Evaluation of the Curative Effect of Treating HBV-related Liver Fibrosis/Cirrhosis Based on the Method of Removing Turbidity and Regulating the Liver.

Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness of a technique for eliminating cloudiness and managing liver function in treating liver fibrosis/cirrhosis associated with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Methods: From January 2022 to January 2023, the researchers' hospital treated 200 patients with HBV-related liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. These patients constituted two groups for the study: the control group, consisting of 100 cases who received routine treatment, and a study group, consisting of 56 cases who received treatment with a combination of turbidity removal and liver regulation, in addition to the standard treatment given to the control group. The researchers then compared factors such as liver function, level of liver fibrosis, liver stiffness measurement (LSM), and renal function between the two groups. Additionally, the researchers assessed the effectiveness of those treatments and any adverse reactions that may have occurred. Results: The study group demonstrated significantly higher clinical effectiveness than the control group after undergoing treatment, with statistical significance (P < .05). Post-treatment, both groups experienced lower GGT, ALT, and AST levels than their pre-treatment levels. Additionally, the study group had higher AIB levels than their pre-treatment levels. There was a statistically significant difference between the study and control groups regarding these biomarkers (P < .05), as the study group exhibited lower GGT, ALT, AST, TBIL levels and higher AIB levels. Furthermore, both groups displayed decreased HA, IV-C, PC III, and LN levels post-treatment compared to their pre-treatment values. The study group had significantly lower HA, IV-C, PC III, and LN concentrations than the control group (P < .05). Regarding LSM measurements after treatment for both groups, while there was a decrease in LSM values from their respective pre-treatment readings for each group, no significant difference was observed between them (P < .05). Moreover, the incidence of adverse reactions experienced by individuals in the study group following treatment was significantly lower than that of individuals in the control group (P < .05). Conclusion: Treatment based on removing turbidity and regulating the liver can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms of patients with HBV-related liver fibrosis/cirrhosis, promote the liver function to return to normal, relieve the degree of liver fibrosis, and reduce the LSM value. The curative effect is significant and worthy of clinical application.

New insights on simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal in pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification biofilter for a long-term operation: Performance change and its underlying mechanism.

Simultaneous nitrate and phosphorus removal can be completed by pyrite- and influent organics-involved mixotrophic denitrification and chemical phosphorus removal via iron precipitation. However, so far, how their removal performances change with iron precipitation accumulation remains unclear. In this study, the differences in nitrate and phosphorus removal from municipal tailwater between volcanic and pyrite supported biofilters (V-BF, P-BF) for a long-term operation were investigated, as well as the underlying mechanism for these differences. The nitrate removal efficiencies (NREs) in P-BF were greater than those in V-BF due to the synergistic effect of influent organic and pyrite, as evidenced by comparable TOC consumption and Fe2+/SO42- production. The NREs in P-BF were gradually lower than in V-BF as a result of bacterial cell-iron encrustation observed in TEM images, which would deteriorate microbial activity. However, the phosphorus removal efficiencies (PREs) in P-BF remained consistently higher than in V-BF, resulting from chemical phosphorus removal which was confirmed that P, Fe and O elements dominated on the pyrite surface after use by SEM-EDS. The dominant denitrifying bacteria differed significantly, autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrifying microorganisms coexisted in P-BF. The relative abundances of the narG coding gene in P-BF were higher than that in V-BF, which was consistent with the total relative abundances of identified denitrifying bacteria. Besides, the mechanism of simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification process has been deduced. This work has significant implications for the practical application of a pyrite-involved mixotrophic denitrification process for low C/N wastewater treatment.

Further New Gypenosides from Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum).

Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) has been widely used as a herbal tea, dietary supplement, and vegetable in Asian countries. In this study, six new gypenosides (1-6) were isolated from the aerial parts of G. pentaphyllum. Their molecular structures were elucidated through spectroscopic analysis and acid hydrolysis. Gypenosides 1 and 2 represented the first example of a dammar-21-O- glucopyranoside without any unsaturated functional group and a dammar-3-O-glucopyranosyl-25-O-glucopyranoside without any cyclization in the side chain, respectively. In addition, gypenosides 5 and 6 exhibited the first example of a 24-hydroperoxy-19-oxo-dammarane triterpenoid and 19-oxo-dammar-21-O-glucopyranoside with a saturated side chain, respectively. Gypenoside 5 was found to possess protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value of 8.2 ± 0.9 µM, and moderate cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cells MCF7, MCF7/ADR, and MDA-MB-231, with IC50 values ranging from 10.5 ± 1.4 to 14.2 ± 2.6 µM. The outcome of the study provided crucial information regarding the structural diversity and health benefits of gypenosides.

[Correlation Research on HGF and c-Met of Chronic Erosive Gastritis Patients].

Objective To observe the correlation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and Hepato- cyte growth factor receptor (c-Met ) in serum and gastric mucosa tissues of chronic erosive gastritis pa- tients. Methods Totally 70 patients with chronic erosive gastritis were selected and assigned to turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome group and Gan-wei disharmony syndrome group, HGF expression level of ser- um,and HGF,c-Met expression level of gastric mucosa tissues were measured;the correlation of HGF and c-Met in gastric mucosa tissues, and the correlation of HGF in serum and gastric mucosa tissues were analyzed. Results The expression level of HGF and c-Met in turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome group was higher than that in Gan-wei disharmony syndrome group (P <0. 05) ; the expression level of HGF in gastric mucosa tissues was positively correlated with c-Met(r =0. 831 , P <0. 05) ; the expression level of HGF in serum was positively correlated with that of gastric mucosa tissues(r =0. 656, P <0. 05). Conclusions There was correlation between turbidity toxin intrinsic syndrome of Chronic Erosive Gastri- tis patients and the expression level of HGF and c-Met.