Phylogenetic positions of several amitochondriate protozoa——Evidence from phylogenetic analysis of DNA topoisomerase II

In the 1980s some special protozoa were gradually recognized: being eukaryotes, they possess some characteristics between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, for example, lack of eukaryotic organelle such as mi-tochondria, and even 70S ribosomes in some species, containing 16S, 23S rRNA like those of prokaryotes. These protozoa contain diplomonads (e.g. intestinal parasite Giardia), parabasalids (e.g. venereal disease pathogen Trichomonas), microsporidia (e.g. the human pathogen Encephalitozoon), a…     

随机扩增多态性对白色念珠菌分型的估价

利用随机扩增多态性(RAPD-PGR)的方法对48株白念珠菌Candida albicans(Robin)Berkh进行了分析。由初步试验中,随机选用了18种引物,筛选出OPA-14引物,该引物扩增的带型清晰可辨,不同菌株之间扩增的带数6—12条不等,共有6条主带。扩增片段的长度粗略估计在300—2000bp左右。除个别菌株的带型相同以外,大多数菌株之间呈多态性分布,其带型的数目和扩增的片段存在差异。对简单的DNA制备方法,以及RAPD-PCR在临床应用和流行病学调查中的可行性进行了初步探讨。     

Depressive symptoms and gender differences in older adults in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic: a network analysis approach

Background: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak had a detrimental impact on the mental health of older adults. This study evaluated the central symptoms and their associations in the network of depressive symptoms and compared the network structure differences between male and female older adults in Hong Kong.Methods: Altogether, 3,946 older adults participated in this study. We evaluated the centrality indicators for network robustness using stability and accuracy tests, and examined the potential differences between the structure and connectivity of depression networks in male and female older adults.Results: The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 43.7% (95% CI=40.6-46.7%) in males, and 54.8% (95% CI=53.1-56.5%) in females (P<0.05). Sad Mood, Guilt, Motor problems and Lack of Energy were influential symptoms in the network model. Gender differences were found in the network global strength, especially in the following edges: Sad Mood--Guilt, Concentration--Guilt, Anhedonia--Motor, Lack of Energy--Suicide, Appetite--Suicide and Concentration--Suicide.Conclusions: Central symptoms in the depressive symptom network among male and female older adults may be prioritized in the treatment and prevention of depression during the pandemic.     

Long Covid: where we stand and challenges ahead

Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), also known as Post-Covid Syndrome, and colloquially as Long Covid, has been defined as a constellation of signs and symptoms which persist for weeks or months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. PASC affects a wide range of diverse organs and systems, with manifestations involving lungs, brain, the cardiovascular system and other organs such as kidney and the neuromuscular system. The pathogenesis of PASC is complex and multifactorial. Evidence suggests that seeding and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in different organs, reactivation, and response to unrelated viruses such as EBV, autoimmunity, and uncontrolled inflammation are major drivers of PASC. The relative importance of pathogenetic pathways may differ in different tissue and organ contexts. Evidence suggests that vaccination, in addition to protecting against disease, reduces PASC after breakthrough infection although its actual impact remains to be defined. PASC represents a formidable challenge for health care systems and dissecting pathogenetic mechanisms may pave the way to targeted preventive and therapeutic approaches.Subject terms: Infectious diseases, Immunological disorders     

Final benefit of primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-elevation myocardial infarction in older patients: long-term results of a randomised trial

BackgroundAlthough the short-term benefit of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has been demonstrated, the final long-term survival benefit is as yet unknown.AimTo assess the final survival benefit of primary PCI as compared to thrombolytic therapy in patients over 75 years of age.MethodsPatients > 75 years with STEMI were randomised to either primary PCI or thrombolysis. Long-term data on survival were available for all patients.ResultsA total of 46 patients were randomised to primary PCI, 41 to thrombolysis. There were no significant differences in baseline variables. After a maximum of 20 years’ follow-up, all patients had passed away. The patients randomised to thrombolysis died after a mean follow-up duration of 5.2 years (SD 4.9) compared to 6.7 years (SD 4.8) in patients randomised to primary PCI (p = 0.15). Thus, the mean final survival benefit of primary PCI was 1.5 years.ConclusionThe final survival benefit of primary PCI as compared to thrombolysis in elderly patients with STEMI is 1.5 years and their life expectancy increases by 28.8%.     

Long-term follow-up in primary Sjögren’s syndrome reveals differences in clinical presentation between female and male patients

Background

Despite men being less prone to develop autoimmune diseases, male sex has been associated with a more severe disease course in several systemic autoimmune diseases. In the present study, we aimed to investigate differences in the clinical presentation of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) between the sexes and establish whether male sex is associated with a more severe form of long-term pSS.

Methods

Our study population included 967 patients with pSS (899 females and 68 males) from Scandinavian clinical centers. The mean follow-up time (years) was 8.8 ± 7.6 for women and 8.5 ± 6.2 for men (ns). Clinical data including serological and hematological parameters and glandular and extraglandular manifestations were compared between men and women.

Results

Male patient serology was characterized by more frequent positivity for anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB (p = 0.02), and ANA (p = 0.02). Further, men with pSS were more frequently diagnosed with interstitial lung disease (p = 0.008), lymphadenopathy (p = 0.04) and lymphoma (p = 0.007). Conversely, concomitant hypothyroidism was more common among female patients (p = 0.009).

Conclusions

We observe enhanced serological responses and higher frequencies of lymphoma-related extraglandular manifestations in men with pSS. Notably, lymphoma itself was also significantly more common in men. These observations may reflect an aggravated immune activation and a more severe pathophysiological state in male patients with pSS and indicate a personalized managing of the disease due to the influence of the sex of patients with pSS.

     

蛋白酶激活受体

蛋白酶激活受体(protease-activated receptor,PAR)属于G蛋白偶联受体家族,包括4个成员,除PAR2为胰蛋白酶受体外,其他三个都是凝血酶受体,PAR通过形成或暴露新的N末端被激活。PAR广泛表达于全身各组织,尤其在消化系统表现出多种功能;通过促进细胞增殖、迁移、浸润、血管生成以及组织重构(通过促进细胞增殖、迁移、浸润和血管生成),同时抑制细胞的分化和凋亡等因素参与肿瘤的发生和发展,这为临床诊治和预后评判提供了有力的手段。     

The Gene Ontology's Reference Genome Project: A Unified Framework for Functional Annotation across Species

The Gene Ontology (GO) is a collaborative effort that provides structured vocabularies for annotating the molecular function, biological role, and cellular location of gene products in a highly systematic way and in a species-neutral manner with the aim of unifying the representation of gene function across different organisms. Each contributing member of the GO Consortium independently associates GO terms to gene products from the organism(s) they are annotating. Here we introduce the Reference Genome project, which brings together those independent efforts into a unified framework based on the evolutionary relationships between genes in these different organisms. The Reference Genome project has two primary goals: to increase the depth and breadth of annotations for genes in each of the organisms in the project, and to create data sets and tools that enable other genome annotation efforts to infer GO annotations for homologous genes in their organisms. In addition, the project has several important incidental benefits, such as increasing annotation consistency across genome databases, and providing important improvements to the GO's logical structure and biological content.