锂盐的作用机制及临床应用研究进展

锂是人体内的一种微量元素且以化合物的形式广泛存在于自然界。作为一种古老的治疗精神疾病方面的药物,锂盐被用来治疗双相情感障碍已超过60年,而现在锂盐在临床上表现出来的新应用已经越来越引起医学界的广泛重视。现代研究表明,锂盐是一种强大的糖原合成酶激酶-3(GSK-3β)抑制剂,锂盐除对脑细胞过度活动起抑制作用外,还具有营养神经和保护神经、抗炎、抗氧化、抗癌、免疫调节以及对甲状腺功能亢进的治疗作用。锂盐化学结构相对简单,而且目前人们对锂盐的使用经验及对锂离子的血药浓度监测手段已日趋成熟,所以锂盐具有相当好的临床应用前景,未来更进一步加大对锂盐的临床应用及作用机制的研究力度。现就锂盐新发现的作用机制及临床应用作一综述。     

Improved design of peptides exhibiting angiogenic activities for clinical applications

Vascularization is one of the key steps for engraftment in regenerative medicine. Previously one of the authors had discovered peptides exhibiting significant angiogenic activities designated AGP and elucidated the active core. For neovascularization basic fibroblast growth factor is used although permeation can be envisaged. The original AGPs did not suffer from this although their half-life times are short because of decomposition by endogenous enzymes. Several new AGP-libraries have been constructed and their enzymatic resistance has been investigated by the use of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to find candidates for clinical applications.     

Evaluation of leaf features in forest trees: Methods,techniques, obtainable information and limits

Tree leaves are interfaces between the whole organism and the environment. Leaves display a series of attributes that are linked to specific functions (functional leaf traits—FLT) and/or show responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors (stress response traits, SRT), which can be subdivided into: (a) morphological traits; (b) chemical traits; (c) physiological traits; (d) symptoms. The analysis of FLT is a useful tool for tree species and provenance phenotyping, due to the adaptation of trees to environmental stress. Additionally, FLT can be used as response factor in long term and large spatial scales surveys of forest conditions. Despite these potential benefits of leaf traits in the assessment of ecosystem health and functioning, leaf sampling in forests is time-consuming and costly, especially in forests with a complex vertical and horizontal structure and in remote forest areas. Once a foliar sample has been collected, many different analyses can be carried out; however, analyses should be technically simple and able to be performed within one day following the leaf collection (i.e., on fresh samples), or after air-drying the leaves themselves (analysis of dried specimens). This paper reports the results of leaf sampling and foliar analyses carried out in previous research projects and revises the current state-of-the-art. The leaf traits that are easily obtainable from leaf sampling are listed, together with the operational procedures necessary for their measurement, described in a standardized protocol. Their ecological and functional relevance is discussed in relation to their potential information (as indicators of climatic stress, drought, air and soil pollution, tree light-use and competition, plant nutritional status, health and general plant stress conditions). Finally, this review provides suggestions for the elaboration and reporting of data, and proposes some guidelines to improve the effectiveness of foliar analysis in the assessment of forest ecosystem health, properties and functioning.     

Regression Models for Clinical Trials with Correlated Categorical Responses

Regression models for correlated categorical data are presented in which the covariance is a function of measured effects. The regression and covariance parameters are estimated by extended least square methods. A numerical example of a clinical trial comparing two antiemetic treatment regimes for patients receiving chemotherapy is given to illustrate the approach.     

Quercetin-induced yeast apoptosis through mitochondrial dysfunction under the accumulation of magnesium in Candida albicans

Latterly, the upsurge in use of antifungal drugs has brought about the emergence of several drug-resistance strains, making it skeptical to continue relying on current therapeutic regime. In the necessity of resistance-free antifungal agent, flavonoids presented possibilities of replacing existing drugs, displaying antifungal activity against pathogenic fungi. Among them, quercetin, one of the most representative flavonoids, exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans. To inspect the further understanding regarding quercetin, the antifungal mode of action of quercetin was investigated. In the initial step, the apoptosis was monitored after quercetin treatment. Moreover, intracellular levels of Mg²⁺ was assessed and was determined that Mg²⁺ increase occurred under the influence of quercetin. In addition, several features of mitochondrial dysfunction were monitored. Mitochondrial dysfunction triggers decrease in mitochondrial redox levels and leads to disruption in mitochondrial antioxidant system. Increased intracellular ROS and decreased intracellular redox levels were also displayed, indicating the occurrence of overall disruption in antioxidant systems. Sequentially, DNA fragmentation was observed and this DNA damage in turn induces apoptosis. In analyses, hexaamminecobalt(III) chloride (Cohex) was applied to inhibit Mg²⁺ transport between cytosol and mitochondria. Cohex attenuated the effects induced by quercetin, which demonstrates that the presence of Mg²⁺ is essential in quercetin-induced apoptosis.     

Multiomic Metabolic Enrichment Network Analysis Reveals Metabolite–Protein Physical Interaction Subnetworks Altered in Cancer

Metabolism is recognized as an important driver of cancer progression and other complex diseases, but global metabolite profiling remains a challenge. Protein expression profiling is often a poor proxy since existing pathway enrichment models provide an incomplete mapping between the proteome and metabolism. To overcome these gaps, we introduce multiomic metabolic enrichment network analysis (MOMENTA), an integrative multiomic data analysis framework for more accurately deducing metabolic pathway changes from proteomics data alone in a gene set analysis context by leveraging protein interaction networks to extend annotated metabolic models. We apply MOMENTA to proteomic data from diverse cancer cell lines and human tumors to demonstrate its utility at revealing variation in metabolic pathway activity across cancer types, which we verify using independent metabolomics measurements. The novel metabolic networks we uncover in breast cancer and other tumors are linked to clinical outcomes, underscoring the pathophysiological relevance of the findings.     

Antibiogram,prevalence of methicillin-resistant and multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus spp. in different clinical samples

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp. (MRSS) are causing numerous forms of illness in humans ranging from mild to fatal infections. We need to investigate the resistant pattern for different clinical isolates to control the resistance phenomena. This study was designed to provide the resistance pattern of isolated Staphylococcus spp. from various clinical samples in Khartoum State and to elucidate the frequencies of Multidrug-resistant (MDR), Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pan-drug resistant (PDR). Two hundred and ten bacterial isolates were from different sources (catheter tip, sputum, vaginal swab, urine, tracheal aspirate, blood, pus, nasal swab, stool, throat swab, pleural fluid, and ear swab). Isolates were identified based on their morphological characters and biochemical reaction. Antibiotics susceptibility screening was performed using twenty-three antibiotics from eighteen classes against all isolated Staphylococcus spp. following the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. The result revealed that out of 63 Gram-positive isolated bacteria, 52 (82.5%) were Staphylococcus spp. with a high incidence of S. aureus 37(71.2%). Out of all Staphylococcus spp., 38 (73.1%) were Methicillin-resistant (MR). The prevalence of MDR was higher in S. aureus (89.2%) than in S. epidermidis (75%). All Staphylococcus spp. displayed resistance to ampicillin and penicillin, while all S. aureus were sensitive to daptomycin and fosfomycin. One isolate was XDR possible PDR, while no PDR was reported in all isolated bacteria. This study provided evidence for the antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) burden in Sudan and highlighted the need for a practical and functional stewardship program to reduce the unreasonable costs of antibiotics.     

家族性肥厚型心肌病一家系的调查分析

目的:分析一家族性肥厚型心肌病的特点。方法:对我院就诊的一肥厚型心肌病大家系进行临床调查研究,分析其临床特点,绘制家系图谱。结果:该家系为连续四代遗传,家系成员共35例,患者11例,猝死3例,死亡2例。有1例患者房颤及脑梗塞,2例患者行永久性起搏器植入术,猝死年龄最小3岁,符合肥厚型心肌病高发病率、高猝死率、发病年龄早等特点。结论:家族性肥厚型心肌病详细的家系调查有助于了解疾病全貌,更好地揭示其遗传规律。