Ochratoxin A detoxification potentials of basil, chan, and chia seeds.

The most toxic of the ochratoxins is ochratoxin A (OTA), which is primarily produced by species of Aspergillus and Penicillium that can be found in maize, wheat, coffee, red wine, and various grains. OTA induces immunotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, teratogenicity, and carcinogenicity in both animals and humans. Thus, there is a need to identify mycotoxin detoxification agents that can effectively decontaminate OTA. Seeds of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), chan (Hyptis suaveolens L.), and chia (Salvia hispanica L.) are functional foods capable of eliminating harmful substances. Despite this potential, the impact of these seeds on OTA detoxification remains unclear. This study reveals that milled basil, chan, and chia seeds adsorb significant levels of OTA, with chia demonstrating the highest adsorption capacity, followed by chan and basil seeds showing the least efficiency. Furthermore, milled basil, chan, and chia seeds effectively reduced OTA residues in artificial gastric and intestinal fluids, where they achieved up to 93% OTA adsorption in the former. In addition, these milled seeds were able to remove OTAs from canned, drip, and instant coffee. This study is the first to report the OTA elimination potential of basil, chan, and chia seeds.

SNHG16 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma development via activating ECM receptor interaction pathway.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating data have suggested that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in regulating tumor cell growth. This study was designed to investigate the role of SNHG16 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: SNHG16 expression was detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The cutoff value of SNHG16 for tumor-free survival (TFS) was determined with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Small interfering RNA was used to inhibit the expression of SNHG16 in HCC cell lines. The biologic behavior of HCC cell was determined with cell viability assay and Transwell assay in vitro. The potential predictive value of SNHG16 on prognosis was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: SNHG16 expression was upregulated in tumor tissues and HCC cell lines. High expression of SNHG16 was associated with tumor recurrence and poor prognosis after surgery. Multivariate analysis revealed that SNHG16 was an independent prognostic factor for poor recurrence-free survival. Moreover, inhibition of SNHG16 in HepG2, Hep3B, and BEL-7402 cells significantly reduced cell invasiveness and proliferation. Mechanistic analyses indicated that the ECM-receptor interaction pathway was remarkably activated by SNHG16. CONCLUSIONS: SNHG16 might be a promising biomarker for predicting tumor recurrence in HCC patients after surgery and a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Associations between obesity and metabolic health with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in elderly Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with obesity. However, this association could be influenced by the coexisting metabolic abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the role of obesity and metabolic abnormalities in NAFLD among elderly Chinese. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed among elderly residents who took their annual health checkups during 2016 in Keqiao District, Shaoxing, China. RESULTS: A total of 3359 elderly adults were retrospectively included in this study. The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 28.7%. The prevalence of NAFLD were 7.14%, 27.92%, 34.80%, and 61.02% in participants with metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW), metabolically abnormal normal weight (MANW), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO), respectively. NAFLD patients in MHO group had more unfavorable metabolic profiles than those in MHNW group. Logistic regression analysis showed that sex, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose, and serum uric acid were the risk factors of NAFLD. CONCLUSIONS: Both obesity and metabolic health were significantly associated with NAFLD in elderly Chinese. Screening for obesity and other metabolic abnormalities should be routinely performed for early risk stratification of NAFLD.

Lower mean platelet volume is a risk indicator of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence following liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Lower mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of platelet activity in the setting of tumor development. This study was to assess the relationship between preoperative MPV and survival outcomes of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following liver transplantation (LT). METHODS: The demographic and clinical characteristics of 304 HCC patients following LT were retrieved from an LT database. All the patients were divided into the normal and lower MPV groups according to the median MPV. The factors were first analyzed using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, then the factors with P < 0.10 were selected for multivariate Cox regression analysis and were used to define the independent risk factors for poor prognosis. RESULTS: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year tumor free survival was 95.34%, 74.67% and 69.29% in the normal MPV group, respectively, and 95.40%, 59.97% and 42.94% in the lower MPV group, respectively (P < 0.01). No significant difference was observed in post-LT complications between the normal and lower MPV groups. Portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) [hazard ratio (HR = 2.24; 95% confidence interval: 1.46-3.43; P < 0.01) and lower MPV (HR = 1.58; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-2.36; P = 0.03) were identified as independent prognostic risk factors for recipient survival. CONCLUSION: Preoperative lower MPV is a risk indicator of HCC patients survival outcomes after LT.

Lower tacrolimus trough levels in the late period after living donor liver transplantation contribute to improvements in long-term clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have emphasized the need to reduce tacrolimus (TAC) trough levels in the early post-liver transplantation (LT) period. However, whether late-period TAC trough levels influence the long-term outcomes of liver recipients is not clear. METHODS: We enrolled 155 adult liver recipients survived more than 3 years after living donor liver transplantation because of non-malignant liver diseases. The maintenance immunosuppressive regimens were TAC monotherapy and combined therapy with mycophenolate mofetil. Patients were divided into three groups according to their late-period TAC trough levels: < 3 ng/mL group, 3-5 ng/mL group, and  >5 ng/mL group. The complications and adverse effects of TAC were analyzed. RESULTS: Each group showed similar rejection, graft loss and mortality. Patients achieved the < 5 ng/mL state in less than 4 years had fewer new-onset diabetes, hyperlipidemia, de novo malignancies, and hepatitis B virus recurrence; the complications of renal dysfunction and hypertension rates were the same among these 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings indicated that lower TAC trough levels in the late period of liver transplantation are safe, improve the long-term outcomes.

Remote ischemic perconditioning prevents liver transplantation-induced ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats: Role of ROS/RNS and eNOS.

AIM: To investigate the underlying mechanisms of the protective role of remote ischemic perconditioning (RIPerC) in rat liver transplantation. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sham, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) or RIPerC. After 3 h reperfusion, blood samples were taken for measurement of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine (Cr) and creatinine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB). The liver lobes were harvested for the following measurements: reactive oxygen species (ROS), H2O2, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and total nitric oxide (NO). These measurements were determined using an ROS/H2O2, JC1 and Total NOx Assay Kit, respectively. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting, and peroxynitrite was semi-quantified by western blotting of 3-nitrotyrosine. RESULTS: Compared with the OLT group, the grafts subjected to RIPerC showed significantly improved liver and remote organ functions (P < 0.05). ROS (P < 0.001) including H2O2 (P < 0.05) were largely elevated in the OLT group as compared with the sham group, and RIPerC (P < 0.05) reversed this trend. The collapse of ΔΨm induced by OLT ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury was significantly attenuated in the RIPerC group (P < 0.001). A marked increase of NO content and phosphoserine eNOS, both in protein and mRNA levels, was observed in liver graft of the RIPerC group as compared with the OLT group (P < 0.05). I/R-induced 3-nitrotyrosine content was significantly reduced in the RIPerC group as compared with the OLT group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the RIPerC and IPostC groups for all the results except Cr. The Cr level was lower in the RIPerC group than in the IPostC group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Liver graft protection by RIPerC is similar to or better than that of IPostC, and involves inhibition of oxidative stress and up-regulation of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO pathway.

Anti-virus prophylaxis withdrawal may be feasible in liver transplant recipients whose serum HBeAg and HBV DNA are negative.

Anti-virus prophylactic therapy may be not necessary for the prevention of hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after HBV-related liver transplantation (LT). However, studies on completely stopping the hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) and nucleos(t)ide analogs (NUC) after LT are few. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the safety of anti-virus prophylaxis withdrawal in liver recipients whose serum hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA are negative. We analyzed 190 patients undergone LT for HBV-related liver disease from 2006 to 2012 and found that 10 patients completely stopped the HBIG and NUC due to poor compliance. These patients were liver biopsied and checked monthly with serum HBV markers, HBV DNA and liver function. Among the 10 patients, 9 did not show the signs of HBV recurrence after a mean follow-up of 51.6 months (range 20-73) after withdrawal of the HBIG and NUC. The average time from LT to the withdrawal of the anti-virus drug was 23.8 (13-42) months; one patient showed hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and detectable HBV DNA after stopping anti-virus drugs and this patient was successfully treated with entecavir. Our data suggested that complete withdrawal of anti-virus prophylaxis was safe and feasible for patients whose serum HBeAg and HBV DNA were negative at the time of LT.

Assessing residual vestibular function in adults with congenital hearing loss.

This study adopted an inner ear test battery in adults with congenital hearing loss to assess residual vestibular function. Thirty patients with non-inherited non-syndromatic congenital hearing loss were assigned to two groups based on their pure tone average (PTA). Subjects in Group A (n = 10) had PTA >90 dB, and those with PTA ≤90 dB were assigned to Group B (n = 20). All patients underwent audiometry, and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP), cervical VEMP (cVEMP) and caloric tests. Percentages of abnormal PTA, and cVEMP, oVEMP, and caloric test results showed a significantly sequential decline in inner ear deficits from the cochlea to the saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals. Group A had significantly higher percentages of absent oVEMP and caloric areflexia than Group B. Via receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the cutoff value of PTA was 65 dB for discriminating between present and absent oVEMP/caloric responses, with a sensitivity of 71 % and a specificity of 88 %. In conclusion, congenitally deaf patients with PTA ≥65 dB may retain less vestibular function than those with PTA <65 dB, as evidenced by higher percentages of absent oVEMP and caloric areflexia. Hence, comprehensive assessment of the residual vestibular function in congenitally deaf patients may help predict the occurrence of vertigo in the future.

Peptic ulcers accompanied with gastrointestinal bleeding, pylorus obstruction and cholangitis secondary to choledochoduodenal fistula: A case report.

Peptic ulcers are an extremely common condition, usually occurring in the stomach and proximal duodenum. However, cases of peptic ulcers accompanied with multiple complications are extremely rare and hard to treat. The present case reinforces the requirement for the early recognition and correct treatment of peptic ulcers accompanied with multiple complications. A 67-year-old man presented with recurrent abdominal pain, fever and melena. The laboratory results showed anemia (hemoglobin 62 g/l) and hypoproteinemia (23 g/l). Abdominal imaging examinations revealed stones in the gallbladder and right liver, with air in the dilated intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile ducts. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography failed due to a deformed pylorus. The patient was finally diagnosed with peptic ulcers accompanied with gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, pylorus obstruction and cholangitis secondary to a choledochoduodenal fistula during an emergency pancreatoduodenectomy, which was performed due to a massive hemorrhage of the GI tract. The patient recovered well after the surgery.

High neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio indicates poor prognosis for acute-on-chronic liver failure after liver transplantation.

AIM: To investigate the significance of pre-transplant neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in determining the prognosis of liver transplant (LT) recipients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). METHODS: Data were collected from the liver transplantation data bank. The NLR values and other conventional inflammatory markers were evaluated for their ability to predict the prognosis of 153 patients with ACLF after LT. The NLR cut-off value was based on a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. A Kaplan-Meier curve analysis and univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to define the independent risk factors for poor outcomes. RESULTS: The optimal NLR cut-off value was 4.6. Out of 153 patients, 83 (54.2%) had an NLR ≥ 4.6. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rates were 94.3%, 92.5% and 92.5%, respectively, in the normal NLR group and 74.7%, 71.8% and 69.8%, respectively, in patients with high NLRs (P < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in infectious complications after LT between the high and normal NLR groups. There were no significant differences for other complications. In the multivariate Cox regression model, a high NLR was defined as a significant predictor of poor outcomes for LT. CONCLUSION: A high NLR is a convenient and available predictor for prognosis of LT patients and can potentially optimize the current criteria for LT in ACLF.

A modified protocol with rituximab and intravenous immunoglobulin in emergent ABO-incompatible liver transplantation for acute liver failure.

BACKGROUND: The established procedure for ABO-incompatible liver transplantation (ABO-I LT) was too complicated to be used in case of emergency. We developed a protocol consisting of rituximab and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) for ABO-I LT in patients with acute liver failure (ALF). METHODS: The data from 101 patients who had undergone liver transplantation (LT) for ALF were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: ABO-compatible liver transplantation group (ABO-C LT, n=66) and ABO-I LT group (n=35). All the patients in the ABO-I LT group received a single dose of rituximab (375 mg/m2) and IVIG (0.4 g/kg per day) at the beginning of the operation. IVIG was administered for 10 consecutive days after LT. Plasma exchange, splenectomy and graft local infusion were omitted in the protocol. Quadruple immunosuppressive therapy including basiliximab, corticosteroids, tacrolimus and mycophenolatemofetil was used to reinforce immunosuppression. RESULTS: The 3-year cumulative patient survival rates in the ABO-I LT and ABO-C LT groups were 83.1% and 86.3%, respectively (P>0.05), and the graft survival rates were 80.0% and 86.3%, respectively (P>0.05). Two patients (5.7%) suffered from antibody-mediated rejection in the ABO-I LT group. Other complications such as acute cellular rejection, biliary complication and infection displayed no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The simplified treatment consisting of rituximab and IVIG prevented antibody-mediated rejection for LT of blood-type incompatible patients. With this treatment, the patients did not need plasma exchange, splenectomy and graft local infusion. This treatment was safe and efficient for LT of the patients with ALF.

Photovoltaic electrical properties of aqueous grown ZnO antireflective nanostructure on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells.

A solution-grown subwavelength antireflection coating has been investigated for enhancing the photovoltaic efficiency of thin film solar cells. The 100-nm-height ZnO nanorods coating benefited the photocurrent of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells from 31.7 to 34.5 mA/cm2 via the decrease of surface light reflectance from 14.5% to 7.0%, contributed by the gradual refractive index profile between air and AZO window layer. The further reduction of surface reflectance to 2.3% in the case of 540-nm-height nanorods, yet, lowered the photocurrent to 29.5 mA/cm2, attributed to the decrease in transmittance. The absorption effect of hydrothermal grown ZnO nanorods was explored to optimize the antireflection function in enhancing photovoltaic performances.

Effect of short-duration sleep deprivation on the vestibulo-ocular reflex system evaluated by ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential test.

CONCLUSION: The ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) test yields the same information as the rotational test in sleep-deprived subjects as evidenced by increased vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) asymmetry. However, the duration of sleep deprivation (12 h) and testing time required for the oVEMP test are shorter than for the rotational test. OBJECTIVE: This study utilized the oVEMP test in sleep-deprived subjects to investigate the effect of short-duration sleep deprivation on the VOR system. METHODS: Twenty healthy resident physicians underwent oVEMP and cervical VEMP (cVEMP) tests twice in a randomized order; one test battery was performed after a normal sleep, and the other was performed after a night duty at the emergency service, which meant a state of 12 h sleep deprivation. RESULTS: All 20 subjects had clear oVEMPs regardless of whether testing was performed after a normal sleep or 12 h sleep deprivation condition. Significant differences were not identified between the two sleep conditions in terms of characteristic parameters, i.e. latencies and amplitude of oVEMPs. However, the mean asymmetry ratio after sleep deprivation (20 ± 13%) was significantly larger than that after normal sleep (8 ± 12%). Conversely, the cVEMP parameters did not differ significantly between the two sleep conditions.

Role of overexpression of MACC1 and/or FAK in predicting prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) acts as a promoter of tumor metastasis; however, the predictive value of MACC1 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT) remains unclear. METHODS: We examined the expression of MACC1 and its target genes MET and FAK by quantitative PCR in 160 patients with HCC that was undergone LT. RESULTS: The patients with MACC1(high) or FAK(high) in HCCs showed a significantly shorter overall survival and higher cumulative recurrence rates after liver transplantation (LT), compared with MACC1(low) or FAK(low) group. Multivariate analysis indicated that MACC1 alone or combination of MACC1/FAK was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and cumulative recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: MACC1 or combination of MACC1/FAK could serve as a novel biomarker in predicting the prognosis of HCC after LT.