Research on the application of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria in membrane bioreactor (MBR).

Inoculating heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification bacteria (HN-AD) to enhance membrane bioreactor (MBR) efficiency may result in the loss of functional bacteria. Therefore, this study compares the application results of enhancing MBR with a self-designed biological amplifier coupled with HN-AD against the performance of conventional MBR. After enhancement, the MBR achieved a removal efficiency of 96.7% for NH4+-N (100 mg/L) and 96.4% for COD (400 mg/L) in synthetic wastewater. There was a 33% increase in TN (100 mg/L) removal efficiency. The dominant bacteria in the MBR were Alcaligenes (48.4%) and Thauera (15.2%). Additionally, the abundance of denitrification genes (nirK, norB, nosZ) increased in the enhanced MBR, contributing to improved TN removal efficiency. The use of a biological amplifier effectively solved the problem of HN-AD loss in sewage treatment.

lncRNA ANRIL accelerates wound healing in diabetic foot ulcers via modulating HIF1A/VEGFA signaling through interacting with FUS.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a frequently diagnosed complication of diabetes, and remains a heathcare burden worldwide. However, the pathogenesis of DFU is still largely unclear. The objective of this study is to delineate the function and underlying mechanism of lncRNA antisense non coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) in endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and DFU mice. METHODS: The DFU mouse model was established, and EPCs were subjected to high glucose (HG) treatment to mimic diabetes. qRT-PCR or western blot was employed to detected the expression of ANRIL, HIF1A, FUS and VEGFA. CCK-8 and Annexin V/PI staining were used to monitor cell proliferation and apoptosis. Wound healing, Transwell invasion and tube formation assays were conducted to assess cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis, respectively. The association between ANRIL and FUS was verified by RNA pull-down and RIP assays. Luciferase and ChIP assays were employed to investigate HIF1A-mediated transcriptional regulation of VEGFA and ANRIL. The histological alterations of DFU wound healing were observed by H&E and Masson staining. RESULTS: ANRIL was downregulated in peripheral blood samples of DFU patients, DFU mice and HG-treated EPCs. Mechanistically, ANRIL regulated HIFA mRNA stability via recruiting FUS. VEGFA and ANRIL were transcriptionally regulated by HIF1A. Functional experiments revealed that HG suppressed EPC proliferation, migration, invasion and tube formation, but promoted apoptosis via ANRIL/HIF1A axis. ANRIL accelerated DFU wound healing via modulating HIF1A expression in vivo. CONCLUSION: ANRIL accelerated wound healing in DFU via modulating HIF1A/VEGFA signaling in a FUS-dependent manner.

A novel Anti-ROS osteoblast-specific delivery system for ankylosing spondylitis treatment via suppression of both inflammation and pathological new bone formation.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common rheumatic disorder distinguished by chronic inflammation and heterotopic ossification at local entheses sites. Currently available medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and TNF inhibitors, are limited by side effects, high costs and unclear inhibitory effects on heterotopic ossification. Herein, we developed manganese ferrite nanoparticles modified by the aptamer CH6 (CH6-MF NPs) that can efficiently scavenge ROS and actively deliver siRNA into hMSCs and osteoblasts in vivo for effective AS treatment. CH6-MF NPs loaded with BMP2 siRNA (CH6-MF-Si NPs) effectively suppressed abnormal osteogenic differentiation under inflammatory conditions in vitro. During their circulation and passive accumulation in inflamed joints in the Zap70mut mouse model, CH6-MF-Si NPs attenuated local inflammation and rescued heterotopic ossification in the entheses. Thus, CH6-MF NPs may be an effective inflammation reliever and osteoblast-specific delivery system, and CH6-MF-Si NPs have potential for the dual treatment of chronic inflammation and heterotopic ossification in AS.

Heme Oxygenase-1 Is Involved in the Repair of Oxidative Damage Induced by Oxidized Fish Oil in Litopenaeus vannamei by Sulforaphane.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which could be highly induced under the stimulation of oxidative stress, functions in reducing the damage caused by oxidative stress, and sulforaphane (SFN) is an antioxidant. This study aims to investigate whether HO-1 is involved in the repair of oxidative damage induced by oxidized fish oil (OFO) in Litopenaeus vannamei by sulforaphane (SFN). The oxidative stress model of L. vannamei was established by feeding OFO feed (OFO accounts for 6%), and they were divided into the following four groups: control group (injected with dsRNA-EGFP and fed with common feed), dsRNA-HO-1 group (dsRNA-HO-1, common feed), dsRNA-HO-1 + SFN group (dsRNA-HO-1, supplement 50 mg kg-1 SFN feed), and SFN group (dsRNA-EGFP, supplement 50 mg kg-1 SFN feed). The results showed that the expression level of HO-1 in the dsRNA-HO-1 + SFN group was significantly increased compared with the dsRNA-HO-1 group (p < 0.05). The activities of SOD in muscle and GPX in hepatopancreas and serum of the dsRNA-HO-1 group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and MDA content in the dsRNA-HO-1 group was the highest among the four groups. However, SFN treatment increased the activities of GPX and SOD in hepatopancreas, muscle, and serum and significantly reduced the content of MDA (p < 0.05). SFN activated HO-1, upregulated the expression of antioxidant-related genes (CAT, SOD, GST, GPX, Trx, HIF-1α, Nrf2, prx 2, Hsp 70), and autophagy genes (ATG 3, ATG 5), and stabilized the expression of apoptosis genes (caspase 2, caspase 3) in the hepatopancreas (p < 0.05). In addition, knocking down HO-1 aggravated the vacuolation of hepatopancreas and increased the apoptosis of hepatopancreas, while the supplement of SFN could repair the vacuolation of hepatopancreas and reduce the apoptosis signal. In summary, HO-1 is involved in the repair of the oxidative damage induced by OFO in L. vannamei by SFN.

Marginal reduction in surface NO2 attributable to airport shutdown: A machine learning regression-based approach.

Emissions from aviation and airport-related activities degrade surface air quality but received limited attention relative to regular transportation sectors like road traffic and waterborne vessels. Statistically, assessing the impact of airport-related emissions remains a challenge due to the fact that its signal in the air quality time series data is largely dwarfed by meteorology and other emissions. Flight-ban policy has been implemented in a number of cities in response to the COVID-19 spread since early 2020, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to examine the changes in air quality attributable to airport closure. It would also be interesting to know whether such an intervention produces extra marginal air quality benefits, in addition to road traffic. Here we investigated the impact of airport-related emissions from a civil airport on nearby NO2 air quality by applying machine learning predictive model to observational data collected from this unique quasi-natural experiment. The whole lockdown-attributable change in NO2 was 16.7 µg/m3, equals to a drop of 73% in NO2 with respect to the business-as-usual level. Meanwhile, the airport flight-ban aviation-attributable NO2 was 3.1 µg/m3, accounting for a marginal reduction of 18.6% of the overall NO2 change that driven by the whole lockdown effect. The airport-related emissions contributed up to 24% of the local ambient NO2 under normal conditions. Additionally, the average impact of airport-related emissions on the nearby air quality was ∼0.01 ± 0.001 µg/m3 NO2 per air-flight. Our results highlight that attention needs to be paid to such a considerable emission source in many places where regular air quality regulatory measures were insufficient to bring NO2 concentration into compliance with the health-based limit.

Decreased triiodothyronine (T3) as a predictor for prolonged mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients with cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine the correlation between thyroid hormone and prolonged mechanical ventilation (MV) in adult critically ill patients having undergone cardiac surgery. METHODS: The present study refers to a retrospective, cohort study conducted at Nanjing First Hospital from March 2019 to December 2020. Patients receiving cardiac surgery and admitting to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) in the study period were screened for potential inclusion. Demographic information, thyroid hormone and other laboratory measurements and outcome variables were recorded for analysis. Prolonged MV was defined as the duration of MV after cardiac surgery longer than 5 days. Thyroid hormones were assessed for the prognostic significance for prolonged MV. RESULTS: One thousand eight hundred ninety-six patients who underwent cardiac surgery were screened for potential enrollment. Overall, 118 patients were included and analyzed in this study. Patients fell to the control (n = 64) and the prolonged MV group (n = 54) by complying with the duration of MV after cardiac surgery. The median value of total triiodothyronine (TT3) and free triiodothyronine (FT3) were 1.03 nmol/L and 3.52 pmol/L in the prolonged MV group before cardiac surgery, significantly lower than 1.23 nmol/L (P = 0.005) and 3.87 pmol/L, respectively in control (P = 0.038). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that TT3 before surgery (pre-op TT3) had an excellent prognostic significance for prolonged MV (OR: 0.049, P = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that decreased triiodothyronine (T3) could be common in cardiac patients with prolonged MV, and it would be further reduced after patients undergo cardiac surgery. Besides, decreased T3 before surgery could act as an effective predictor for prolonged MV after cardiac surgery.

Thermoelectric Performance Enhancement of Film by Pulse Electric Field and Multi-Nanocomposite Strategy.

Thermoelectric (TE) film has wide potential application in low-grade waste heat recovery and TE generation due to its quick response and multifunctional integration. Multi-nanocomposite is a promising method to solve the difficulty of maintaining temperature difference and achieving a high figure of merit ZT. However, the depletion layer induced by the multi-nanocomposite typically degrades performance. This study presents a simple and convenient method to solve this problem by pulse electric field (PEF). Prototypical TE Bi2 Te3 is selected as the objective film. The strong current density effect of PEF removes the depletion layer among carbon nanotubes (CNT) and Bi2 Te3 grains. Thus, the CNT nanocomposite with PEF treatment breaks the trade-off between electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, achieving a power factor of 4400 µW m-1 K-2 which stabilizes after annealing effect to 2920 µW m-1 K-2 , a record for Bi2 Te3 films. Simultaneously, the self-assembled porosity decreases thermal conductivity via phonon scattering while still maintaining a high electrical conductivity of 3130 S cm-1 . Thus, the porosity helps maintain the temperature difference and thereby enables a sharp increase in output power. These results indicate that the combination of PEF and multi-nanocomposite is a new method to enhance TE performance, which would have a potential application in the commercial field.

Preparation of High-Performance Activated Carbon from Coffee Grounds after Extraction of Bio-Oil.

In this study, a new method for economical utilization of coffee grounds was developed and tested. The resulting materials were characterized by proximate and elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N2 adsorption-desorption at 77 K. The experimental data show bio-oil yields reaching 42.3%. The optimal activated carbon was obtained under vacuum pyrolysis self-activation at an operating temperature of 450 °C, an activation temperature of 600 °C, an activation time of 30 min, and an impregnation ratio with phosphoric acid of 150 wt.%. Under these conditions, the yield of activated carbon reached 27.4% with a BET surface area of 1420 m2·g-1, an average pore size of 2.1 nm, a total pore volume of 0.747 cm3·g-1, and a t-Plot micropore volume of 0.428 cm3·g-1. In addition, the surface of activated carbon looked relatively rough, containing mesopores and micropores with large amounts of corrosion pits.

Nitrogen-Doped Graphene-Buffered Mn2 O3 Nanocomposite Anodes for Fast Charging and High Discharge Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Mn2 O3 is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high theoretical capacity and low discharge potential. However, low electronic conductivity and capacity fading limits its practical application. In this work, Mn2 O3 with 1D nanowire geometry is synthesized in neutral aqueous solutions by a facile and effective hydrothermal strategy for the first time, and then Mn2 O3 nanoparticle and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) are composited with Mn2 O3 nanowires (Mn2 O3 -GNCs) to enhance its volume utilization and conductivity. When used as an anode material for LIBs, the Mn2 O3 -GNCs exhibit high reversible capacity (1350 mAh g-1 ), stable cycling stability, and good rate capability. Surprisingly, the Mn2 O3 -GNC electrodes can also show fast charging capability; even after 200 cycles (charge: 10 A g-1 ; discharge: 0.5 A g-1 ), its discharge capacity can also keep at ≈500 mAh g-1 . In addition, the Mn2 O3 -GNCs also have considerable full cell and supercapacitor performance. The excellent electrochemical performances can be ascribed to the N-rGO network structure and 1D nanowire structure, which can ensure fast ion and electron transportation.

Establishment and development of national community-based collaborative innovation demonstration areas to achieve the control target of hepatitis B in China.

BACKGROUND: The major infectious diseases of hepatitis B has constituted an acute public health challenge in China. An effective and affordable HBV control model is urgently needed. A national project of Community-based Collaborative Innovation HBV (CCI-HBV) demonstration areas has optimized the existing community healthcare resources and obtained initial results in HBV control. METHODS: Based on the existing community healthcare network, CCI-HBV project combined the community health management and health contract signing service for long-staying residents in hepatitis B screening. Moreover, HBV field research strategy was popularized in CCI-HBV areas. After screening, patients with seropositive results were enrolled in corresponding cohorts and received treatment at an early stage. And the uninfected people received medical supports including health education through new media, behavior intervention and HBV vaccinations. In this process, a cloud-based National Information Platform (NIP) was established to collect and store residents' epidemiological data. In addition, a special quality control team was set up for CCI project. RESULTS: After two rounds of screening, HBsAg positive rate dropped from 5.05% (with 5,173,003 people screened) to 4.57% (with 3,819,675 people screened), while the rate of new HBV infections was 0.28 per 100 person-years in the fixed cohorts of 2,584,322 people. The quality control team completed PPS sampling simultaneously and established the serum sample database with 2,800,000 serum samples for unified testing. CONCLUSIONS: CCI-HBV project has established a large-scale field research to conduct whole-population screening and intervention. We analyzed the HBsAg prevalence and new infection rate of HBV in the fixed population for the epidemic trend and intervention effect. The purpose of CCI-HBV project is to establish and evaluate a practical model of grid management and field strategy, to realize the new goal to control hepatitis B in China. To provide policymakers with a feasible model, our results are directly applicable. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The project was funded by the Major Projects of Science Research for the 11th and 12th five-year plans of China, entitled "The prevention and control of AIDS, viral hepatitis and other major infectious diseases", Grant Nos. 2009ZX10004901, 2011ZX10004901, 2013ZX10004904, 2014ZX10004007 and 2014ZX10004008.

Nondestructive Determination of Diastase Activity of Honey Based on Visible and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

The activities of enzymes are the basis of evaluating the quality of honey. Beekeepers usually use concentrators to process natural honey into concentrated honey by concentrating it under high temperatures. Active enzymes are very sensitive to high temperatures and will lose their activity when they exceed a certain temperature. The objective of this work is to study the kinetic mechanism of the temperature effect on diastase activity and to develop a nondestructive approach for quick determination of the diastase activity of honey through a heating process based on visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy. A total of 110 samples, including three species of botanical origin, were used for this study. To explore the kinetic mechanism of diastase activity under high temperatures, the honey of three kinds of botanical origins were processed with thermal treatment to obtain a variety of diastase activity. Diastase activity represented with diastase number (DN) was measured according to the national standard method. The results showed that the diastase activity decreased with the increase of temperature and heating time, and the sensitivity of acacia and longan to temperature was higher than linen. The optimum temperature for production and processing is 60 °C. Unsupervised clustering analysis was adopted to detect spectral characteristics of these honeys, indicating that different botanical origins of honeys can be distinguished in principal component spaces. Partial least squares (PLS) and least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) algorithms were applied to develop quantitative relationships between Vis/NIR spectroscopy and diastase activity. The best result was obtained through Gaussian filter smoothing-standard normal variate (GF-SNV) pretreatment and the LS-SVM model, known as GF-SNV-LS-SVM, with a determination coefficient (R²) of prediction of 0.8872, and root mean square error (RMSE) of prediction of 0.2129. The overall results of this paper showed that the diastase activity of honey can be determined quickly and non-destructively with Vis/NIR spectral methods, which can be used to detect DN in the process of honey production and processing, and to maximize the nutrient content of honey.

Low thermal conductivity of monolayer ZnO and its anomalous temperature dependence.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted tremendous interest due to their fascinating physical and chemical properties and promising applications in nano-electronics, where thermal transport plays a vital role in determining the performance of devices. In this paper, we present a first-principles study of the thermal transport properties of monolayer zinc oxide (ZnO), which has potential applications in nano-electronics and thermoelectrics. The thermal conductivity of monolayer ZnO is found to be as low as 4.5 W m-1 K-1 at 300 K, which is dramatically lower than those of bulk ZnO and lots of other 2D materials. A detailed analysis is performed in the framework of Boltzmann transport theory and electronic structure to understand low thermal conductivity. Most surprisingly, the thermal conductivity of monolayer ZnO slowly decreases with temperature and does not follow the conventional 1/T law. This unusual phonon transport behavior arises from the dominant contribution of optical phonon modes to the overall thermal transport in monolayer ZnO, which has been rarely reported in the literature, and the significantly increased specific heat of the high frequency (optical) phonon modes with increasing temperature, both of which compensate the decrease in the phonon relaxation time. Our study highlights the abnormal thermal transport properties of the new 2D material and we anticipate that this research will motivate the experimentalists to further study other physical and chemical properties of monolayer ZnO for its emerging applications in thermoelectrics, thermal circuits, and nano-/opto-electronics.

A Novel α2-Globin Gene Mutation: Hb Debao [α31(B12)Arg→Trp; HBA2: c.94A>T].

We report a novel mutation on the α2-globin gene, Hb Debao [α31(B12)Arg→Trp; HBA2: c.94A>T] detected in a Chinese family. This mutation gives rise to a previously undescribed hemoglobin (Hb) variant that was undetectable by electrophoretic or chromatographic methods. Hb Debao was associated with an α+-thalassemia (α+-thal) deletion [-α3.7 (rightward)] producing a mild phenotype with significant microcytosis and hypochromia, while the combination of this mutation with an α0-thal deletion (--SEA) resulting in a severe form of Hb H (ß4) disease, which is consistent with a thalassemic phenotype associated with the novel mutation.

A Novel Mutation of the α2-Globin Gene Causing α+-Thalassemia: Hb Nanning (HBA2: c.369_370delinsGA).

We report a novel mutation on the α2-globin gene, Hb Nanning (HBA2:c.369_370delinsGA) detected in a Chinese family. This mutation gives rise to a previously undescribed hemoglobin (Hb) variant that was undetectable by various separation techniques. Both carriers of the mutation have mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular Hb (MCH) values that are below normal, as would be predicted for an α+-thalassemia (α+-thal) patient.

Hepatitis B Virus Core Promoter Double Mutations (A1762T, G1764A) Are Associated with Lower Levels of Serum Dihydrolipoyl Dehydrogenase.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify serum proteins with differential concentrations between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and HBsAg asymptomatic carriers among individuals infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) with basal core promoter (BCP) double mutations (A1762T, G1764A). METHODS: iTRAQ and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify differentially expressed protein, and an ELISA test was used for the validation test. RESULTS: The total number of proteins identified was 1,125, of which 239 showed statistically significant differences in their expression. The relative concentrations of serum dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (DLD), which showed the most significant correlation with liver diseases and infection, were significantly lower in HCC patients than asymptomatic HBsAg carriers and individuals negative for HBsAg. However, only the difference between HCC patients with BCP double mutations and HBsAg-negative individuals could be confirmed by ELISA. Meanwhile, we found that the concentrations of serum DLD in those infected with HBV with BCP double mutations were significantly lower than in individuals with the wild-type BCP. However, the difference in the concentrations of serum DLD between individuals with wild-type BCP and those negative for HBsAg was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: HBV with BCP double mutations are associated with lower concentrations of serum DLD.

Genetic Variants at BCL11A and HBS1L-MYB loci Influence Hb F Levels in Chinese Zhuang ß-Thalassemia Intermedia Patients.

Increased Hb F levels can ameliorate the symptoms of ß-thalassemia (ß-thal). Due to the genetic heterogenicity of ß-thal, the relationship between genetic variants in modifier genes and Hb F level has been studied in different populations. The Chinese Zhuang has the second largest population in China and has 6.78% prevalence of ß-thal. However, the effects of these single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants on the Hb F levels of ß-thal intermedia (ß-TI) patients in this population have not been reported. To explore the association between modifier loci (ß-globin gene cluster, HBS1L-MYB intergenic region and BCL11A) and Hb F levels in Chinese Zhuang ß-TI patients, 96 unrelated ß-TI patients (50 males and 46 females) with different Hb F levels were recruited and genotyped by mass spectrometry. A total of 13 SNPs were confirmed to be in a significant relationship with Hb F levels in this population. Of these, high-risk genotypes of six Hb F-associated SNPs, rs9376090, rs7776054, rs9399137, rs9389268, rs9402685 in the HBS1L-MYB intergenic region and rs189984760 in the BCL11A locus, showed association with high Hb F levels, especially for SNPs in linkage disequilibrium. One novel Hb F-associated SNP, rs189984760, was identified in our study. Our findings will be of valuable reference for correlation between modifier genes and Hb F in Chinese Zhuang populations and may lead to better understand the modifying mechanisms for ß-thal.

Identification of a Novel ß-Globin Mutation (HBB: C.189_195delTCATGGC) in a Chinese Family.

ß-Thalassemia (ß-thal) is one of the most common genetic disorders worldwide. Molecular characterization of ß-thal is essential for prevention and understanding the biology of the disease. More and more rare and novel mutations are being reported. Here, we report a novel 7 bp deletion at codons 63-65 (HBB: c.189_195delTCATGGC) in exon 2 of the ß-globin gene in a family from Guangxi Province, China. This novel mutation causes a shift in the normal reading frame of the ß-globin coding sequence and created a stop codon at codon 87 in exon 2, which leads to a ß(0)-thal phenotype.

In Situ Polymerized PAN-Assisted S/C Nanosphere with Enhanced High-Power Performance as Cathode for Lithium/Sulfur Batteries.

Carbonaceous and polymer materials are extensively employed as conductor and container to encapsulate sulfur particles and limit polysulfide dissolution. Even so, high-power performance is still far from satisfaction due to the expansion and collapse of the electrode materials during thousands of charge-discharge process. Herein, it is found that colloidal carbon sphere with high elastic coefficient can be utilized as a framework to load sulfur, which can trap soluble polysulfides species in the pores within the sphere and efficaciously improve the electronic conductivity of the cathode. After modified by polyaniline (PAN) through in situ polymerization, PAN-assisted S/C nanosphere (PSCs-73, with 73 wt % sulfur) effectively minimize polysulfide diffusion, enhance the electron transfer rate and overcome the problem of volume expansion. The fabricated PSCs-73 cell shows outstanding long high-power cycling capability over 2500 charge/discharge cycles with a capacity decay of 0.01% per cycle at 5 C. Substantially, this composite can drive 2.28 W white indicators of LED robustly after minutes of charging by three lithium batteries in series, showing a promising potential application in the future.

Research on AIDS patients' survival time after highly active antiretroviral therapy, treatment effect and treatment modes.

To fully define clinical efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy for AIDS, analyze patients' survival time and treatment mode after receiving treatment, and provide scientific theory to guide improvement of antiviral therapy, this paper selected 3100 cases of patients diagnosed with AIDS during April 2006 and April 2014 as object of this study. All patients were treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy. The main analysis contents of this study include CD4 + T lymphocyte count, viral load changes, incidence of opportunistic infections, specific cause of death and the like. The results show that patients' CD4 + T lymphocyte levels are significantly increased 3, 18, and 24 months after treatment, difference between the situation after and before receiving treatment, P < 0.05, with statistically significant difference. Analyzed from effective inhibition of virus, effective inhibition rate is 72.58.0% (2250/3100). Main causes of death in patients is usually respiratory failure. It thus can be concluded that highly active antiretroviral therapy for AIDS is with good clinical effect, which can effectively improve survival time of patients. So it enjoys application value of being widely used in clinical treatment of AIDS.

The correlation between serum HBsAg levels and viral loads depends upon wild-type and mutated HBV sequences rather than the HBeAg/anti-HBe status.

Despite several studies regarding the correlation between serum HBsAg titers and viral loads, the association remains uncertain. Eighty-nine individuals were selected randomly from a Chinese cohort of 2,258 subjects infected persistently with hepatitis B virus (HBV) for cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Viral loads of mutant HBV are lower than those of wild type HBV. The serum HBsAg titers correlate positively with viral loads in both HBeAg positive and negative subjects (r = 0.449, P = 0.013; r = 0.300, P = 0.018, respectively). No correlation between serum HBsAg titer and viral loads was found in any of the four phases of chronic HBV infection. The serum HBsAg titers correlate positively with viral loads in the group with wild type sequences of the PreS/S, basal core promoter (BCP), and preC regions of HBV(r = 0.502, P = 0.040). However, the correlation was not seen in the group with mutations in these regions (r = 0.165, P = 0.257). The correlation between HBsAg titers and viral loads was seen in individuals with wild type PreS/S sequences but not in the subgroup with BCP double mutations or PreC stop mutation, although their sequences in the preS/S regions were wild type. All these findings were confirmed by the longitudinal analysis. In conclusion, the correlation between serum HBsAg levels and viral loads may not differ between HBeAg positive and negative individuals but may depend on wild-type or mutated genomic sequences. Therefore, HBsAg quantitation may be used as a surrogate for viral loads in only wild-type HBV infections.