PKM2 is a Novel Osteoporosis-Associated Protein in Chinese.

Purpose:Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and high risk of osteoporotic fracture (OF). Peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) can differentiate into osteoclasts to resorb bone. This study was to identify PBM-expressed proteins significant for osteoporosis in Chinese Han elderly population (>65 years), and focused on two phenotypes of osteoporosis: low BMD and OF. METHODS: Label-free quantitative proteomics was employed to profile PBM proteome and to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between OF (N=27) vs. non-fractured (NF, N=24) subjects and between low BMD (N=12) vs. high BMD (N=12) subjects in women. Western blotting (WB) was conducted to validate differential expression, and ELISA to evaluate translational value for secretory protein of interest. RESULTS: We discovered 59 DEPs with fold change (FC)>1.3 (P<1×10-5), and validated the significant up-regulation of pyruvate kinase isozyme 2 (PKM2) with osteoporosis (P<0.001). PKM2 protein upregulation with OF was replicated with PBM in men (P=0.04). Plasma PKM2 protein level was significantly elevated with OF in an independent sample (N=100, FC=1.68, P=0.01). Pursuant functional assays showed that extracellular PKM2 protein supplement not only promoted monocyte trans-endothelial migration, growth, and osteoclast differentiation (marker gene expression), but also inhibited osteoblast growth, differentiation (ALP gene expression), and activity. CONCLUSION: The above findings suggest that PKM2 protein is a novel osteoporosis-associated functional protein in Chinese Han elderly population. It may serve as a risk biomarker and drug target for osteoporosis.

Nomogram based on clinical and preoperative CT features for predicting the early recurrence of combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma: a multicenter study.

PURPOSE: To establish and validate a multiparameter prediction model for early recurrence after radical resection in patients diagnosed with combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study reviewed the clinical characteristics and preoperative CT images of 143 cHCC-CC patients who underwent radical resection from three institutions. A total of 110 patients from institution 1 were randomly divided into training set (n = 78) and testing set (n = 32) in the ratio of 7-3. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to construct a nomogram prediction model in the training set, which was internally and externally validated in the testing set and the validation set (n = 33) from institutions 2 and 3. The area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration analysis were used to evaluate the model's performance. RESULTS: The combined model demonstrated superior predictive performance compared to the clinical model, the CT model, the pathological model and the clinic-CT model in predicting the early postoperative recurrence. The nomogram based on the combined model included AST, ALP, tumor size, tumor margin, arterial phase peritumoral enhancement, and MVI (Microvascular invasion). The model had AUCs of 0.89 (95% CI 0.81-0.96), 0.85 (95% CI 0.70-0.99), and 0.86 (95% CI 0.72-1.00) in the training, testing, and validation sets, respectively, indicating high predictive power. DCA showed that the combined model had good clinical value and correction effect. CONCLUSION: A nomogram incorporating clinical characteristics and preoperative CT features can be utilized to effectively predict the early postoperative recurrence in patients with cHCC-CC.

The importance of fecal nucleic acid detection in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Pooled data from 2352 hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with viral RNA in feces across 46 studies were analyzed and the pooled prevalence of fecal RNA was 46.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.383-0.554). The pooled analysis showed that the occurrence of total gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was 28.5% (95% CI: 0.125-0.44) in COVID-19 patients with fecal RNA, that of both respiratory and GI symptoms was 21.9% (95% CI: 0.09-0.346), that of only GI symptoms was 19.8% (95% CI: 0.107-0.288), and that of only respiratory symptoms was 50.5%（95% CI: 0.267-0.744). The pooled data showed no significant difference in positive fecal RNA between severe and nonsevere cases (odds ratio = 2.009, p = 0.079, 95% CI: 0.922-4.378). During hospital admission, after samples from the respiratory system tested negative for viral RNA, 55.4% (95% CI: 0.418-0.669) of the patients with positive fecal RNA had persistent shedding of fecal RNA and pooled results from the other 4 studies including 848 discharged patients with nucleic acid-negative stool samples indicated that the occurrence of repositive stool swabs was 18.1% (95% CI: 0.028-0.335), that of repositive respiratory swabs was 22.8% (95% CI: 0.003-0.452), that of both repositive stool and respiratory swabs was 19.1% (95% CI: 0.019-0.363), and that of only repositive stool swabs was 9.6% (95% CI: 0.010-0.203). The digestive tract may be an important organ involved in COVID-19 infection and in the excretion of the virus. Because of the potential risk of fecal-oral transmission, giving emphasis on stool swab tests can help increase the detection rate of asymptomatic carriers and reduce missed diagnoses.

Characteristics of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus in pregnancy and its association with pregnancy outcomes: a retrospective comparative cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Disease situations are more aggressive in patients with childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) than in those with adult-onset SLE (aSLE). However, information on pregnant women with cSLE and its association with pregnancy outcomes is limited. This study aimed to compare pregnancies in patients with cSLE vs. aSLE, and further analyse the characteristics of cSLE in pregnant women and explore its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. METHODS: Altogether, data of 167 pregnancies from 150 women, including 22 pregnancies with cSLE and 145 pregnancies with aSLE, were retrospectively analysed. Characteristics and disease activity were compared between the cSLE and aSLE groups during pregnancy. Associations between cSLE and the risk of active SLE (SLEPDAI > 4), active lupus nephritis (LN), and adverse pregnancy outcomes were analysed using logistic regression. RESULTS: The cSLE group had a higher incidence of active SLE (12/22 vs. 30/145, P = 0.001) and active LN (11/22 vs. 26/145, P = 0.001) than the aSLE group. In the multivariable analysis, cSLE was a risk factor for active SLE and active LN during pregnancy, with ORs of 4.742 (95%CI 1.678-13.405, P = 0.003) and 4.652 (95%CI 1.630-13.279, P = 0.004), respectively. No significant association between cSLE and the risk of composite adverse gestational outcomes was identified after sequentially adjusting pre-pregnancy characteristics and pregnancy factors (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Disease activity of women with cSLE in pregnancy was more aggressive than that of women with aSLE, which was similar to the characteristics of non-pregnant women with SLE. cSLE might have indirect effects on the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes through LN and active disease. Therefore, closely monitoring patients with cSLE during pregnancy is crucial.

Effects of 5-aminosalicylates or thiopurines on the progression of low-grade dysplasia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Although 5-aminosalicylates and thiopurines may have an antineoplastic effect on colorectal neoplasia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), their impact on the progression of low-grade dysplasia (LGD) in IBD is uncertain. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate whether 5-aminosalicylates or thiopurines can protect against the progression of LGD in patients with IBD. METHODS: Systematic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library databases, and major conference proceedings were conducted to identify all eligible studies through March 2020. Data were pooled using a random effects model. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: Five studies comprising 776 IBD patients with LGD were included. Overall, 5-aminosalicylates (Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55-1.51) and thiopurines (HR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.23-1.79) did not significantly reduce the risk of advanced colorectal neoplasia (high-grade dysplasia/cancer) in IBD patients with LGD. Moreover, the effects of 5-aminosalicylates or thiopurines on risk of advanced colorectal neoplasia in IBD patients with LGD were not significant by different primary sclerosing cholangitis status, study quality, sample size, and IBD type. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we did not find a significant protective effect of 5-aminosalicylates or thiopurines on the progression of LGD in patients with IBD.

Immunohistochemical basigin expression level in thyroid cancer tissues.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine malignancy; basigin (also known as BSG) plays a crucial role in tumor cell invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. This study was designed to identify the change of BSG expression in TC and its possible potential mechanism. METHODS: The BSG expression levels in TC were demonstrated using data collected from in-house immunohistochemical (IHC), RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), microarrays, and literatures. Integrated analysis was performed to determined BSG expression levels in TC comprehensively. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed with the integration of BSG co-expressed genes and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in TC tissues to explore the potential mechanisms of BSG in TC. RESULTS: The protein expression level of BSG was significantly higher in TC cases based on the IHC experiments. In addition, the combined SMD for BSG expression was 0.39 (p < 0.0001), the diagnostic odds ratio was 3.69, and the AUC of the sROC curve was 0.6986 using 1182 TC cases and 437 non-cancerous cases from 17 independent datasets. Furthermore, BSG co-expressed genes tended to be enriched in gene terms of the extracellular matrix (ECM), cell adhesion, and cell-cell interactions. The expression levels of nine hub BSG co-expressed genes were markedly upregulated in TC cases. CONCLUSION: BSG expression levels were closely correlated with the progression of TC and may affect the signals of the ECM, cell adhesion, and cell-cell interactions.

Theoretical insight into the mechanism of photoreduction of CO2 to CO by graphitic carbon nitride.

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a promising photocatalyst for the reduction of CO2 into fuels. However, the reduction mechanism of CO2 using g-C3N4 is not clear in the literature. In the present study, the fixation of CO2 and the formation of carbamate on the nitrogen atom at the edge of g-C3N4 were investigated using first-principles density functional theory. The calculated results shows that two adjacent bare nitrogen atoms at the edge of g-C3N4 could be the activation sites for the proton and CO2 molecule respectively, which are crucial to the formation of carbamate. The calculated energy barrier of carbamate formation is 0.95 eV for a preferential pathway. From studies on these micro processes, we propose a mechanism with proton assistance for the g-C3N4-catalyzed photoreduction of CO2 to CO.

Acute and Subacute toxicity study of Olaquindox by feeding to common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.).

Olaquindox, is a growth-promoting feed additive for food-producing animals. As the banned medicinal feed additive, olaquindox in animal feed and water must be concerned as an important hazard index. To improve studies of the toxicity of olaquindox, we provide a toxicological effects of olaquindox on a common freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio L. The results of acute toxicity tests showed that the 7d-LD50 of olaquindox administered by feeding for common carp was determined to be 3746.3 mg/kg. We also found that the accumulation coefficient of olaquindox in carp was 1.45-1.9. Based on the studied hematological and blood biochemical parameters (RBCs count, hemoglobin content, ALT, AST and SOD activity), we found that olaquindox induced significant alterations in all studied parameters. Regarding bioaccumulation, the results showed that olaquindox had more efficiency to internalize fish tissues (liver, kidneys and muscle). The histopathological investigation of tissues from poisoning fish revealed various alterations that varied between adaptation responses and permanent tissue damage. Our results indicate that olaquindox are toxic to common carp and have obvious accumulation, and all the data from acute and subacute toxicity experiments in common carp may provide a useful tool for assessing the toxicity of olaquindox to aquatic organisms.

[Effect of vitamin D deficiency on cardiac autonomic nerve function in obese pre-school children].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of vitamin D (VitD) deficiency on cardiac autonomic nerve function in obese pre-school children. METHODS: A total of 242 pre-school children with simple obesity were enrolled, and according to the serum 25-(OH) VitD level, they were divided into VitD deficiency group (76 children), VitD insufficiency group (83 children), and VitD sufficiency group (83 children). The three groups were compared in terms of deceleration capacity (DC) of heart rate, acceleration capacity (AC) of heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV). The correlations of VitD level with DC, AC, and HRV were analyzed for the VitD insufficiency and VitD deficiency groups. RESULTS: The VitD deficiency group had the lowest DC, root mean square of successive differences between adjacent RR intervals (RMSSD), and low-frequency power (LF) and the highest AC (P<0.05). The VitD insufficiency group had significantly lower DC, RMSSD, and LF and significantly higher AC compared with the VitD sufficiency group (P<0.05). The VitD deficiency group had significantly lower standard deviation of normal-to-normal RR intervals (SDNN) and high-frequency power (HF) than the VitD sufficiency group (P<0.05). In the VitD deficiency group, VitD level was positively correlated with DC, SDNN, standard deviation of average normal-to-normal RR intervals, RMSSD , LF, and HF and was negatively correlated with AC (P<0.05). In the VitD insufficiency group, VitD level was negatively correlated with AC (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Obese pre-school children with VitD insufficiency or deficiency have cardiac autonomic dysfunction, and cardiac vagal tone decreases with the reduction in VitD level.

Roles of ST2, IL-33 and BNP in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events in acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention.

This study investigated roles of serum ST2, IL-33 and BNP in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Blood samples were collected from the included AMI patients (n = 180) who underwent PCI. All patients were divided into the MACEs and MACEs-free groups. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP. Severity of coronary artery lesion was evaluated by Gensini score. Pearson correlation analysis was used. A receiver operating characteristics curve was drawn to evaluate the potential roles of ST2, IL-33 and BNP in predicting MACEs, and Kaplan-Meier curve to analyse the 1-year overall survival rate. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyse the independent risk factors for MACEs. Compared with the MACEs-free group, the serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP were significantly higher in the MACEs group. Serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP were positively correlated with each other and positively correlated with Gensini score. The area under curves of ST2, IL-33 and BNP, respectively, were 0.872, 0.675 and 0.902. The relative sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 76.27% and 85.92%, 69.49% and 58.68%, as well as, 96.61% and 77.69%. Serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP were independent risk factors for MACEs. The 1-year overall survival rate was higher in AMI patients with lower serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP. In conclusion, serum levels of ST2, IL-33 and BNP have potential value in predicting MACEs in AMI patients undergoing PCI.

OVOL2, an Inhibitor of WNT Signaling, Reduces Invasive Activities of Human and Mouse Cancer Cells and Is Down-regulated in Human Colorectal Tumors.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Activation of WNT signaling promotes the invasive activities of several types of cancer cells, but it is not clear if it regulates the same processes in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, or what mechanisms are involved. We studied the expression and function of OVOL2, a member of the Ovo family of conserved zinc-finger transcription factors regulated by the WNT signaling pathway, in intestinal tumors of mice and human beings. METHODS: We analyzed the expression of OVOL2 protein and messenger RNA in CRC cell lines and tissue arrays, as well as CRC samples from patients who underwent surgery at Xiamen University in China from 2009 to 2012; clinical information also was collected. CRC cell lines (SW620) were infected with lentivirus expressing OVOL2, analyzed in migration and invasion assays, and injected into nude mice to assess tumor growth and metastasis. Tandem affinity purification was used to purify the OVOL2-containing complex from CRC cells; the complex was analyzed by liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry, and immunoprecipitation experiments. Gene promoter activities were measured in luciferase reporter assays. We analyzed mice with an intestine-specific disruption of Ovol2 (Ovol2(flox/+) transgenic mice), as well as Apc(min/+) mice; these mice were crossed and analyzed. RESULTS: Analysis of data from patients indicated that the levels of OVOL2 messenger RNA were significantly lower in colon carcinomas than adenomas, and decreased significantly as carcinomas progressed from grades 2 to 4. Immunohistochemical analysis of a tissue array of 275 CRC samples showed a negative association between tumor stage and OVOL2 level. Overexpression of OVOL2 in SW620 cells decreased their migration and invasion, reduced markers of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and suppressed their metastasis as xenograft tumors in nude mice; knockdown of OVOL2 caused LS174T cells to transition from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotypes. OVOL2 bound T-cell factor (TCF)4 and ß-catenin, facilitating recruitment of histone deacetylase 1 to the TCF4-ß-catenin complex; this inhibited expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-related genes regulated by WNT, such as SLUG, in CRC cell lines. OVOL2 was a downstream target of WNT signaling in LS174T and SW480 cells. The OVOL2 promoter was hypermethylated in late-stage CRC specimens from patients and in SW620 cells; hypermethylation resulted in OVOL2 down-regulation and an inability to inhibit WNT signaling. Disruption of Ovol2 in Apc(min/+) mice increased WNT activity in intestinal tissues and the formation of invasive intestinal tumors. CONCLUSIONS: OVOL2 is a colorectal tumor suppressor that blocks WNT signaling by facilitating the recruitment of histone deacetylase 1 to the TCF4-ß-catenin complex. Strategies to increase levels of OVOL2 might be developed to reduce colorectal tumor progression and metastasis.

Compact broadband spectrometer based on upconversion and downconversion luminescence.

In this Letter, a compact spectrometer based on upconversion and downconversion luminescence for operation in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet bands is presented. The proposed spectrometer has three components that are used for dispersion, frequency conversion, and detection. The conversion component converts the incident signal beam into a spectral window appropriate for the detection component. The detection component images the speckle pattern generated by scattering or diffraction in the random structure of the dispersion component. With the two-dimensional intensity data captured from both the speckle pattern and a calibration measurement process, one can reconstruct the spectra of the signal beam by solving a matrix equation. A smoothing simulated annealing algorithm has been implemented to improve the accuracy of the spectral reconstruction. We have analyzed possible sources of error in the algorithm and the corresponding limits of operation. The reported broadband, compact, high-resolution, luminescence-based spectrometer is well suited for portable spectroscopy applications.

Supercurrents in Unidirectional Channels Originate from Information Transfer in the Opposite Direction: A Theoretical Prediction.

It has been thought that the long chiral edge channels cannot support any supercurrent between the superconducting electrodes. We show theoretically that the supercurrent can be mediated by a nonlocal interaction that facilitates a long-distance information transfer in the direction opposite of electron flow. We compute the supercurrent for several interaction models, including that of an external circuit.

Functions of microRNA in seed development, dormancy and germination processes.

In plants, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs that play important roles in various biological processes, such as seed development, dormancy and germination. In these stages, seeds are regulated by various extrinsic environmental factors and intrinsic hormones. Different species of seeds have distinct development and dormancy characteristics. Recent investigations have identified more and more miRNAs to regulate seed morphogenesis, material metabolism and stress response capacities through hormonal signal transduction, antioxidant effects and transcription factors, etc. In this review, we summarize recent progresses on regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs, and also complex multilevel regulation of miRNAs in the process of seed development, dormancy and germination. We hope to provide insights into further research.

[Expression and Significance of PI-PLCε1 in Colon Cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To study the expression and clinical significance of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase Cε1 (PI-PLCε1) in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. METHODS: qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of PI-PLCε1in the 42 cases of colon cancer tissues and their corresponding adjacent tissues. And the effects of tumor differentiation and tumor site on the expression PI-PLCε1 of colon cancer tissues were compared. RESULTS: The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression of PI-PLCε1in colon cancer tissue significantly lower than that in the adjacent tissue ( P<0.05). The expression of PI-PLCε1gene of colon cancer tissue was not effected by tumor differentiation and tumor site ( P>0.05). The results of immuno-histochemistry showed that the positive expression rate of PI-PLCε1 protein in colon cancer tissue was significantly lower than that in the adjacent tissue ( P<0.05). The positive expression rate of PI-PLCε1 protein was not effected by tumor differentiation ( P>0.05),but the expression was different in tumor site ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Expression of PI-PLCε1 was reduced in colon tissue and barely to tumor differentiation.

[Cardiac autonomic nerve function in obese school-age children].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the deceleration capacity (DC) of heart rate, acceleration capacity (AC) of heart rate, and heat rate variability (HRV) in obese school-age children, and to observe the correlations of BMI with DC, AC, and HRV in these children. METHODS: A total of 108 obese school-age children were selected, including 75 cases of ortholiposis and 33 cases of dyslipidemia. A total of 103 healthy school-age children were selected as control group. All the subjects underwent 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography. The comparisons of DC, AC, and HRV were made between the obese and control groups, as well as between children with ortholiposis and dyslipidemia in the obese group. The correlations of BMI with DC, AC, and HRV were analyzed in the obese group. RESULTS: The obese group showed lower DC, standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of the average normal-to-normal intervals (SDANN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), low-frequency power (LF), and high-frequency power (HF) than the control group. The AC of the obese group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). In the obese group, children with dyslipidemia had significantly lower DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, LF, and HF, but significantly higher AC and BMI, as compared with those with ortholiposis (P<0.01). In the obese group, BMI was negatively correlated with DC, SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, and HF (P<0.05), but positively correlated with AC (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Obese school-age children have impaired autonomic nerve function, presenting with reduced vagal tone, which is particularly prominent in those with dyslipidemia. The more obese the children, the lower the vagal tone, which may increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases.

Genome Sequence of the Fish Pathogen Yersinia ruckeri SC09 Provides Insights into Niche Adaptation and Pathogenic Mechanism.

Yersinia ruckeri is the etiologic agent of enteric red mouth disease (ERM), a severe fish disease prevailing in worldwide aquaculture industries. Here we report for the first time the complete genome of Y. ruckeri (Yersinia ruckeri) SC09, a highly virulent strain isolated from Ictalurus punctatus with severe septicemia. SC09 possesses a single chromosome of 3,923,491 base pairs, which contains 3651 predicted protein coding sequences (CDS), 19 rRNA genes, and 79 tRNA genes. Among the CDS, we have identified a Ysa locus containing genes encoding all the components of a type III secretion system (T3SS). Comparative analysis suggest that SC09-Ysa share extensive similarity in sequence, gene content, and gene arrangement with Salmonella enterica pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) and chromosome-encoded T3SS from Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 1B. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis shown that SC09-Ysa and SPI1-T3SS belong on the same branch of the phylogenetic tree. These results suggest that SC09-Ysa and SPI1-T3SS appear to mediate biological function to adapt to specific hosts with a similar niche, and both of them are likely to facilitate the development of an intracellular niche. In addition, our analysis also indicated that a substantial part of the SC09 genome might contribute to adaption in the intestinal microenvironment, including a number of proteins associated with aerobic or anaerobic respiration, signal transduction, and various stress reactions. Genomic analysis of the bacterium offered insights into the pathogenic mechanism associated with intracellular infection and intestinal survivability, which constitutes an important first step in understanding the pathogenesis of Y. ruckeri.

[Drying Process and Model of Banqiao Codonopsis Radix Slice in Air-impingement Jet Dryer].

Objective: To determine the drying process and to built model of Banqiao Codonopsis Radix slices dried in air-impingement jet dryer. Methods: With taking the content of polysaccharides( CPPS),rehydration ratio( RR) and drying time as the evaluation indexes,the effects of drying temperature( 40,50,60 and 70 ℃),slices thickness( 1,2,3 and 4 mm) and air velocity( 8,10,12,and 14 m / s) on the content of CPPS,RR and drying time were studied. With taking the R2,χ2and RMSE as the evaluation indexes,the optimum model was screened by fitting the drying curves data with four selected models. Results: The variety of all studied factors lead to change of the content of CPPS,RR and drying time,and the influence of air-temperature was most significant. Under the test conditions,the content of CPPS,RR and drying time were range from 20. 33% ~ 28. 26%,2. 65 ~ 3. 25 and 180 ~ 510 min, respectively. Among the four selected drying models, Modified Page model was the most suitable model to fit the drying curves data with the maximum average of R2( 0. 9993),the smallest average of χ2( 0. 00022) and the smaller average RMSE( 0. 01066). Conclusion: By comparison the content of CPPS,RR and drying time, the optimal drying process of Banqiao Codonopsis Radix slices dried in the air-impingement jet dryer was air temperature of 60 ℃,slice thickness of 2 mm and air velocity of 12 m / s. Under the drying conditions of air temperature 40 ~ 70 ℃,slice thickness 1 ~ 4 mm and air velocity 8 ~ 14 m / s, Modified Page model can effectively predict the moisture change of Banqiao Codonopsis Radix slice dried in air-impingement jet dryer.

Interactions of Hepatitis B Virus Infection with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Possible Mechanisms and Clinical Impact.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major etiology of chronic liver disease worldwide. In the past decade, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has emerged as a common liver disorder in general population. Accordingly, the patient number of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) concomitant with NAFLD grows rapidly. The present article reviewed the recent studies aiming to explore the relationship between CHB and NAFLD from different aspects, including the relevant pathogenesis of CHB and NAFLD, the intracellular molecular mechanisms overlaying HBV infection and hepatic steatosis, and the observational studies with animal models and clinical cohorts for analyzing the coincidence of the two diseases. It is concluded that although numerous cross-links have been suggested between the molecular pathways in HBV infection and NAFLD pathogenesis, regarding whether HBV infection can substantially interfere with the occurrence of NAFLD or vice versa in the patients, there is still far from a conclusive agreement.