithelium staining for cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 2 and worse was 85.7%, 76.4%, 61.3% and 92.5%, respectively. Folate receptor-mediated epithelium staining had moderate agreement with cytology thresholded at atypical squamous cells, unable to exclude a high grade intra-epithelial lesion and was more sensitive that the later (85.7% vs 74.5% for intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 2 and worse; 89.2% vs 75.4% for intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 3 and worse). CONCLUSION: Folate receptor-mediated epithelium staining is capable of detecting cervical precancerous and cancerous lesions rapidly and cost-effectively.

Management of adrenal incidentaloma: the role of adrenalectomy may be underestimated.

BACKGROUND: To demonstrate clinical characteristics of adrenal incidentaloma in South China and explore its comprehensive management. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with adrenal neoplasm from Jan 1998 to Dec 2012 were retrospectively analysed. Patients with suspicion of adrenal abnormalities or those in whom adrenal abnormalities were detected in the staging procedures of other cancers were excluded. Most patients with adrenal incidentaloma chose to have adrenalectomy, and some chose surveillance. The relationships between clinical features were analysed with a chi-square test and rank sum test. RESULTS: In total, 634 patients with adrenal incidentaloma were studied. Their age ranged from 17 to 85 years old with a median age of 50 years. Of 478 cases with pathological results, adenoma was the most common tumour (233/478), with 84 cases of pheochromocytoma and 36 cases of adrenocortical carcinoma were 84 and 36. When the tumour size was ≤4 cm, >95 % were benign; when the tumour size was >6 cm, 33 % were malignant. For patients with a tumour size ≤4 cm, 249/376 cases had an adrenalectomy performed. Due to anxiety over a potential malignant transformation and enlargement, most patients (>80 %) under surveillance preferred to undergo adrenalectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Pheochromocytoma and adrenocortical carcinoma were not rare tumours of adrenal incidentaloma, and 4 cm is a good size cutoff to use in the diagnosis of an adrenal incidentaloma. Other than surveillance, laparoscopic adrenalectomy may become the method of choice for management of small adrenal incidentaloma.

A long-forgotten indwelling single-J stent in a transplant kidney.

Ureteral stent placement is usual after renal transplantation to avoid ureteral obstruction and facilitate reconstruction. However, stent is prone to infection, encrustation, migration, fragmentation, obstruction, and even obstructive nephropathy with a long-indwelling time. Forgotten ureteric stent in renal transplant recipients is scarcely reported. Here, we present a case of long-forgotten indwelling single-J stent for 5 years in a transplant patient.

[Preliminary investigation of intestinal microflora in patients with hepatic cirrhosis].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the differential levels of fecal Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, and Clostridium difficile between patients with hepatic cirrhosis and healthy controls. Fecal samples were collected from 29 patients with hepatic cirrhosis treated in the Department of Digestive Diseases at Zunyi Hospital between March and December of 2010. METHODS: Fecal samples were collected from 13 healthy college students for use as controls. All samples were assessed by pH measurement, bacterial culture for turbidity, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and laser scanning confocal microscopy. The t-test and rank correlation test were used to determine statistical significance of intergroup differences in each tested parameter. RESULTS: The feces of patients with hepatic cirrhosis had higher pH than that of healthy controls (6.79+/-0.64 vs. 6.18+/-0.74, P less than 0.05). The bacterial turbidity was not significantly different between the feces of hepatic cirrhosis patients and healthy controls (1.15+/-0.59 vs. 1.39+/-1.01, P more than 0.05). The numbers of Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, and Clostridium difficile in feces of patients with hepatic cirrhosis were significantly lower than those of the controls (all P less than 0.01). No significant correlation was found between the number or ratio of bacteria species and the severity of hepatic cirrhosis (Child-Pugh scores; P more than 0.05). CONCLUSION: The total quantity of intestinal bacteria in patients with hepatic cirrhosis is not significantly different from that in healthy patients. However, the profile of intestinal bacteria is different, which may explain the increased pH of fecal samples from patients with hepatic cirrhosis, but the differential profile is not correlated to cirrhosis pathogenesis.