Global burden of acute viral hepatitis and its association with socioeconomic development status, 1990-2019.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) represents an important global health problem; however, the progress in understanding AVH is limited because of the priority of combating persistent HBV and HCV infections. Therefore, an improved understanding of the burden of AVH is required to help design strategies for global intervention. METHODS: Data on 4 major AVH types, including acute hepatitis A, B, C, and E, excluding D, were collected by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 database. Age-standardized incidence rates and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates for AVH were extracted from GBD 2019 and stratified by sex, level of socio-demographic index (SDI), country, and territory. The association between the burden of AVH and socioeconomic development status, as represented by the SDI, was described. RESULTS: In 2019, there was an age-standardized incidence rate of 3,615.9 (95% CI 3,360.5-3,888.3) and an age-standardized DALY rate of 58.0 (47.3-70.0) per 100,000 person-years for the 4 major types of AVH. Among the major AVH types, acute hepatitis A caused the heaviest burden. There was a significant downward trend in age-standardized DALY rates caused by major incidences of AVH between 1990 and 2019. In 2019, regions or countries located in West and East Africa exhibited the highest age-standardized incidence rates of the 4 major AVH types. These rates were stratified by SDI: high SDI and high-middle SDI locations recorded the lowest incidence and DALY rates of AVH, whereas the low-middle SDI and low SDI locations showed the highest burden of AVH. CONCLUSIONS: The socioeconomic development status and burden of AVH are associated. Therefore, the GBD 2019 data should be used by policymakers to guide cost-effective interventions for AVH. LAY SUMMARY: We identified a negative association between socioeconomic development status and the burden of acute viral hepatitis. The lowest burden of acute viral hepatitis was noted for rich countries, whereas the highest burden of acute viral hepatitis was noted for poor countries.

Liver Chemistries in Patients With COVID-19 Who Were Discharged Alive or Died: A Meta-analysis.

Although abnormal liver chemistries are linked to a higher risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related death, liver manifestations may be diverse and even confusing. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of published liver manifestations and described the liver damage in patients with COVID-19 who died or discharged alive. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, medRxiv, bioRxiv, the Cochrane Library, Embase, and three Chinese electronic databases through April 22, 2020. We analyzed pooled data on liver chemistries stratified by the main clinical outcome of COVID-19, using a fixed or random-effects model. In our meta-analysis of 19 studies, which included a total of 4,103 patients, the pooled mean alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels were, respectively, 31.7 IU/L and 51.0 IU/L in the patients with COVID-19 who died and 27.7 IU/L and 32.9 IU/L in those discharged alive (both P < 0.0001). Compared with the patients discharged alive, those who died tended to have lower albumin levels but longer prothrombin time and higher international normalized ratio. Conclusion: In this meta-analysis, according to the main clinical outcome of COVID-19, we comprehensively describe three patterns of liver impairment related to COVID-19: hepatocellular injury, cholestasis, and hepatocellular disfunction. The patients who died from COVID-19 tended to have different liver chemistries from those discharged alive. Special caution should be given to the patients with a relatively higher index of liver chemistries.

[Fluorescence research on reaction mechanism of nucleic acid with small organic molecules].

The interaction mechanism of nucleic acid with small organic molecules plays an important role in the recognition of the structure and function of nucleic acids, which can also reveal the biological function of nucleic acids and the mechanism of some drugs. Research on the interaction between nucleic acid and small organic molecules plays an important part in simulating the life process and exploring the essence of life. In the present article, detailed description of the fluorescence spectroscopy research methods used in this field is presented. The fluorescence quenching types of the interaction between nucleic acid and small organic molecules (including dyes and drugs) are discussed. There are many factors influencing the fluorescence quenching type, including the temperature, the rate constant of bimolecular quenching process, the fluorescence lifetime, changes of the absorption spectra and so on. So according to different affecting factors, the fluorescence quenching type can be determined based on corresponding theories. Many different kinds of calculation methods are also summarized, including the calculations of the binding constant, the distance between fluorescence donor and receptor, the interaction force type and the binding mode of nucleic acid with small organic molecules. Furthermore, the formation constant of nucleic acid with small organic molecules is studied with different binding numbers. These conclusions have guiding significance for studying the interaction between nucleic acid and small organic molecules. These results can also provide guidance for the development of new nucleic acid probe, and the design of new drug molecules, of which nucleic acid is the important target.

[Studies and application of flow injection chemiluminescence in analytical chemistry].

At present, flow-injection chemiluminescence is of high sensitivity, fast analysis, low cost, wide linear response range, and simplified operation for trace analysis, and makes a feature of fast development and wide application. As a trace analysis method, it is infiltrated in diverse areas. The principle and characteristics of flow-injection chemiluminescence were expounded, and the chemiluminescence systems were introduced in detail in the present article. The research developments, which were mainly about drug analysis, environment monitoring and life sciences examination, were summarized, at home and abroad. The application situations of the method were briefed from aspects of determination of sample, the reaction medium, chemiluminescence systems, the linearity range, and the detection limit. Finally, the author proposed suggestions in view of this method to address the ongoing problems, and prospected broad application of flowing injection chemiluminescence in drug analysis, immunoassay, mineralogical analysis, environment monitoring, clinical medicine and life sciences.

Lateral ventricle injection of orexin-A ameliorates central precocious puberty in rat via inhibiting the expression of MEG3.

BACKGROUND: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is characterized as increasing gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) release. Orexin-A has also been shown to affect GnRH release. However, there are few reports about the effect of orexin A on the treatment of CPP. METHODS: After establishing the precocious puberty model, the rats were divided into four groups: normal control, precocious puberty rats, precocious puberty rats treated with normal saline and precocious puberty rats treated with orexin-A. The vaginal opening time, second estrus cycle, ovarian index and uterus index of rats in each group were detected. qRT-PCR was performed to examine the expression of MEG3 and kisspeptin in rats. HT22 cells were transfected with pcDNA-MEG3 to detect the expression of Kisspeptin. RESULTS: In this study, we found that orexin-A not only delayed the day of vaginal opening and regular estrus cycle days but also decreased the ovarian index and uterus index in rats with CPP. In addition, orexin-A reversed the up-regulation of MEG3 and kisspeptin in rats with CPP. In HT22 cells, the mRNA and protein level of kisspeptin were enhanced by pcDNA-MEG3. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that orexin-A ameliorates central precocious puberty in rat and MEG3 might be involved in this effect, suggesting that MEG3 might be a novel target in treating central precocious puberty.

Bisphenol A exposure induces apoptosis and upregulation of Fas/FasL and caspase-3 expression in the testes of mice.

There are controversies about adverse effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous xenoestrogen, on reproduction and development of male animals. To understand BPA action and assess its risk more completely, we examined the impact of BPA at high doses on the testes of pubertal male Kunming (China) mice. BPA at 0 (control), 160, 480, and 960 mg/kg/day was given by gavage to mice from postnatal days (PND) 31-44, followed by observation of morphology and detection of apoptosis and expressions of Fas/FasL and active caspase-3 on PND 45, 60, and 90 by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. There was no effect of BPA at 160 mg/kg/day, however, at 480 and 960 mg/kg/day there was underdevelopment of testes and disruption of spermatogenesis. There were many apoptotic Leydig and germ cells in the testes with apoptotic indices being significantly increased compared with controls. The expression of Fas and active caspase-3 was localized in the same cell types as apoptosis occurred, and expression levels of Fas, FasL, and active caspase-3 were significantly increased compared with controls. The disturbed spermatogenesis, apoptosis and upregulation of Fas, FasL, and active caspase-3 expression persisted to PND 90. The results suggest that high-dose BPA induces apoptosis of Leydig and germ cells in the mouse testis through the Fas-signaling pathway. Therefore, there is concern about reproductive health for humans occupationally exposed to high levels of BPA.