Hepatitis B and circadian rhythm of the liver

The circadian rhythm in humans is determined by the central clock located in the hypothalamus’s suprachiasmatic nucleus, and it synchronizes the peripheral clocks in other tissues. Circadian clock genes and clock-controlled genes exist in almost all cell types. They have an essential role in many physiological processes, including lipid metabolism in the liver, regulation of the immune system, and the severity of infections. In addition, circadian rhythm genes can stimulate the immune response of host cells to virus infection. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the leading cause of liver disease and liver cancer globally. HBV infection depends on the host cell, and hepatocyte circadian rhythm genes are associated with HBV replication, survival, and spread. The core circadian rhythm proteins, REV-ERB and brain and muscle ARNTL-like protein 1, have a crucial role in HBV replication in hepatocytes. In addition to influencing the virus’s life cycle, the circadian rhythm also affects the pharmacokinetics and efficacy of antiviral vaccines. Therefore, it is vital to apply antiviral therapy at the appropriate time of day to reduce toxicity and improve the effectiveness of antiviral treatment. For these reasons, understanding the role of the circadian rhythm in the regulation of HBV infection and host responses to the virus provides us with a new perspective of the interplay of the circadian rhythm and anti-HBV therapy. Therefore, this review emphasizes the importance of the circadian rhythm in HBV infection and the optimization of antiviral treatment based on the circadian rhythm-dependent immune response.     

Effect of Urine Adulterants on Commercial Drug Abuse Screening Test Strip Results

Immunochromatographic strips for urine drug screening tests (UDSTs) are common and very suitable for drug abuse monitoring, but are also highly susceptible to adulterants kept in the household, which can significantly alter test results. The aim of this study was to see how some of these common adulterants affect UDST results in practice and whether they can be detected by sample validity tests with pH and URIT 11G test strips. To this end we added household chemicals (acids, alkalis, oxidizing agents, surfactants, and miscellaneous substances) to urine samples positive for amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), tetrahydrocannabinol, heroin, cocaine, or benzodiazepines (diazepam or alprazolam) and tested them with one-component immunochromatographic UDST strips. The UDST for cocaine resisted adulteration the most, while the cannabis test produced the most false negative results. The most potent adulterant that barely changed the physiological properties of urine specimens and therefore escaped adulteration detection was vinegar. Besides lemon juice, it produced the most false negative test results. In conclusion, some urine adulterants, such as vinegar, could pass urine specimen validity test and remain undetected by laboratory testing. Our findings raise concern about this issue of preventing urine tampering and call for better control at sampling, privacy concerns notwithstanding, and better sample validity tests.Key words: false negative, household chemicals, immunochromatographic assay, lemon juice, URIT 11G, vinegar     

Youth Preferences for Weight-Related Conversations

ABSTRACT

Little guidance is available to clinicians on how to talk about weight with their patients. The aim of this study is to explore youth preferences for weight-related conversations. Participants came from the National MyVoice Text Message Cohort. Between 7/2017 and 01/2018, 952 MyVoice participants provided open-ended responses via text message to three questions about weight-related conversations (“Has your doctor ever talked to you about weight?”, “What did he or she say?”, and “What should a doctor NOT say when talking about weight?”). The presence of themes was coded using standard qualitative methods. Of the 952 respondents, 568 (60%) reported that their doctor had talked with them about weight. Of these, 85% indicated that their doctor had notified them of their weight, BMI, or weight status and/or the need to change their body weight and 16% had doctors who provided advice about weight control. Eight themes emerged from the analysis of responses to the question “What should a doctor NOT say when talking about weight?”. The two most common themes were: (1): Avoid stigmatizing terms/language (32%); and (2) Do not shame patient for their weight (25%). Findings suggest that weight-related conversations do not reflect the preferences of the youth they are designed to benefit. Youth recommended that clinicians focus on health and sustainable behavioral solutions, avoid stigmatizing language and comparing them to others, and be aware of the potential harm associated with making assumptions that conflate weight with health behaviors, morality, or appearance.     

The effect of complexation with cyclodextrins on the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of ellagic acid

Purpose: The aim of the paper was to develop the simple procedures for preparation of inclusion complexes of ellagic acid (EA) with cyclodextrins (CDs) and to investigate their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.

Methods: The structural characterization was carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. The phase solubility technique was used to investigate the interactions between ‘host’ and ‘guest’ molecules and to estimate the molar ratio between them. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of EA and inclusion complexes were determined.

Results: The apparent stability constants were found to be 117?dm³ mol^?1 for the complex with β-CD and 161?dm³ mol^?1 for the complex with (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD). The results of phase-solubility studies showed that EA formed the inclusion complexes with CDs in the molar ratio of 1:1. The calculated half-maximal inhibitory concentration was 41.18?μg cm^?3 for butyl hydroxy toluene, 1.96?μg cm^?3 for EA, 0.88?μg cm^?3 for inclusion complex with HP-β-CD, and 1.27?μg cm^?3 for inclusion complex with β-CD.

Conclusion: The stability constants indicated the rapid release of EA from the inclusion complexes in the aqueous medium at 25?°C. The antioxidant activity of EA was increased, while the antimicrobial activity was preserved after complexation with CDs.     

Unique sleep‐stage transitions determined by obstructive sleep apnea severity,age and gender

In obstructive sleep apnea, patients’ sleep is fragmented leading to excessive daytime sleepiness and co‐morbidities like arterial hypertension. However, traditional metrics are not always directly correlated with daytime sleepiness, and the association between traditional sleep quality metrics like sleep duration and arterial hypertension is still ambiguous. In a development cohort, we analysed hypnograms from mild (n = 209), moderate (n = 222) and severe (n = 272) obstructive sleep apnea patients as well as healthy controls (n = 105) from the European Sleep Apnea Database. We assessed sleep by the analysis of two‐step transitions depending on obstructive sleep apnea severity and anthropometric factors. Two‐step transition patterns were examined for an association to arterial hypertension or daytime sleepiness. We also tested cumulative distributions of wake as well as sleep‐states for power‐laws (exponent α) and exponential distributions (decay time τ) in dependency on obstructive sleep apnea severity and potential confounders. Independent of obstructive sleep apnea severity and potential confounders, wake‐state durations followed a power‐law distribution, while sleep‐state durations were characterized by an exponential distribution. Sleep‐stage transitions are influenced by obstructive sleep apnea severity, age and gender. N2 → N3 → wake transitions were associated with high diastolic blood pressure. We observed higher frequencies of alternating (symmetric) patterns (e.g. N2 → N1 → N2, N2 → wake → N2) in sleepy patients both in the development cohort and in a validation cohort (n = 425). In conclusion, effects of obstructive sleep apnea severity and potential confounders on sleep architecture are small, but transition patterns still link sleep fragmentation directly to obstructive sleep apnea‐related clinical outcomes like arterial hypertension and daytime sleepiness.