Significance and clinical impact of routinely tested urinary ethyl glucuronide after liver transplantation – development of a risk score

Alcohol abuse after liver transplantation can seriously impact graft and patient survival. However, to date, there is no defined standard procedure to identify patients consuming alcohol after liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic value and clinical impact of routinely measured urinary ethyl glucuronide (uEtG) – a metabolite of ethanol – in patients after liver transplantation. Data of 362 consecutive patients after liver transplantation who visited the University Hospital of Tuebingen for outpatient follow-up were analyzed. Forty-eight patients (13%) displayed positive uEtG results. The uEtG positive group contained significantly more patients with pretransplant alcoholic liver disease. However, two thirds of the uEtG positive patients had no history of pretransplant alcoholic liver disease. Several clinical parameters were significantly associated with positive uEtG. In order to enable a more cost-effective application of uEtG in the future, a clinical risk score was developed (specificity 0.95). In conclusion, routine testing for uEtG reveals a considerable percentage of patients practicing alcohol intake after liver transplantation. Application of our proposed risk score could help focusing uEtG testing on patients at risk.     

药用昆虫凹纹胡蜂化学成分及抗炎活性研究

目的 研究药用昆虫凹纹胡蜂Vespa velutina auraria的化学成分及其抗炎活性。方法 采用硅胶柱色谱、Sephadex LH-20凝胶和半制备高效液相等色谱技术进行分离纯化,通过核磁共振技术对化合物的结构进行表征和解析。以脂多糖（lipopolysaccharide,LPS）联合γ干扰素（interferon-γ,IFN-γ）诱导小鼠巨噬细胞RAW264.7作为炎症模型,探讨提取物及单体对炎症因子mRNA表达的影响。结果 从凹纹胡蜂醋酸乙酯部位分离鉴定了16个化合物,分别为邻苯二酚（1 ）、对羟基苯甲醛（2 ）、对羟基苯丙酸甲酯（3 ）、4-羟基苯醋酸乙酯（4 ）、3,4-二羟基苯乙醇（5 ）、3,4-二羟基苯酰乙醇（6 ）、3,4-二羟基苯甲酸（7 ）、N-乙酰基-2-乙氧基-2-（3,4-二羟基苯基）乙胺（8 ）、2-（2-羟基丙酰氧基）丙酸甲酯（9 ）、对甲氧基苯甲醇（10 ）、3,4-二羟基苯甲酸甲酯（11 ）、α-乙基葡萄糖苷（12 ）、2-羟基-3-苯基丙酸甲酯（13 ）、N-乙酰基-2-（3,4-二羟基苯基）乙胺（14 ）、对甲基苯乙醇（15 ）和胸腺嘧啶（16 ）。凹纹胡蜂醇提物及提取物醋酸乙酯部位、正丁醇部位和水部位在300 μg/mL时均能有效减少由LPS联合IFN-γ诱导RAW264.7细胞炎症因子一氧化氮合酶（inducible nitric oxide synthase,iNOS）基因相对表达量;化合物2 、3 、5 、6 、9～11 对LPS联合IFN-γ诱导RAW264.7细胞肿瘤坏死因子-α（tumor necrosis factor-α,TNF-α）mRNA表达有抑制作用（P<0.01）。结论 凹纹胡蜂醇提物及不同极性部位能降低炎症细胞中iNOS的表达,具有一定的抗炎作用。化合物1～16 均为首次从凹纹胡蜂分离鉴定,其中2 、3 、5 、6 、9～11 可能为潜在的活性单体。     

Construction and evaluation of an alcohol vapor chamber system

An increasing number of studies demonstrated that alcohol vapor chamber is an effective way to model physical signs of alcohol use disorders. Although researchers are developing different vapor chambers to study chronic alcohol exposure model worldwide, few studies build and modify their own vapor chambers in China. Here, we designed and established an alcohol vapor chamber system for small animals. We described a paradigm showing how to control and monitor alcohol concentration in whole system. The vapor chamber system with several advantages including accommodating up to ten standard mouse cages. Furthermore, the system was tested by evaluating the blood alcohol concentration and neuron injury in mice. Importantly, the alcohol withdrawal after vapor exposure caused motor coordination impairment, anxiolytic- and depression-like behavior. Finally, the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated glutamatergic transmissions in the medial prefrontal cortex was changed after alcohol vapor exposure-induced behaviors. The frequency and amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents between control and alcohol groups were not different, suggesting that alcohol exposure-induced behaviors are associated with the change in NMDAR response. Taken together, the new alcohol vapor chamber system was constructed, which would help to research the relationship between the stable alcohol exposure and withdrawal behaviors and to study chronic alcohol exposure-induced disorders in China.     

Two screening instruments for collecting alcohol-related information from expectant mothers and fathers: Testing the reliability of the Parent Alcohol Screening Questionnaire and the Social Support for an Alcohol-Free Pregnancy Questionnaire

The aim is to test the reliability of two alcohol screening instruments: (1) The Parent Alcohol Screening Questionnaire (PASQ5), and (2) the Social Support for an Alcohol-free Pregnancy (SSAFP) questionnaire. This is a cohort study from the south of Sweden using repeated surveys during pregnancy. To examine if responses differed according to different data collection methods, two cohorts consisting of 289 expectant mothers and 141 fathers completed the PASQ5 both verbally (weeks 6–7) and in writing (week 12) within regular antenatal visits. One of the cohorts (n = 137/64) also completed the SSAFP in week 12 and later in week 33. The third cohort, consisting of 179 and 133 expectant mothers and fathers, respectively, completed the PASQ5 and the SSAFP twice in late pregnancy (week 31 + 33). Eight of 10 items in the PASQ5 were stable for both expectant mothers and expectant fathers when comparing verbal versus written-delivered formats. Eight of 10 questions in the PASQ5 were stable when assessing the items in a test–retest analysis in late pregnancy for expectant mothers and nine of 10 questions were stable for fathers. The SSAFP items showed high internal consistency (0.86) for expectant mothers and excellent internal consistency (0.94) for expectant fathers. Most SSAFP items (17 of 21 for expectant mothers and 18 of 22 for expectant fathers) were also stable in a test–retest scenario in late pregnancy. Both the PASQ5 and SSAFP are reliable tools and may be helpful for clinicians who aim to have a deeper dialogue about alcohol consumption during pregnancy. These tools may also be helpful for researchers aiming to better understand a person's changes in alcohol intake and/or their social support network.     

Addressing alcohol and other drug use among young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds: Perspectives of service providers in Melbourne,Australia

Young people from migrant and ethnic minority backgrounds are recognised as emerging priority populations for reducing alcohol and other drug (AOD)-related harms in Australia. Limited research has investigated how service providers address AOD challenges in migrant communities. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 15 service providers from AOD, migrant support, community and other health services in a diverse region of Melbourne. Interviews explored the challenges that service providers faced and the strategies they implemented to engage with young migrants in relation to AOD use. Thematic analysis was used to generate four themes: stigma as a barrier to service delivery, intergenerational differences between young people and parents, the need for outreach and establishing trust and understanding over time. Service providers believed that stigma prevented many young people from migrant backgrounds having open conversations about their AOD use with family members and professionals. Participants perceived that some parents had less AOD-related knowledge and lower English language proficiency than their children creating challenges for effective communication. Service providers recognised the importance of engaging with young people in settings where they felt comfortable rather than expecting them to approach their service. Participants also acknowledged the need to invest time in establishing trust and understanding with young migrants so they could facilitate conversations about AOD use as relationships evolved. Although service providers had a strong understanding of young people's needs, they found it challenging to build relationships in the context of funding and time constraints. Our results indicate the need for long-term funding and timelines that enable service providers to build strong relationships with young migrants, their families and their broader cultural communities to facilitate access to AOD support.     

Investigations into the effects of various hepatotoxic compounds on urinary and liver taurine levels in rats

The effect of various hepatotoxicants on urinary taurine and urinary creatine has been studied in the rat. Several hepatotoxic agents, carbon tetrachloride, thioacetamide, galactosamine and allyl alcohol which all caused hepatic necrosis (sometimes accompanied by steatosis), resulted in a rise in urinary taurine and in some cases creatine, when administered to rats. Ethionine and hydrazine also raised urinary taurine but caused only steatosis and did not raise urinary creatine. Therefore urinary taurine and possibly creatine may be useful markers of liver injury and dysfunction. Liver taurine levels were also affected by some of the hepatotoxicants but in those cases where there was a rise in urinary taurine this could not be accounted for by the loss in liver taurine. It is suggested that the increase in urinary taurine is partly due to changes in protein synthesis and hence in sulphur amino acid metabolism caused by hepatotoxic agents. However, bromobenzene did not increase urinary taurine and-naphthylisothiocyanate and lithocholate caused reduced levels. It is suggested that this lack of increase in urinary taurine may be due to depletion of glutathione or interference with the biliary system.     

The relevance of ethnographic understanding to Aboriginal anti-grog initiatives

Aboriginal initiatives to “beat the grog” may or may not draw on ethnographies of Aboriginal drinking behaviour. The deeper reason for this uncertainty has to do with fundamental ideas of citizenship and (self) governance. What is the relevance of “culture” to individual responsibility? This paper reviews this question at three levels; the political debate about “rights” and “responsibility”, ethnographic depictions of Aborigines as both group-dominated and individualistic, and through one Aboriginal organization's embracing of the perspectives of Alcoholic's Anonymous.     

Response to the Distilled spirits Industry Council of Australia Inc. position paper 'Alcohol Availability'

A critique is offered of the Distilled Spirits Industry Council position paper 'Alcohol Availability'. It is argued that this position paper presents a simple-minded analysis of the complex relationship between the availability of alcohol and its consumption which pays no attention to the importance of price in determining consumption. As a consequence, it misconstrues the lessons to be drawn from the Victorian experiment in liberalization and fails to consider its implications for the incidence of alcohol related problems.     

黄芩苷标准品制备方法研究

采用醇提酸沉法提取黄芩苷粗品 ,再用分步精制的方法来制备黄芩苷标准品 ,所得标准品的熔点、含量与对照标准品一致。提示 :本法是制备黄芩苷标准品简便可行、收率高的方法