Prioritising African perspectives in psychiatric genomics research: Issues of translation and informed consent

Psychiatric genomics research with African populations comes with a range of practical challenges around translation of psychiatric genomics research concepts, procedures, and nosology. These challenges raise deep ethical issues particularly around legitimacy of informed consent, a core foundation of research ethics. Through a consideration of the constitutive function of language, the paper problematises like‐for‐like, designative translations which often involve the ‘indigenization’ of English terms or use of metaphors which misrepresent the risks and benefits of research. This paper argues that effective translation of psychiatric genomics research terminology in African contexts demands substantive engagement with African conceptual schemas and values. In developing attenuated forms of translational thinking, researchers may recognise the deeper motivational reasons behind participation in research, highlighting the possibility that such reasons may depart from the original meaning implied within informed consent forms. These translational issues might be ameliorated with a critical re‐examination of how researchers develop and present protocols to institutional ethics review boards.     

新型冠状病毒SARS-CoV-2研究进展

在武汉发生的由新型冠状病毒SARS-CoV-2引发的人类冠状病毒病COVID-19,仅仅2个多月时间在我国及国际上70多个国家出现迅速传播,致病和死亡率高,人类生命受到了极大威胁。一些科学家火速投入研究,对SARS-CoV-2的来源和进化、形态特征和基因结构、感染和致病分子机制开展深入研究,取得了重大进展,为科学防控COVID-19提供了重要依据。根据上述研究的基础,文中对COVID-19病毒疫苗、抗体和抑制剂研发提出了设想,在研究防控COVID-19核心技术上具有一定的参考价值。     

《本草图经》药物杜衡的本草考证

研究《本草图经》中记载的中药杜衡,通过查阅历代书籍和现代文献记载,对其名称、形态、地理分布、功效、药图进行考证,探究其原植物品种。结果表明,《本草图经》中记载的杜衡其原植物可能包含马兜铃科细辛属植物杜衡(Asarum forbesii Maxim)和小叶马蹄香(Asarum ichangense C. Y. Cheng et C. S. Yang)两种,该结果可为充分认识中药杜衡的基原植物提供新的佐证,为中药杜衡的临床应用提供参考。     

Long‐term research avoids spurious and misleading trends in sustainability attributes of no‐till

Agricultural management recommendations based on short‐term studies can produce findings inconsistent with long‐term reality. Here, we test the long‐term environmental sustainability and profitability of continuous no‐till agriculture on yield, soil water availability, and N₂O fluxes. Using a moving window approach, we investigate the development and stability of several attributes of continuous no‐till as compared to conventional till agriculture over a 29‐year period at a site in the upper Midwest, US. Over a decade is needed to detect the consistent effects of no‐till. Both crop yield and soil water availability required 15 years or longer to generate patterns consistent with 29‐year trends. Only marginal trends for N₂O fluxes appeared in this period. Relative profitability analysis suggests that after initial implementation, 86% of periods between 10 and 29 years recuperated the initial expense of no‐till implementation, with the probability of higher relative profit increasing with longevity. Importantly, statistically significant but misleading short‐term trends appeared in more than 20% of the periods examined. Results underscore the importance of decadal and longer studies for revealing consistent dynamics and emergent outcomes of no‐till agriculture, shown to be beneficial in the long term.     

中国首批国家公园体制试点的经验与成效、问题与建议

建立国家公园体制是建设生态文明制度的重要内容,是解决我国自然保护地发展过程中存在的重叠设置、多头管理、边界不清、权责不明、保护与发展矛盾突出等问题的重大举措。根据国家统一部署,2020年要设立一批国家公园,分级统一的管理体制基本建立。在跨时2年的资料收集、实地考察基础上,全面总结首批10个国家公园体制试点的经验与成效,梳理试点过程中存在的问题,并提出针对性建议,以期全面展现国家公园体制试点的最新进展,为国家公园深化建设提供参考和依据。结果显示,各试点区基本建立起分级统一的管理体制,创新了运行机制,保护力度持续加强,资金投入不断加大,科研合作不断深化,社会参与逐渐扩大。体制试点产生了明显的生态成效,民生改善初步显现,社会效益充分彰显。但是,仍然存在管理机构级别和类型参差不齐,法律制度不健全,资金保障长效机制未建立,人才队伍建设滞后,保护与发展的矛盾突出,空间范围不合理等问题。建议采取必要措施改进存在的问题,积极推广有效经验,加快健全国家公园体制。     

Evaluating the effectiveness of retention forestry to enhance biodiversity in production forests of Central Europe using an interdisciplinary,multi‐scale approach

Retention forestry, which retains a portion of the original stand at the time of harvesting to maintain continuity of structural and compositional diversity, has been originally developed to mitigate the impacts of clear‐cutting. Retention of habitat trees and deadwood has since become common practice also in continuous‐cover forests of Central Europe. While the use of retention in these forests is plausible, the evidence base for its application is lacking, trade‐offs have not been quantified, it is not clear what support it receives from forest owners and other stakeholders and how it is best integrated into forest management practices. The Research Training Group ConFoBi (Conservation of Forest Biodiversity in Multiple‐use Landscapes of Central Europe) focusses on the effectiveness of retention forestry, combining ecological studies on forest biodiversity with social and economic studies of biodiversity conservation across multiple spatial scales. The aim of ConFoBi is to assess whether and how structural retention measures are appropriate for the conservation of forest biodiversity in uneven‐aged and selectively harvested continuous‐cover forests of temperate Europe. The study design is based on a pool of 135 plots (1 ha) distributed along gradients of forest connectivity and structure. The main objectives are (a) to investigate the effects of structural elements and landscape context on multiple taxa, including different trophic and functional groups, to evaluate the effectiveness of retention practices for biodiversity conservation; (b) to analyze how forest biodiversity conservation is perceived and practiced, and what costs and benefits it creates; and (c) to identify how biodiversity conservation can be effectively integrated in multi‐functional forest management. ConFoBi will quantify retention levels required across the landscape, as well as the socio‐economic prerequisites for their implementation by forest owners and managers. ConFoBi's research results will provide an evidence base for integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management in temperate forests.     

Focus: Zoonotic Disease: The Practice of Science as the Pursuit of Knowledge

Choosing what scientific project to pursue is the most important decision that scientists at all levels continually face. Time devoted to a project can further desirable knowledge and advance a career or cost years in lost opportunity. Knowing what to consider before embarking on a specific scientific journey, as well as when to drop a project and change course, offers a way of practicing science that keeps us mindful of what is relevant at a given time and place while preserving our freedom to explore the most exciting findings. This article explores both the pressures that restrict this delicate decision-making process and the processes that scientists can apply to overcome those pressures. Above all else, as it turns out, we must still love the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake – and this love directly impacts our results.     

基于“抗疫精神”的“基因工程”课程思政教学设计与实践

课程思政是当前高校落实“立德树人”根本任务的重要形式。在抗击新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情中,中华民族同舟共济、守望相助,共同铸就了伟大的抗疫精神,为课程思政教学提供了最生动的元素。本文对“战疫”行动中的抗疫精神进行梳理和总结,将其内涵凝练为5项内容;以新型冠状病毒的“核酸检测、疫苗研制及其变异”中蕴含的“抗疫精神”为思政载体,甄选“基因工程”课程中对应的理论内容,开展聚焦抗疫精神的“基因工程”课程思政教学设计与实践研究,利用问卷法和深度访谈法对教学实施效果进行评价,旨在引导学生在学习专业理论知识的同时,感悟课程内容中蕴含的抗疫精神,并将其内化为价值追求,潜移默化中提升学生的思想意识和道德修养,同时为生物类其他专业课程思政教学提供参考和借鉴。     

骨水泥强化椎弓根螺钉联合椎间融合复位治疗老年重度腰椎滑脱的临床研究

摘要 目的：观察椎间融合复位联合骨水泥强化椎弓根螺钉治疗老年重度腰椎滑脱的临床效果。方法：回顾性分析我院于2016年3月~2019年3月期间收治的老年重度腰椎滑脱患者92例,根据治疗方案的不同可将患者分为A组（n=44）和B组（n=48）,A组给予椎弓根螺钉联合椎间融合复位治疗,B组给予骨水泥强化椎弓根螺钉联合椎间融合复位治疗,对比两组视觉疼痛模拟评分（VAS）、Oswestry功能障碍指数（ODI）及日本骨科协会（JOA）腰腿痛评分、临床指标、滑脱距离、滑脱率、椎间隙高度、椎间融合率、椎间孔高度、并发症及螺钉松动情况。结果：术后12个月,两组VAS、ODI、JOA评分均下降,且B组低于A组（P<0.05）。两组术中出血量对比组间无统计学差异（P>0.05）,B组手术时间长于A组,住院时间短于A组,椎间融合率高于A组（P<0.05）。术后12个月,两组滑脱距离、滑脱率均下降,且B组小于A组（P<0.05）。术后12个月,两组椎间隙高度、椎间孔高度均升高,且B组高于A组（P<0.05）。两组并发症发生率组间对比无差异（P>0.05）。结论：老年重度腰椎滑脱患者椎间融合复位联合骨水泥强化椎弓根螺钉治疗,虽一定程度上延长了手术时间,但可促进临床症状,改善椎间高度及腰椎滑脱程度,缩短住院时间,且不增加并发症发生率。