Neuropsychiatric sequelae after liver transplantation and their possible mechanism via the microbiota-gut-liver-brain axis.

Patients after liver transplantation are often impacted by mental and even neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, sleep disorders, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychiatric sequelae have an adverse impact on rehabilitation and can even incapacitate people, reducing their quality of life. Despite screening tools and effective treatments, neuropsychiatric sequelae after liver transplantation (NSALT) have not been fully diagnosed and treated. Current research suggests that NSALT may be partly related to intestinal microbial variation, but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. In this review, we describe the clinical and diagnostic features, prevalence, prediction, clinical course and outcome, management, and treatment of NSALT; we also summarize their mechanisms through the microbiota-gut-liver-brain axis. Finally, we propose to improve NSALT on the basis of adjusting the gastrointestinal flora, immune inflammation or vagus nerve (VN), providing a novel strategy for clinical prevention and treatment.

Public health insurance and enrollees' diet structure in rural China.

This study examines the consumption-stimulation function of public health insurance (PHI) programs from the perspective of food consumption. We estimate the impact of enrollment in rural China's PHI program, the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), on the insured's diet diversity and diet balance using panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Exploiting temporal and spatial variations in the program's local implementation, our difference-in-differences estimation (combined with propensity score matching in some analyses) reveals significant increases in the insured's diet diversity, overall diet balance, and nutrition intakes. However, the program's consumption-stimulation function is not entirely beneficial. While NCMS enrollment reduced the incidence of under-consumption of animal products and fruits, it raised that of over-consumption of grains, imposing potential health risks on the insured.

The Economic Burden of Alzheimer's Disease in Zhejiang Province.

BACKGROUND: The World Alzheimer Report has described and predicted the economic burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in detail for four consecutive years. There was a large-scale national survey in China launched by Professor Jianping Jia in 2015, but it did not adequately represent the average economic burden of AD patients in Zhejiang Province. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the economic burden and main factors influencing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Zhejiang Province. METHODS: We recruited 830 patients from 10 cities in Zhejiang Province, evaluated their per capita and total cost related to AD treatment and care in 2017, and analyzed the main factors affecting economic burden from the perspective of demographic characteristics and disease severity. RESULTS: In 2017, per capita cost of AD was 114,343.7 yuan, while the total cost was 27.53 billion yuan, accounting for 0.77% of Zhejiang Province's GDP (5176.8 billion yuan). Total cost, direct medical cost, and indirect cost have different correlations with age, education level, type of work, marital status, comorbidity, and disease severity. CONCLUSION: The economic burden of AD in Zhejiang Province is heavy, similar to the national burden, and interventions based on demographic characteristics and disease severity can help reduce it.

Simultaneously enhancing the crystallization rate and fire retardancy of poly(lactic acid) by using a novel bifunctional additive trimethylamine phenylphosphonate.

Simultaneously regulating the crystallizing and combustion behaviors of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) will be conducive to its further development in the fields of electronic appliances, automotive and rail transit materials. To achieve this goal, a novel bifunctional additive triethylamine phenylphosphonate (TEAP) was synthesized through acid-base neutralization reaction between trimethylamine and phenylphosphonic acid. When TEAP was added into PLA, the crystallization behaviors of PLA/TEAP assessed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM) suggested that TEAP acted as a nucleating agent and plasticizer for PLA, which effectively increased the crystallization rate of PLA. However, PLA with 3 wt% TEAP showed a slower crystallization rate than that of PLA with 1 wt% TEAP due to the filler aggregation of TEAP. Thus, the crystallization rate increased first and then slightly decreased with increasing content of TEAP. Compared with the variation of the crystallization rate, the long period (L) and amorphous layer thickness (L a) resulting from SAXS showed opposite trends, while the average crystal thickness (L c) changed slightly; the reason may relate to the variation of the number of lamellae with increasing the content of TEAP. Meanwhile, the results of WAXD and Raman spectra showed the crystal structure of PLA was not affected by the addition of TEAP. The combustion behaviors of PLA and PLA/TEAP were evaluated by the limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL-94 test, cone calorimetry test (CCT) and thermal gravimetric analyses coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR). According to the results, TEAP mainly promotes the removal of melt dripping, hence brings away heat and delays the combustion. Besides, the production of phosphorus-containing free radicals can quench hydrogen or oxygen free radicals in the fire. Thus, the fire safety of PLA is significantly improved by adding a very low content of TEAP (1-3 wt%). Only 1 wt% loading of TEAP can increase the LOI value of PLA from 19.5 vol% to 28.6 vol%, pass the UL-94 V-0 rating and have a low peak heat release rate of 404 kW m-2.

[Reappraisals of mental disabilities due to traffic accidents: a retrospective analysis of 51 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the causes for changes of opinions in reappraisals of mental disabilities due to traffic accidents. METHODS: Fifty-one reappraisals of mental disorders due to traffic accidents from October 2009 to October 2011 in the Institute of Forensic Science, Shaoxing Seventh People's Hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In the reappraisals, the opinions about disability grade changed in 30 cases (58.82%), including 8 cases increased and 22 cases decreased. According to the causes of changing the opinions, there were 8, 10 and 2 cases related to different understandings of appraisers in the severities of mental disorders, subjective judgements and certain psychiatric symptoms, respectively. Also, there were 10 cases related to different appraisal time. CONCLUSION: Appraisals of mental disabilities should grasp the appraisal time, decrease the changes of opinions due to the differences of appraisers and correctly understand the orders of rules and clauses.

[Study on efficacy of zaoren anshen capsules in treating senile insomnia and changes in its hemorheology].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Zaoren Anshen capsules in treating senile insomnia and changes in its hemorheology. METHOD: A total of 120 patients with senile insomnia were randomly divided into the Zaoren Anshen capsules group (five capsules, n = 60) and the Alprazolam group (0.8 mg, n = 60) for treatment and control observation. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used for evaluating clinical efficacy in the first and fourth week before and after treatment. RESULT: The Zaoren Anshen capsules group had lower higher scores in PSQI (5.91 +/- 1.37) than that before treatment (13.49 +/- 3.87), with great statistical significant in difference (P < 0.01). The alprazolam group had lower higher scores in PSQI than that before treatment, with great statistical significant in difference (P < 0.01). apart from higher PSQI scores in the Zaoren Anshen capsules group than that of the Alprazolam group after treatment for one week (P < 0.05), the comparison between the Zaoren Anshen capsules group and the alprazolam group before and after treatment for four weeks showed no statistical significance. As for hemorheological parameters, the difference in the whole blood viscosity (including high-shear, middle-shear and low-shear) of patients in the Zaoren Anshen capsules showed great statistical significance before and after treatment (P < 0.01), and so did the plasma viscosity (P < 0.05). Zaoren Anshen capsules showed less adverse reactions than alprazolam. CONCLUSION: Zaoren Anshen capsules have similar effect in treating senile insomnia with alprazolam, with less adverse reactions. They are so suitable for patients with senile insomnia that they can improve hemorheological indicators of patients with senile insomnia and have good effect in promoting circulation and removing stasis.

Is the demand for alcoholic beverages in developing countries sensitive to price? Evidence from China.

Economic literature in developed countries suggests that demand for alcoholic beverages is sensitive to price, with an estimated price elasticity ranging from -0.38 for beer and -0.7 for liquor. However, few studies have been conducted in developing countries. We employ a large individual-level dataset in China to estimate the effects of price on alcohol demand. Using the data from China Health and Nutrition Survey for the years 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2006, we estimate two-part models of alcohol demand. Results show the price elasticity is virtually zero for beer and only -0.12 for liquor, which is far smaller than those derived from developed countries. Separate regressions by gender reveals the results are mainly driven by men. The central implication of this study is, while alcohol tax increases can raise government revenue, it alone is not an effective policy to reduce alcohol related problems in China.

γ-Oxygenation of α,ß-unsaturated esters by vinylogous O-nitroso Mukaiyama aldol reaction.

A practical procedure has been developed for γ-oxygenation of α,ß-unsaturated esters by a vinylogous O-nitroso Mukaiyama aldol reaction followed by a one-pot N-O bond heterolysis of the in situ generated γ-aminoxy-α,ß-unsaturated esters.

Diastereoselective synthesis of syn-1,3-diols by titanium-mediated reductive coupling of propargylic alcohols.

A titanium-mediated, hydroxy-directed reductive coupling reaction of propargylic alcohols and aldehydes/ketones is described. Excellent diastereoselectivity and synthetically useful yields have been obtained for a range of substrates. This transformation has enabled a highly convergent three-component approach to syn-1,3-diols using (trimethylsilyl)acetylene as a C1 linchpin.

Stereoselective synthesis of bioactive isosteviol derivatives as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors.

Considerable interest has been attracted in isosteviol and its derivatives because of their large variety of pharmacological activities. In this project, a series of novel compounds containing hydroxyl, hydroxymethyl group and heteroatom-containing frameworks fused with isosteviol structure were synthesized and evaluated as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, aimed at clarifying the structure-activity correlation. The results indicated that these isosteviol derivatives were capable of inhibiting in vitro alpha-glucosidase with moderate to good activities. Among them, indole derivative 15b exhibited the highest activities and thus may be exploitable as a lead compound for the development of potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitors.

Palladium(II)-catalyzed ring enlargement of 2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols: strong effect of substituent electronic nature on the reaction pathway.

In the presence of Pd(II) catalyst and copper(II) bromide, 2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols undergo ring enlargement to deliver (arylcyclobutenyl)carbinols or hydrogenated furans in good yields under mild conditions; mechanisms accounting for the distinct products have been proposed on the basis of control and deuterium labeling experiments.

Thermal rearrangement of {[2-(Arylmethylene)cyclopropyl]methyl}(phenyl)sulfanes and selanes.

{[2-(Arylmethylene)cyclopropyl]methyl}(phenyl)sulfanes and {[2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropyl]methyl}(phenyl)selanes, generated in situ from 2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols with sodium benzenethiolate and sodium benzeneselenolate, could undergo rearrangement upon heating to afford (2-arylmethylidenebut-3-enyl)(phenyl)sulfanes and (2-arylmethylidenebut-3-enyl)(phenyl)selanes, in good to excellent yields as mixtures of E- and Z-isomers, respectively. A radical rearrangement was proposed on the basis of control experiments for this process.

Gold(I)-catalyzed three-component additions of 2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols, terminal arynes, and alcohols: an efficient access to 3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes.

Catalyzed by gold(I), (E)- and (Z)-2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols, terminal arynes, and alcohols underwent three-component addition reactions to produce 3-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes in high yields and moderate diastereoselectivities under mild conditions. A plausible mechanism based on an intermolecular tandem hydroalkoxylation/Prins-type reaction pathway has been proposed.

Brønsted acid-mediated stereoselective cascade construction of functionalized tetrahydropyrans from 2-(arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols and aldehydes.

(E)- and (Z)-2-(Arylmethylene)cyclopropylcarbinols 1 could be converted to the corresponding tetrahydropyrans 2 and 3 stereoselectively in the presence of Brønsted acids MsOH or TsOH under mild conditions. A plausible Prins-type reaction mechanism has been proposed.