Condom use among HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate condom use and associated factors among HIV/AIDS patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Fuyang District, Hangzhou City, so as to provide insights into instructing the correct use of condoms and controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS patients.@*Methods@#A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted to collect demographic information, sexual behaviors during recent 6 months and condom use of HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART in Fuyang District from May to December, 2022. Descriptive analysis was employed on the proportion of participants who insisted on using condoms at each sexual contact, and a multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors affecting condom use at each sexual contact.@*Results@#Totally 111 HIV/AIDS patients who received ART and had sexual contacts during recent 6 months were investigated, with a median age of 43.00 (interquartile range, 19.00) years. There were 82 males (73.87%), 63 married cases (56.76%), 52 cases with homosexual behaviors (46.85%), 110 cases insisting on using condom after ART (99.10%), 101 cases insisting on using condoms at each sexual contact (90.99%). Among 93 patients being aware of HIV infection status of all sexual partners, 93.55% of the patients insisted on using condoms at each sexual contact. Among 105 patients without sexually transmitted diseases (STD) diagnosis and treatment, 94.29% of the patients insisted on using condoms at each sexual contact. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified aware of HIV infection status of sexual partners (OR=0.046, 95%CI: 0.004-0.560), no STD diagnosis and treatment (OR=0.060, 95%CI: 0.004-0.890) as promoting factors for condom use at each sexual contact among HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART.@*Conclusions@#There is a high proportion of condom use at each sexual contact among HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART in Fuyang District. Patients who are aware of sexual partners' HIV infection and have not received STD diagnosis and treatment are more likely to insist on using condoms at each sexual contact.

18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid induces ROS-mediated apoptosis to ameliorate hepatic fibrosis by targeting PRDX1/2 in activated HSCs / 药物分析学报

Hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)are essential drivers of fibrogenesis.Inducing activated-HSC apoptosis is a promising strategy for treating hepatic fibrosis.18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid(18β-GA)is a natural com-pound that exists widely in herbal medicines,such as Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch,which is used for treating multiple liver diseases,especially in Asia.In the present study,we demonstrated that 18β-GA decreased hepatic fibrosis by inducing the apoptosis in activated HSCs.18β-GA inhibited the expression of α-smooth muscle actin and collagen type Ⅰ alpha-1.Using a chemoproteomic approach derived from activity-based protein profiling,together with cellular thermal shift assay and surface plasmon reso-nance,we found that 18β-GA covalently targeted peroxiredoxin 1(PRDX1)and peroxiredoxin 2(PRDX2)proteins via binding to active cysteine residues and thereby inhibited their enzymatic activities.18β-GA induced the elevation of reactive oxygen species(ROS),resulting in the apoptosis of activated HSCs.PRDX1 knockdown also led to ROS-mediated apoptosis in activated HSCs.Collectively,our findings revealed the target proteins and molecular mechanisms of 18β-GA in ameliorating hepatic fibrosis,highlighting the future development of 18β-GA as a novel therapeutic drug for hepatic fibrosis.

Research progress on the antibacterial properties of dental resin materials / 口腔疾病防治

@#Dental resin materials have been widely used in the treatment of dental defects. However, the polymerization shrinkage of the resin materials tends to cause microleakage and accumulation of bacterial plaque, which leads to secondary dental caries. Endowing dental resin with antibacterial properties is an important way to solve this problem. Adding antibacterial agents to dental resin is the main method to give it antibacterial properties. Antimicrobial agents are mainly divided into three types: release type, non-release type and mixed type. In terms of antibacterial effects, the selection and addition of antibacterial agents will affect the antibacterial and mechanical properties of dental resin materials; and the long-term antibacterial effect of antimicrobial agents in the oral cavity remains to be verified; as antimicrobial agents or other environmental factors can lead to drug resistance and even dormant persistent bacteria. In recent years, researchers have been committed to improving the antibacterial effect by modifying antibacterial agents. The sustained release of antimicrobial agents via carriers is also the main research direction. This paper reviews the research progress on the antibacterial properties of dental resin materials.

Research progress on biomarkers related to the efficacy and prognosis of tumor immunotherapy / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@#免疫治疗是继传统的手术、化疗、放疗和靶向治疗后的一种新兴的肿瘤治疗手段。以免疫检查点抑制剂（ICP）疗法为 代表的免疫治疗在肿瘤临床治疗中取得了突破性进展。随着ICP在临床的应用，用于肿瘤诊断、疗效及预后的生物标志物的探 索也成为肿瘤免疫治疗研究的热点。在当前精准医疗的背景下，多项临床研究证实程序性死亡蛋白配体-1（PD-L1）表达、肿瘤突 变负荷、微卫星不稳定以及肿瘤微环境相关的生物标志物与免疫治疗的疗效密切相关。然而，许多患者并不能从这些疗法中受 益，缺乏有效的疗效和预后生物标志物在很大程度上限制了其临床应用。本文总结了有关免疫治疗生物标志物的相关研究文 献，重点关注免疫治疗疗效和预后生物标志物在临床应用的相关研究进展，阐述可能有助于指导临床决策及治疗方案选择的潜 在生物标志物。

Improving the short-chain fatty acids production of waste activated sludge stimulated by a bi-frequency ultrasonic pretreatment.

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the most important intermediate in the waste activated sludge (WAS) fermentation process. This work explored a novel approach to improve the SCFAs production from WAS. Experimental results showed that the disintegration and acidification of WAS were enhanced markedly by using bi-frequency (28+40 kHz) ultrasonic pretreatment compared with mono-frequency (28 kHz and 40 kHz) ultrasonic pretreatments. After 28+40 kHz ultrasonic pretreatment, the SCOD concentration increased from original 363 mg COD l-1 to 10810 mg COD l-1 which was 1.53-fold and 1.44-fold of the values obtained with 28kHz and 40kHz ultrasonic pretreatments, respectively. The maximum SCFAs production reached 7587 mg COD l-1 in the 28+40 kHz test which was respectively 1.25-fold and 1.31-fold of that in the 28kHz (6053 mg COD l-1) and 40 kHz (5809 mg COD l-1) tests. This was the highest SCFAs production obtained so far using WAS, pretreated by ultrasonic technology, as the renewable carbon source. SCFAs composition analysis revealed there was more acetic acid (3992 mg COD l-1, accounted for 52.6% of the total SCFAs) for the 28+40 kHz ultrasonic pretreatment which was beneficial to many subsequent bioprocesses.