Long COVID and its Management

The pandemic of COVID-19 is the biggest public health crisis in 21^st Century. Besides the acute symptoms after infection, patients and society are also being challenged by the long-term health complications associated with COVID-19, commonly known as long COVID. While health professionals work hard to find proper treatments, large amount of knowledge has been accumulated in recent years. In order to deal with long COVID efficiently, it is important for people to keep up with current progresses and take proactive actions on long COVID. For this purpose, this review will first introduce the general background of long COVID, and then discuss its risk factors, diagnostic indicators and management strategies. This review will serve as a useful resource for people to understand and prepare for long COVID that will be with us in the foreseeable future.     

Sodium (±)‐5‐bromo‐2‐(α‐hydroxypentyl) benzoate ameliorates pressure overload‐induced cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction through inhibiting autophagy

Sodium (±)‐5‐bromo‐2‐(a‐hydroxypentyl) benzoate (generic name: brozopine, BZP) has been reported to protect against stroke‐induced brain injury and was approved for Phase II clinical trials for treatment of stroke‐related brain damage by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). However, the role of BZP in cardiac diseases, especially in pressure overload‐induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure, remains to be investigated. In the present study, angiotensin II stimulation and transverse aortic constriction were employed to induce cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo, respectively, prior to the assessment of myocardial cell autophagy. We observed that BZP administration ameliorated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and excessive autophagic activity. Further results indicated that AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)‐mediated activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway likely played a role in regulation of autophagy by BZP after Ang II stimulation. The activation of AMPK with metformin reversed the BZP‐induced suppression of autophagy. Finally, for the first time, we demonstrated that BZP could protect the heart from pressure overload‐induced hypertrophy and dysfunction, and this effect is associated with its inhibition of maladaptive cardiomyocyte autophagy through the AMPK‐mTOR signalling pathway. These findings indicated that BZP may serve as a promising compound for treatment of pressure overload‐induced cardiac remodelling and heart failure.     

X连锁精神发育迟滞相关基因JARID1C研究进展

JARID1C基因属于X连锁精神发育迟滞相关基因之一, 其表达产物影响大脑神经系统中相关基因的转录和表达, 并可能与人类认知能力密切相关。对JARID1C基因功能的研究有助于理解该基因在精神发育迟滞形成和人类认知能力发展中的分子作用, 也能为精神发育迟滞的临床诊断和防治提供参考。文章对JARID1C基因的定位、分离、转录产物的生理功能及其认知功能做一综述, 并对以后的研究工作进行了展望。     

应用排序分析藓类植物分类群分布与气候因素的关系

以我国21个山地藓类植物区系和气象资料为基础,应用典范对应分析(CCA)和除趋势典范对应分析(DCCA),比较了21个山地中藓类植物61个科,曲尾藓科(Dicranaceae)23个属、曲柄藓属(Campylopus)17种及曲尾藓属(Dicranum)35种分布与年均温度、>10℃积温、1月均温、7月均温、年均相对湿度、年均降雨量、年有雾天数、年有霜天数和年日照时数的关系,通过排序进行了直观的展示;同时还应用典范对应分析直观地反映了包括长白山在内的我国9个山地苔藓植物地理成分组成上的相似性及它们与气候因素间的关系.本文研究表明将DCCA和CCA应用到植物区系地理学研究上是可行的.     

PBI-SUR-TK载体靶向介导HSV-TK自杀基因诱导肝癌细胞凋亡

目的:构建Survivin启动子调控的表达载体,并检测在启动子调控下HSV-TK自杀基因对肝癌细胞HepG₂和正常肝细胞HL-7702凋亡的影响。方法:合成含TK基因的质粒PBI-SUR-TK,利用脂质体Lipofectamine 2000将其导入肝癌细胞和肝细胞。然后分别运用RT-PCR和Western blot特异性检测基因和蛋白的表达情况;利用CCK8方法检测细胞增殖情况,流式细胞仪上机检测细胞凋亡情况。结果:肝癌细胞转染组有更多的TK基因表达产物,增殖情况减弱,凋亡情况明显。结论:Survivin启动子驱动的HSV-TK/GCV自杀基因系统对肝癌可能有一定的治疗作用。     

Nitidine chloride inhibited the expression of S phase kinase-associated protein 2 in ovarian cancer cells

Nitidine chloride (NC) has been reported to exert its anti-tumor activity in various types of human cancers. However, the molecular mechanism of NC-mediated tumor suppressive function is largely unclear. In the current study, we used several approaches such as MTT, FACS, RT-PCR, Western blotting analysis, invasion assay, transfection, to explore the molecular basis of NC-triggered anti-cancer activity. We found that NC inhibited cell growth, induced cell apoptosis, caused cell cycle arrest in ovarian cancer cells. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that Skp2 plays an important oncogenic role in ovarian cancer. Therefore, we also explored whether NC exerts its biologic function via downregulation of Skp2 in ovarian cancer cells. We observed that NC significantly inhibited the expression of Skp2 in ovarian cancer cells. Notably, overexpression of Skp2 abrogated the anti-cancer activity induced by NC in ovarian cancer cells. Consistently, downregulation of Skp2 expression enhanced the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to NC treatment. Thus, inactivation of Skp2 by NC could be a novel strategy for the treatment of human ovarian cancer.     

内源荧光法在鉴别细菌表征中的应用

实现对细菌种属快速而高选择性的鉴别和表征在生化检测、临床医学和公共卫生领域变得日趋重要.内源荧光法以其灵敏度高、在线检测时间短、样品前处理简单等优势为微生物鉴别和表征提供了新方法.本文介绍了内源荧光法用于鉴别细菌表征的方法和原理;详细综述了近年来该方法用于食品分析、临床检验、环境监测和防生物恐怖等领域的细菌鉴别、代谢及追踪细菌源的现状和研究进展,并对其应用前景作了展望.