CircR-ZC3HC1 mediates MiR-384-5p/SIRT1 axis to promote neuronal autophagy and relieves ischemic stroke

Objective:Circular RNAs(circRNAs)have been shown to involve in pathological processes of ischemic stroke(IS),including autophagy.This study was designed to explore the effect of circR-ZC3HC1 on neuronal autophagy in IS and the related mechanisms.Methods:Expression of circR-ZC3HC1 in blood samples of IS patients and healthy controls was detected.Hippocampal neurons were treated with oxygen and glucose deprivation(OGD)to establish IS in vitro model.The expression of LC3 and p62 and the number of autophagosomes were examined to evaluate the autophagy level of OGD induced neurons using western blotting and transmission electron microscope.Cell apoptosis rate and the expression of cleaved caspase-3,Bax,and Bcl-2 were assessed byflow cytometry and western blotting.The binding relationships among circR-ZC3HC1,miR-384-5p,and SIRT1 were predicted and verified.Results:Low expression of circR-ZC3HC1 was found in blood samples of IS patients and OGD-treated neurons.Overexpressed circR-ZC3HC1 or inhibited miR-384-5p expression promoted autophagy and inhibited apoptosis of OGD-treated neurons,which could be reversed by further 3-MA treatment.Mechanistically,circR-ZC3HC1 targeted miR-384-5p to mediate SIRT1 expression.miR-384-5p overexpression or SIRT1 knockdown in the presence of circR-ZC3HC1 overexpression in OGD-treated neurons lead to reduced autophagy and enhanced apoptosis.Conclusion:Collectively,circR-ZC3HC1 promoted neuronal autophagy to attenuate IS via miR-384-5p/SIRT1 axis.

2007–2015年太湖水体理化监测数据集

本数据集整理了2007–2015年中国科学院太湖湖泊生态系统研究站太湖8个长期常规监测站点的逐月理化数据,包括透明度、水深、水温、电导率、悬浮质、溶解氧、pH、硅酸盐、磷酸盐、亚硝酸盐氮、硝酸盐氮、氨态氮、化学需氧量、总磷、总氮和溶解性总有机碳,共计16个理化指标,13810个数值。使用箱线法对数据进行质量检验,检验结果显示16个指标中有10个指标的有效数据占比达到95%以上,仅有1个指标的有效数据占比在90%以下。本数据集的整理出版可为探究太湖生态系统变化特征提供数据基础,为富营养化防控治理及饮用水安全保障等提供科学支撑。

一例胰腺纤维钙化性糖尿病的诊疗和基因检测分析

胰腺纤维钙化性糖尿病(fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes,FCPD)是一类罕见的、胰腺内、外分泌功能同时发生障碍的特殊类型糖尿病。本文报道了1例FCPD患者的临床资料,该患者自幼年起反复出现腹痛,25岁时诊断为糖尿病,腹部CT见胰腺钙化,基因检测发现SPINK1基因有2个纯合突变(c.194+2T>C和-191-24G>A)。基因检测分析发现其父母为杂合变异,其弟弟为纯合变异,但尚未观察到FCPD的典型表现。结合该病例及国内90例FCPD患者的临床特点汇总分析,建议对体型消瘦、无酮症倾向但胰岛功能较差的分型不明确糖尿病患者,需要考虑FCPD可能性,重视胰腺影像学及基因检测,尽早进行鉴别诊断。本文提高了对FCPD的认识和管理,为该疾病后续致病机制的深入研究与药物干预靶点的筛选充实了临床资料。

Risk factors for hepatic decompensation in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis

AIM:To examine the clinical features and analyze prognostic factors in a prospective study of primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC) patients.METHODS:From 1995 to 2010,PBC patients without hepatic decompensation seen at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital were enrolled.Clinical signs and manifestations(pruritus,persistent fatigue,jaundice and pain in the right hypochondrium),laboratory parameters(auto-antibodies for autoimmune hepatic disease,biliary and hepatic enzymes,immunoglobulin,bilirubin,and albumin) and imaging findings were recorded at entry and at specific time points during follow-up.Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses,respectively,assessed the risk factors for hepatic decompensation and survival.RESULTS:Two hundred and sixty-two PBC patients were enrolled with a median follow-up of 75.2 mo(range,21-201 mo).The 240 patients were aged 51.5 ± 10.2 years at diagnosis and 91.6% were female.Two hundred and forty-five(93.5%) were seropositive for anti-mitochondrial antibodies.At presentation,170 patients(64.9%) were symptomatic,while 96 patients(36.6%) had extra-hepatic autoimmune disease.During the follow-up period,62(23.7%) patients developed hepatic decompensation of whom four underwent liver transplantation and 17 died.The cumulative survival rate and median survival time were 83.9% and 181.7 mo,respectively.Cox regression analysis revealed that an incomplete ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA) response or inconsistent treatment [P < 0.001;hazard risk(HR) 95%CI = 2.423-7.541],anti-centromere antibodies(ACA) positivity(P < 0.001;HR 95%CI = 2.516-7.137),alanine aminotransferase ratio(AAR) elevations(P < 0.001;HR 95%CI = 1.357-2.678),and histological advanced liver disease(P = 0.006;HR 95%CI = 1.481-10.847) were predictors of hepatic decompensation.The clinical features and survival of PBC in China are consistent with those described in Western countries.CONCLUSION:Incomplete UDCA response or inconsistent treatment,ACA positivity,AAR elevations,and advanced histological stage are predictors of decompensation.

Comparison Between Reconstructions of Global Anthropogenic Land Cover Change over Past Two Millennia

Three global datasets, the History Database of the Global Environment (HYDE), Kaplan and Krumhardt (KK) and Pongratz of reconstructed anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) were introduced and compared in this paper. The HYDE dataset was reconstructed by Goldewijk and his colleagues at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Netherland, covering the past 12 000 years. The KK dataset was reconstructed by Kaplan and his colleagues, the Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Research Group at the Institute of Environmental Engineering in Switzerland, covering the past 8000 years. The Pongratz dataset was reconstructed by Pon-gratz and her colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany, covering AD 800-1992. The results show that the reconstructed datasets are quite different from each other due to the different methods used. The three datasets all allocated the historical ALCC according to human population density. The main reason causing the differences among the three datasets lies on the different relationships between population density and land use used in each reconstructed dataset. The KK dataset is better than the other two datasets for two important reasons. First, it used the nonlinear relationship between population density and land use, while the other two used the linear relationship. Second, Kaplan and his colleagues adopted the technological development and intensification parameters and considered the wood harvesting and the long-term fallow area resulted from shifting cultivation, which were neglected in the reconstructions of the other two datasets. Therefore, the KK dataset is more suitable as one of the anthropogenic forcing fields for climate simulation over the past two millennia that is recently concerned by two projects, the National Basic Research Program and the Strategic and Special Frontier Project of Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Virus load and virus shedding of SARS-CoV-2 and their impact onpatient outcomes

BACKGROUND Understanding a virus shedding patterns in body fluids/secretions is importantto determine the samples to be used for diagnosis and to formulate infectioncontrol measures.AIM To investigate the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)shedding patterns and its risk factors.METHODS All laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 patients with completemedical records admitted to the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital from January28, 2020 to March 8, 2020 were included. Among 145 patients (54.5% males;median age, 46.1 years), three (2.1%) died. The bronco-alveolar lavage fluid(BALF) had the highest virus load compared with the other samples. The viralload peaked at admission (3.3 × 108 copies) and sharply decreased 10 d afteradmission.RESULTS The viral load was associated with prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) duration.Patients in the ICU had significantly longer shedding time compared to those inthe wards (P < 0.0001). Age > 60 years [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.6;95% confidenceinterval (CI): 0.4-0.9] was an independent risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 shedding,while chloroquine (HR = 22.8;95%CI: 2.3-224.6) was a protective factor.CONCLUSION BALF had the highest SARS-CoV-2 load. Elderly patients had higher virus loads,which was associated with a prolonged ICU stay. Chloroquine was associatedwith shorter shedding duration and increased the chance of viral negativity.

Exploration and Practice of Customized Agricultural Meteorological Service Based on Short Message Service

On the basis of the analysis of main problems existing in current agricultural meteorological service in China,for the purpose of exploring a solution to the "last kilometer" problem in rural meteorological service,this article designed four short message service products with the business brand name "meteorology for agricultural condition",including "weather prediction for farming season","weather forecast for farming","weather alert",and "meteorological hazards of agriculture".By taking advantage of telecom operators' market,these products have been spread to more than 1 million rural mobile phone users and widely welcomed.They also contributed enormously to disaster prevention and peasants' income growth,and achieved good social and economic benefits.

Pulmonary tuberculosis presenting with aortic pseudoaneurysm, diffuse alveolar hemorrhage, and cardiomyopathy: Is there an intriguing relationship?

A 22-year-old Chinese man presented with fever, cough, hoarseness, neck pain, acute heart failure and hemoptysis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was proved by sputum culture. Chest imaging showed an aortic arch pseudoaneurysm and bilateral ground glass opacities. Echocardiography confirmed cardiomyopathy. With anti-TB drugs, high-dose prednisone and surgery, the life of this patient was successfully prolonged for more than four months. The concomitant disorders of aortic pseudoaneurysm, alveolar hemorrhage and cardiomyopathy in pulmonary tuberculosis are intriguing. We postulate that immune-mediated small vessel vasculitis triggered by pathogens plays an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease, rather than a direct TB infection.

Chromosome-level genome assembly and annotation of the native Chinese wild blueberry Vaccinium bracteatum

Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb.,an important native Chinese wild blueberry species,is widely used as a rootstock and in blueberry cultivar breeding,as well as in traditional medicine and local food.We report here the genome sequence of V.bracteatum using a combination of Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read and Illumina HiSeq short-read sequencing technologies to obtain 65.30 Gb of clean data,achieving 114.60-fold genome coverage.The assembled genome has a total sequence length of 569.81 Mb and consists of 36,756 predicted genes.Repetitive DNA sequences represent 57.78%of the genome sequence.Comparative genomic analysis revealed that a total of 336 gene families had expanded and that 298 candidate genes had undergone positive selection during evolution in V.bracteatum.The divergence of V.bracteatum from the related Rhododendron williamsianum and Rhododendron delavayi occurred~13−85 million years ago.The genome sequence of V.bracteatum allowed us to identify some important genes associated with traits involved in fruit development,such as flavonoid biosynthesis,sugar and acid metabolism,MYB transcription factor gene expression,and hormone regulation.The differential expression patterns of genes encoding flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes and MYB transcription factors might explain the high flavonoid content of V.bracteatum.This chromosome-level genome assembly provides reference sequences for the identification and characterization of genes important in the improvement of blueberry and related research.

A “Stem Cells in Cancer” special issue in Translational Cancer Research

Somatic stem cells （SSCs）, being essential in maintaining homeostasis of normal tissue, replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues for organism. On the other hand, with the self-renewed ability, SSCs are ideal cellular targets to be acquired in multiple mutations transforming SSCs to cancer stem cells （CSCs） which cause malignancies and even recurrence after cancer treatment if CSCs fail to be eradicated （1）.

Investigation into Phonological Attrition among Beginner Chinese Mandarin Language Learners

Studying foreign language attrition is important in the context of Chinese language learning because, in light of a growing worldwide interest in learning Chinese languages, language professionals need to understand the complexities of Chinese language acquisition. However, little research exists to date on foreign language attrition among Chinese language learners. In this study, we examined the features of language attrition,especially phonological attrition, among Mandarin learners in a higher educational institution in Brunei Darussalam. Additionally, we sought to test, in a Bruneian context,prominent theories and hypotheses about language attrition, including markedness theory and functional load theory. Our sample consisted of 86 beginner Mandarin students who spoke Malay as their native language and English as the academic language. Participants were 18-20 years old and studied Mandarin formally 4 hours per week for 14 consecutive weeks, during which they were also required to study for 8 hours per week on their own.Subsequently, they took a 3-month break from studying. We tested participants before and after the break and computed descriptive statistics to compare the results of the two tests. Our results showed the greatest attrition rates in tones and special structures of Mandarin, with less attrition in final and initial sounds. We discuss specific phonological findings as they relate to native Malay speakers, and we describe how our findings confirm or contradict,within the Bruneian context, existing theories. We conclude that markedness theory is applicable in our research context, but our findings failed to support functional load theory.

Detection sensitivity of ultrasound scanning vs.clinical examination for insulin injection-related lipohypertrophy

To the Editor:Lipohypertrophy(LH)is the most common local complication caused by multiple overlapping insulin injections.Clinically,LH manifests as prominent and/or thickened tissue at injection or infusion sites,sometimes resulting in lump formation under the skin.Histologically,LH is characterized by decreased vascularity,fibrosis,and adipocyte enlargement and proliferation in the subcutaneous tissue at insulin injection sites.Because of this,the existing screening methods for LH are mainly based on clinical examination and ultrasound scanning(USS).A recent systematic review revealed that only limited information is available for detection sensitivity among the different methods used to identify LH to date.Thus far,the gold standard examination for LH diagnosis remains debatable and there has been insufficient research on which patients require both kinds of examination.Currently,the detection sensitivity of USS vs.clinical examination for LH has not been reported in large sample-based studies.The present study aimed to compare the detection accuracy between USS and clinical examination using a large patient cohort and to determine the influencing factors for inconsistent detection results of LH between the two methods.

Aortic aneurysm and chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation： a retrospective study of 235 patients

Chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation （DIC） is a rare but devastating complication of aortic aneurysm （AA）. This study investigated the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and treatment of patients with AA-associated chronic DIC （AA-DIC） and explored the mechanisms, duration, and therapeutic response of AA-DIC. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 235 AA patients admitted at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital between September 2009 and January 2015. The patients were classified as those with DIC （AA-DIC） and those without DIC （non-DIC）. The AA-DIC group showed a significantly higher proportion of female patients and a significantly longer AA disease course than the non-DIC group did. The AA-DIC patients presented mural thrombi, dissecting aneurysms, a family history of AA, and diabetes significantly more frequently than the non-DIC patients did. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses revealed that sex, mural thrombus, aneurysm type, diabetes, and stent surgery are possible independent risk factors for AA-DIC patients. Fifty-two （22.1%） patients presented AA-DIC. Among these patients, 43 had non-typical DIC and 9 had typical DIC; the mortality rate of the latter was 22.2%. The mean age of the patients with typical DIC was significantly higher than of that of patients with non-typical DIC. The non-typical DIC patients also presented abnormal coagulation disorders of varying degrees. Furthermore, heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin improved the clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters in patients with AA and typical DIC. Thus, chronic DIC should be considered in patients with AA.

O-GlcNAcylation Coordinates Glutaminolysis by Regulating the Stability and Membrane Trafficking of ASCT2 in Hepatic Stellate Cells

Background and Aims:Recognition of excessive activa-tion of hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)in liver fibrosis prompt-ed us to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of HSCs.We aimed to examine the role of O-GlcNAcylation modifica-tion of alanine,serine,cysteine transporter 2(ASCT2)in HSCs and liver fibrosis.Methods:The expression of O-Glc-NAcylation modification in fibrotic mice livers and activated HSCs was analyzed by western blotting.Immunoprecipita-tion was used to assess the interaction of ASCT2 and O-Glc-NAc transferase(OGT).In addition,ASCT2 protein stability was assayed after cycloheximide(CHX)treatment.The O-GlcNAcylation site of ASCT2 was predicted and mutated by site-directed mutagenesis.Real-time PCR,immunofluores-cence,kit determinations and Seahorse assays were used to clarify the effect of ASCT2 O-GlcNAcylation on HSC glu-taminolysis and HSC activation.Western blotting,immuno-chemistry,and immunohistofluorescence were used to ana-lyze the effect of ASCT2 O-GlcNAcylation in vivo.Results:We observed significantly increased O-GlcNAcylation modi-fication of ASCT2.ASCT2 was found to interact with OGT to regulate ASCT2 stability.We predicted and confirmed that O-GlcNAcylation of ASCT2 at Thr122 site resulted in HSCs activation.We found Thr122 O-GlcNAcylation of ASCT2 me-diated membrane trafficking of glutamine transport and attenuated HSC glutaminolysis.Finally,we validated the expression and function of ASCT2 O-GlcNAcylation after in-jection of AAV8-ASCT2 shRNA in CCl4-induced liver fibrosis mice in vivo.Conclusions:Thr122 O-GlcNAcylation regu-lation of ASCT2 resulted in stability and membrane traf-ficking-mediated glutaminolysis in HSCs and liver fibrosis.Further studies are required to assess its role as a putative therapeutic target.

浅水湖泊物理-生态过程模拟平台(湖泊模拟平台)

湖泊是我国地表水资源库和山水林田湖草生命共同体的重要组成。湖泊生态系统相对封闭,结构与功能较为清晰,生物与环境相互作用紧密,是开展生态学理论与实践研究的优良场地。湖泊生态学研究的主要方法有野外观测、受控实验及数值模拟。而浅水湖泊环境容量小,湖泊生态系统对环境变化敏感。比如,风浪等物理过程能显著引起湖泊沉积物悬浮和内源营养盐释放,影响上覆水光环境,进而影响浮游植物生长乃至整个湖泊生态系统结构与功能。受制于野外受控实验系统的条件限制,目前我国湖沼学实验大多停留在数立方米体积的水池试验和条件较难控制的湖体中试,大尺度受控模拟试验装置缺乏,重要湖沼学过程和关键条件参数获取困难。在中国科学院野外站网络重点科技基础设施建设项目的支持下,中国科学院太湖湖泊生态系统研究站在我国第三大淡水湖——太湖建成了浅水湖泊物理-生态过程模拟平台,以高仿真湖泊物理模型实验平台为核心,配套大型生态实验平台与数值模拟平台,可以开展波浪、湖流、河道脉冲式输入等湖泊物理过程影响下的湖体污染物迁移转化过程、生物生理与生态系统响应过程,以及水体鱼类、高等水生植物、浮游藻类、底栖生物等生态系统模拟试验。利用模拟平台开展了重要水体生态过程研究、工程技术参数确定,极大增加了野外站受控实验能力和数值模型参数精度,提升了支撑国家生态修复与管理需求、国际湖沼学理论前沿探索的能力。

LASIK术后角膜变形和应力的有限元分析

目的:研究准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术(LASIK)后角膜的变形及内力变化,探究矫正屈光度、术前角膜厚度对术后角膜生物力学的影响。方法:采用Gasser-Holzapfel-Ogden超弹性本构关系描述角膜材料的力学行为,建立术前和术后人眼角膜生物力学的有限元模型,计算LASIK术前、术后角膜后表面中央点的位移差,分析不同矫正屈光度和术前角膜厚度对术后角膜变形和Mises应力的影响。结果:LASIK手术前后角膜后表面中央点位移差随矫正屈光度的变化呈非线性递增。在矫正屈光度较低时,LASIK术前角膜厚度对手术前后角膜后表面中央点位移差影响较弱,在矫正屈光度较高时影响比较明显。结论:矫正高度数屈光度情况下角膜厚度对术后角膜生物力学稳定性影响较大,LASIK由于角膜瓣的存在容易引起术后角膜应力增加。

锂离子电池正极界面修饰用电解液添加剂

提高电压是提高锂离子电池比能量的重要途径之一。例如,Li Ni0.5Mn1. 5O4(4.7V)、Li Ni PO4(5.1V)和富锂锰基等电极材料在较高的充电截止电压下表现出较高的能量密度和较低的成本,具有很好的应用前景。另外,提高Li CoO2和三元电池体系的充电截止电压是提升电池能量密度的简单有效措施。但是,当电池充电截止电压提高时,不仅会造成电解液在正极/电解液界面的氧化分解,还会加速正极中金属阳离子在电解液中的溶解,造成电池循环性能和安全性下降。采用不同的正极界面修饰用电解液添加剂,既可以有效钝化正极/电解液界面,抑制电解液的分解,还可以有效抑制正极结构的破坏。本文从添加剂的分子结构出发,介绍了磺酸酯、硼酸酯、磷酸酯、氟代碳酸酯、腈类、酸酐和锂盐等添加剂在正极界面的相关研究成果,并对不同添加剂的作用机理进行了详细的解释和归纳;另外,介绍了添加剂的联用技术在不同电池体系中的最新研究成果;最后,对新型正极界面修饰用电解液添加剂的开发进行了展望。

Lupus Myocarditis： A Case-Control Study from China

Background：Myocarditis is an uncommon but serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus （SLE）.This study aimed to investigate clinical characteristics and outcomes of lupus myocarditis （LM） and to determine risk factors of LM in hospitalized Chinese patients with SLE.Methods：We conducted a retrospective case-control study.A total of 25 patients with LM from 2001 to 2012 were enrolled as the study group,and 1 O0 patients with SLE but without LM were randomly pooled as the control group.Univariable analysis was performed using Chi-square tests for categorical variables,and the Student＇s t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test was performed for continuous variables according to the normality.Results：LM presented as the initial manifestation of SLE in 7 patients （28％） and occurred mostly at earlier stages compared to the controls （20.88 ± 35.73 vs.44.08 ± 61.56 months,P =0.008）.Twenty-one patients （84％） experienced episodes of symptomatic heart failure.Echocardiography showed that 23 patients （92％） had decreased left ventricular ejection fraction （＜50％） and all patients had wall motion abnormalities.A high SLE Disease Activity Index was the independent risk factor in the development of LM （odds ratio =1.322,P ＜ 0.001）.With aggressive immunosuppressive therapies,most patients achieved satisfactory outcome.The in-hospital mortality was not significantly higher in the LM group than in the controls （4％ vs.2％,P =0.491）.Conclusions：LM could result in cardiac dysfunction and even sudden death.High SLE disease activity might potentially predict the occurrence of LM at the early stage of SLE.Characteristic echocardiographic findings could confirm the diagnosis of LM.Early aggressive immunosuppressive therapy could improve the cardiac outcome of LM.

Current status of hair analysis in forensic toxicology in China

Hair analysis has been mainly used to document drug use history in abusers,drug-facilitated crime cases,doping control analysis and postmortem toxicology in the fields of forensic toxicology,clinical toxicology,and doping control.Hair analysis has also gained more attention in the last 30 years in China.Relevant technology has been promoted as more research has appeared concerning hair analysis,and consensus has been sought among forensic toxicologists regarding aspects such as hair decontamination treatment,detection of abused substances in hair,segmental hair analysis and interpretation of analytical results.However,there are still some limitations in the estimation of drug intake time and frequency by segmental hair analysis due to the different growth cycles evident within a bundle of hairs,the drug incorporation mechanism and sampling errors.Microsampling and imaging mass spectrometry(iMS)technology based on a single hair may be a good choice to estimate drug intake time more accurately.Analysis of hair root samples may also be used to document acute poisoning in postmortem toxicology,and the analysis of the hair shaft can document long-term use of drugs depending on the length of the hair being evaluated.

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy-Pacemaker Implantation Guided by Three-Dimensional Electroanatomic Mapping for a Chinese Young Man with Danon Disease

To the Editor:A20-year-old unmarried young male was hospitalized for 1 week due to an unexpected finding of heart enlargement at his regular physical examination.His parents and two sisters presented no abnormal findings in electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiography (Echo)examinations.He had an uncle with unexplained sudden death at the age of 47 years.