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Biomedical subjects

Lin Zhuang

Publications and source records attributed to Lin Zhuang.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Efficacy of thymosin alpha-1 and interferon alpha in treatment of chronic viral hepatitis B: a randomized controlled study.

AIM: To observe the efficiency and safety of thymosin-alpha1 treatment in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA positive chronic hepatitis. METHODS: Sixty-two patients were randomly divided into groups A and B. The patients in group A received subcutaneous injection of 1.6 mg thymosin-alpha1, twice a week (T-alpha1 group) for six months, and the patients in group B received 5 MU interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) each day for fifteen days, then three times weekly (IFN-alpha group) for six months. The results between two groups treated with and the group untreated with IFN-alpha which was followed up for 12 mo (historical control group consisting of 30 patients) were compared, and three groups were comparable between each other (P>0.05) at baseline (age, sex, clinical history, biochemical, and serological parameters). RESULTS: At the end of treatment, complete response, which was defined as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization and HBV DNA and HBeAg loss, occurred in 9 of 29 (31.0%) patients in the T-alpha1 group and in 15 of 33 (45.5%) patients in the IFN-alpha group (chi2=1.36, P>0.05). After a follow-up period of six months, a complete response was observed in 14 of 29 (48.3%) patients in the T-alpha1 group and in 9 of 33 (27.3%) patients in the IFN-alpha group (chi2=2.93, P>0.05). Compared with the results observed in the historical control (HC) group untreated with IFN-alpha which was followed up for 12 mo, the rate of complete response was significantly higher in IFN-alpha group at the end of therapy (1 of 30 vs 15 of 33, chi2=14.72, P<0.001) and in the T-alpha1 group at the end of follow-up (1 of 30 vs 14 of 29, chi2=15.71, P<0.001). In T-alpha1 and IFN-alpha treatment groups, the area under (the plasma concentration time) curve (AUC) of negative HBV DNA and HBeAg was 34%, 17%, 31% and 19% smaller than that in the HC group. By the end of the follow-up period, the proportions of ALT normalization and negative HBV DNA in the T-alpha1 group were significantly higher than those in the IFN-alpha and HC groups. The odds of ALT normalization and negative HBV DNA at the end of the follow-up was three-fold higher in the T-alpha1 group than in the IFN-alpha group. Unlike IFN-alpha, T-alpha1 was well tolerated by all patients, and no side effects appeared in T-alpha1 group. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that a 6-mo course of T-alpha1 therapy is effective and safe in patients with chronic hepatitis B. T-alpha1 is able to reduce HBV replication in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Furthermore, T-alpha1 is better tolerated than IFN-alpha and can gradually induce more sustained ALT normalization and HBV DNA and HBeAg loss. However, a response rate of 48.3% is still less ideal. A more effective therapeutic approach warrants further study.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2006

Determination of ionic conductivity and its impact on proton diffusion model for nickel hydroxide.

The ionic conductivity is an important but previously ignored aspect for the nickel hydroxide used in alkaline batteries. With a specially designed device, the ionic conductivity is determined for single beads of spherical nickel hydroxide in KOH solutions. The apparent ionic conductivity is found on the order of 10(-3)-10(-2) S cm-1 in 6 M KOH and to change with the conductivity of the solution in which the bead is immersed. The ionic conductivity of the bead can be mainly attributed to the electrolyte absorbed in the bead. On the basis of these findings, the dual structure model for proton diffusion in spherical nickel hydroxide is refined by specifying nanoparticles to be the component showing a large apparent proton diffusion coefficient (on the order of 10(-7) cm2 s-1). This refined model is able to interpret the main features of the diffusion coefficients reported in the literature, including the unusually large scattering (up to 6 orders of magnitude) and inconsistency in the dependence of proton diffusion coefficient on the state of the charge. Besides, this refined model is supported by the influence of bulk KOH concentration on chronoamperometry and transmission electron microscopy observations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Pattern recognition on the structure-activity relationship of nano Pt-Ru catalysts: methodology and preliminary demonstration.

The activity of nano Pt-Ru catalysts is a multivariate function of particle size, alloyed degree, oxide composition, and so forth. The monodependencies of catalytic activity on individual structure parameters (structure-activity relationship, SAR) are of great importance but, unfortunately, unobtainable in practical measurements. A pattern-recognition methodology is proposed for the first time to extract SAR information from all of the relative experimental data, which we hope will cast new light on the in-depth understanding of this important catalyst. As a preliminary demonstration, a multivariate linear regression and a generalized regression neural network were applied to analyze a small data set for methanol oxidation. It was found that both increasing the content of hydrous ruthenium oxides and decreasing the particle size would benefit the catalytic activity, whereas the effect of the Pt-Ru alloy degree turned out to be unremarkable.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Proton diffusion determination and dual structure model for nickel hydroxide based on potential step measurements on single spherical beads.

Potential step measurement is carried out on single beads of spherical nickel hydroxide to determine the proton diffusion coefficient (D) and concentration of the effective proton vacancies (C). The semi-infinite diffusion equation for the initial stage and the finite diffusion equation for the long-term of the current response to potential step are used for deducing the D and C values. The diffusion coefficients deduced from short and long-term current responses are in the order of magnitude 10(-7) and 10(-10) cm2 s(-1), respectively. The sum of the effective proton vacancy concentrations associated with the two D values comes out to be equal within experimental error to the effective proton vacancy concentration converted from the released electricity during discharge. A dual structure model is proposed to interpret the above-mentioned findings, featuring densely packed grains within which proton diffusion is slow and an inter-grain matrix where proton diffusion is fast. With this model the huge difference (about 6 orders of magnitude) in D values reported in the literature as well as the controversy of the dependence of diffusion coefficient on the state of charge can be largely rationalized. This dual structure model is supported by SEM and AFM observations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Anodic activation of PtRu/C catalysts for methanol oxidation.

Anodic treatment of PtRu/C catalysts in 0.5 M sulfuric acid at 1.3 V (vs RHE) for 0.5 h was found able to promote the activity for methanol oxidation by a few tenths to 5 times. This anodic activation effect was valid for samples domestically prepared under different conditions and that produced by Johnson-Matthey. On the basis of the changes of cyclic voltammetry during the anodic treatment, a model was proposed for the activation effect. According to the model, there are two categories of ruthenium oxides in the catalyst: one is electrochemically reversible and beneficial for catalytic activity, while the other is irreversible and harmful. During the anodic treatment, the harmful oxide is decreased, while the beneficial oxide either increased or changed only slightly, resulting in a beneficial net change.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

A randomized, controlled, clinical study of thymosin alpha-1 versus interferon-alpha in [corrected] patients with chronic hepatitis B lacking HBeAg in China [corrected].

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of thymosin-alphal (T-alpha1) with that of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in patients with chronic hepatitis B who were positive for hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and hepatitis B envelope antibody (anti-HBe). METHODS: Fifty-six patients were randomly divided into groups A and B. Both groups were comparable (p > 0.05) at baseline regarding age, sex, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Group A patients received T-alpha1 1.6 mg subcutaneously twice weekly, while group B patients received IFN-alpha 5 million IU daily for 15 days, then thrice weekly for 6 months. Results from the 2 groups were compared with data from a group of 30 patients never treated with IFN-alpha and who were followed-up for 12 months (historical control [HC] group); the 3 groups were comparable (p > 0.05). RESULTS: After treatment, a complete response (ALT normalization and HBV DNA loss) occurred in 8 of 26 patients in group A (30.8%) and 14 of 30 in group B (46.7%; chi2 = 1.476, p = 0.224). After a follow-up period of 6 months, a complete response was observed in 11 of 26 patients in group A (42.3%) and 7 of 30 in group B (23.3%; chi2 = 2.299, p = 0.129). The rate of complete response was significantly greater in the IFN-alpha than HC group at the end of therapy (46.7% vs 3.3%; chi2 = 15.022, p = 0.0001), and in the T-alphal than HC group at the end of follow-up (42.3% vs 3.3%; chi2 = 12.566, p = 0.0001). Ten of the 12 T-alphal responders (i.e. partial responders; 83.3%) experienced sustained, non-detectable HBV DNA after 6 months' treatment; 6 of the 14 T-alphal non-responders (42.9%) showed a delayed response of non-detectable HBV DNA during the follow-up period. Corresponding values for group B patients were 50% (9/18) and 0% (0/12). The rate of delayed response was significantly higher in group A than the other 2 groups (chi2 = 6.686, p = 0.010; chi2 = 4.964, p = 0.038), whereas the rate of flare was higher in group B than in the other 2 groups (chi2 = 3.445, p = 0.063; chi2 = 7.668, p = 0.006), during the follow-up period. Unlike IFN-alpha, T-alphal was well tolerated, i.e. no adverse effects were noted in group A. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that a 6-month course of T-alpha1 therapy is effective and safe in patients with anti-HBe-positive chronic hepatitis B; T-alpha1 can reduce HBV replication in such patients. Compared with IFN-alpha, T-alpha1 is better tolerated and seems to induce a gradual and more sustained normalization of ALT and loss of HBV DNA. Combination therapy with T-alpha1 and IFN-alpha or nucleoside analogs for hepatitis B warrants further study.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2004

Changes of soluble fas and soluble fas ligand in serum and peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between levels of soluble Fas (sFas) and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) in serum and peritoneal fluid of endometriosis-associated infertility. METHODS: The soluble Fas ligand and soluble Fas levels in serum and peritoneal fluid of 20 infertile patients with endometriosis were assessed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and were compared with 14 infertile patients due to chronic pelvic infectious disease and 16 fertile controls. RESULTS: The sFasL levels were significantly higher in infertile patients with endometriosis (175.09 +/- 80.55 pg/mL in serum and 284.50 +/- 152.38 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid) than those of infertile controls (88.47 +/- 43.55 pg/mL in serum and 17.30 +/- 9.62 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid) and fertile controls (16.13 +/- 11.75 pg/mL in serum and 8.84 +/- 2.31 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid). In contrast, as for the sFas levels, infertile patients with endometriosis (828.60 +/- 429.65 pg/mL in serum and 349.61 +/- 288.89 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid) did not show any significant difference compared with those in infertile patients resulting from pelvic infectious disease (868.75 +/- 570.48 pg/mL in serum and 181.76 +/- 157.78 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid) and fertile control (822.26 +/- 129.12 pg/mL in serum and 318.42 +/- 145.16 pg/mL in peritoneal fluid). CONCLUSIONS: Based upon these results, high level of sFasL in serum and peritoneal fluid and thus apoptosis mediated by it may be implicated in the mechanism involved in endometriosis-related infertility.

Ascitic Fluid↗