OBJECTIVE:To establish an RP-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of the contents of costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone in Xuedan weichang pill. METHODS:The determination was performed on Shim-pack VP-ODS column(150 mm?4.6 mm,5 ?m) with methanol-water(60∶40) as mobile phase and the detection wavelength was set at 225 nm.RESULTS:The linear ranges of costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone were 13.6～272.0 ?g?mL-1 and 11.25～225.0 ?g?mL-1,respectively,and their average recoveries were 99.47% and 99.62%,respectively with RSD of 1.75%(n=6) and 1.14%(n=6),respectively. CONCLUSION:The method established is simple,feasible,accurate and reliable,and it is applicable for the quality control of Xuedan weichang pill.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of deoxynucleotide combined with pegylated interferon α-2a in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB﹚ with liver injury. Methods All 92 cases of CHB with liver injury patients were selected in our clinical study. All patients were randomly divided into treatment group(n=46, treated with PEG-IFNα-2a and deoxynucleotide acid injection, 200 mg/d, intravenous drip﹚and control group (n=46, treated with PEG-IFNα-2a﹚.Then assessment of CHB serum markers and liver function after 48 weeks continuous treatment. Results There were significant differences between the two groups in the HBV-DNA negative rate (60.7% v s 39.2%﹚, the HBeAg se roconversion rate (34.8%vs 15.2%﹚, the HBsAg negative rate (28.3% vs 10.8%﹚, the ALT levels(51.6±12.4 vs 72.3± 15.3﹚U/L, the AST levels(51.8±12.8 vs 70.8±13.4﹚U/L, the TBiL levels(23.5±7.6 vs 33.4±6.8﹚μmol/L, the ALP lev-els(87.2±24.2 vs 158.4±28.7﹚U/L, the serum levels of total protein (76.2±9.2 vs 65.2±8.2﹚g/L, albumin (37.5±8.3 vs 32.3±7.9﹚g/L, and the A/G levels (1.8±0.3 vs 1.4±0.3﹚(P<0.05﹚. What’s more, during the course of treatment, the neutropenia rate(6.5%vs 26.1%﹚,thrombocytopenia incidence rate (4.3% vs 23.9%﹚also had significant difference be-tween the treatment group and control group (P<0.05﹚. Conclusion There is synergistic clinical efficacy of deoxynu-cleotide combined pegylated interferonα-2a, and less adverse events during treatment.

Objective:To explore the correlation between high cholinergic pathway signaling and cognitive function in patients with Parkinson disease(PD) accompanied with sleep disorder.Methods:PD patients admitted from 2017 to 2022 were divided into PD with sleep disorder group (PD-SD group) ( n=56) and PD without sleep disorder group (PD-NSD group) ( n=41) according to the Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS) score. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging examination.All patients were evaluated by the PDSS, Hoehn-Yahr (H-Y), Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA), and cholinergic pathways hyper intensities scale (CHIPS). The difference of cognitive function between the two groups and the correlation between CHIPS and cognitive function were analyzed.Independent sample t-test, Spearman correlation analysis, and binary Logistic regression analysis were performed on the data by SPSS 26.0 statistical software. Results:(1)The MoCA score of the PD-SD group (22.00 (5.00)) was lower than that of the PD-NSD group (26.00 (5.00)) ( Z=-3.830, P<0.05). The total and all aspects scores of CHIPS in PD-SD group were higher than those in PD-NSD group(the total score of the low external capsule: 12.00(8.00), 0(8.00), the total score of the high external capsule: 12.00(2.00), 6.00(9.00), the total score of the radial crown: 8.00(0), 4.00(4.00), the total score of the centrum semiovale: 3.00(4.00), 0(2.00), the total score of the right side: 16.00(9.00), 5.00(10.00), the total score of the left side: 17.00(6.00), 7.00(9.00), the total score of CHIPS: 32.00(14.00), 14.00(20.00))( Z=-5.081, -5.873, -4.933, -3.211, -5.562, -6.232, -5.995, all P<0.05). (2)The correlation analysis between the score of CHIPS and cognitive function in the PD-SD group showed that, the total score of the low external capsule ( r=-0.286), the total score of the centrum semiovale ( r=-0.307), the total score of the right side ( r=-0.376), the total score of the left side ( r=-0.284) and the total score of CHIPS ( r=-0.349) were negatively correlated with MoCA(all P<0.05). (3)Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that white matter lesions in centrum semiovale, low inner capsule, right and left leukodystrophy were not influence factors for cognitive impairment (all P>0.05). Conclusion:PD patients with sleep disorders have lower cognitive function scores, higher CHIPS scores, and significant changes in white matter lesions compared to those without sleep disorders. In PD patients with sleep disorders, the higher the CHIPS score, the lower the cognitive function score, and the more significant the rate of cognitive impairment occurrence and development.

The international genetically engineered machine (iGEM) competition is a global top college academic competition in synthetic biology. The iGEM competition has exhibited extensive international influence and attracted teams from more than 40 countries and regions around the world to participate in. The annual iGEM outputs have attracted the attention of top academic journals or international media such as Science, Nature, Scientific American, The Economist, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), etc. High school teams participated in iGEM since 2011, and the number of high school teams has increased year by year. High school participants are increasingly becoming one of the most important forces to promote the development of iGEM and synthetic biology. IGEM competition has also become an important platform to foster the core literacy of high school students. This paper summarized the track rules, topic selection tendency and awards of high school teams based on data of 2017 to 2021 iGEM competition. In addition, we analyzed the significance of iGEM competition on fostering of high school students' core literacy and discussed the development trend of global high school teams, with the aim to provide a reference for high school team building in the future.
Humans ; Genetic Engineering ; Students ; Universities ; Synthetic Biology

Background::T-cell-mediated immunity is crucial for the effective clearance of viral infection, but the T-cell-mediated immune responses that are induced by booster doses of inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) remain unclear.Methods::Forty-five PLWH who had received antiretroviral therapy (ART) for more than two years and 29 healthy controls (HCs) at Beijing Youan Hospital were enrolled to assess the dynamic changes in T-cell responses between the day before the third vaccine dose (week 0) and 4 or 12 weeks (week 4 or week 12) after receiving the third dose of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), and multiplex cytokines profiling were used to assess T-cell responses at the three timepoints in this study.Results::The results of the ELISpot and activation-induced marker (AIM) assays showed that SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses were increased in both PLWH and HCs after the third dose of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and a similar magnitude of immune response was induced against the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant compared to the wild-type strain. In detail, spike-specific T-cell responses (measured by the ELISpot assay for interferon γ [IFN-γ] release) in both PLWH and HCs significantly increased in week 4, and the spike-specific T-cell responses in HCs were significantly stronger than those in PLWH 4 weeks after the third vaccination. In the AIM assay, spike-specific CD4 + T-cell responses peaked in both PLWH and HCs in week 12. Additionally, significantly higher spike-specific CD8 + T-cell responses were induced in PLWH than in HCs in week 12. In PLWH, the release of the cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and IL-22 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that were stimulated with spike peptides increased in week 12. In addition, the levels of IL-4 and IL-5 were higher in PLWH than in HCs in week 12. Interestingly, the magnitude of SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses in PLWH was negatively associated with the extent of CD8 + T-cell activation and exhaustion. In addition, positive correlations were observed between the magnitude of spike-specific T-cell responses (determined by measuring IFN-γ release by ELISpot) and the amounts of IL-4, IL-5, IL-2 and IL-17F. Conclusions::Our findings suggested that SARS-CoV-2-specific T-cell responses could be enhanced by the booster dose of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines and further illustrate the importance of additional vaccination for PLWH.

Objective To explore the effects of monocular deprivation(MD)on the expression of astrocytes in the superior colliculus,hippocampus,and visual cortex in mice during the critical period of visual development.Methods Eighteen C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the normal control group(CON group)and the MD group,with 9 mice in each group.Mice were bred under the 12 h/12 h dark/light conditions.Mice in the CON group received no treat-ment,while mice in the MD group underwent MD of the right eye on postnatal day 27,and the tissue was removed after 7 days.The mRNA and protein expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)in the superior colliculus,hippo-campus and visual cortex of mice in the two groups were detected using the real-time reverse transcription quantitative pol-ymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)and Western blot,respectively.The number of astrocytes labeled by GFAP and central nervous system specific protein β(S100β)in the superior colliculus,hippocampus and visual cortex of mice in the two groups was detected using the immunofluorescence staining.Results RT-qPCR and Western blot results showed that compared with the CON group,the mRNA and protein expression levels of GFAP in the superior colliculus,hippocampus(CA1,CA3 and dentate gyrus)and visual cortex of mice in the MD group decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The immunofluorescence staining results showed that compared with the CON group,the number of GFAP and S1OOβ co-labeled astrocytes in the superior colliculus,hippocampus(CA1,CA3 and dentate gyrus)and visual cortex of mice in the MD group decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion MD of mice during the critical period of visual development can result in a decrease in the number of astrocytes in the supe-rior colliculus,hippocampus and visual cortex.

Background:Functional dyspepsia (FD)with anxiety and gastric hypersensitivity is still one of the therapeutic difficulties in clinic. Gastrodin (Gas)may have dual effects of modulating gastric sensitivity and anxiety. Aims:To investigate the effect of Gas on gastric sensitivity and anxiety-like behavior in FD with anxiety-like gastric hypersensitivity in rats. Methods:Forty rats were randomly divided into control group,model group,buspirone group,low-dose Gas group and high-dose Gas group. Maternal separation,acute gastric irritation and restraint stress were sequentially performed to induce FD model with anxiety-like gastric hypersensitivity. At the 8th week,rats in control group and model group were intraperitoneally injected with 0. 9% NaCl solution 2. 0 mL/ kg,rats in buspirone group were given buspirone 3. 125 mg/kg,and rats in low- and high-dose Gas groups were given 62. 5,125. 0 mg/ kg Gas,respectively. The course was 7 days. Then elevated plus maze (EPM),open field test,abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR)and electromyography (EMG) were performed. Results:Compared with control group,EPM test showed that proportions of open arms entries and duration were significantly decreased (P < 0. 01);open field test showed that virtual central grids duration (P < 0. 05),number of virtual grids climbed and times of lifting were significantly decreased (P < 0. 01);when gastric balloon dilatation pressure was equal or greater than 40 mm Hg,AWR score,area under ROC curve (AUC)of EMG was significantly increased in model group (P < 0. 05). Compared with model group,above-mentioned indices in low- and high-dose Gas groups were significantly ameliorated (P < 0. 05). Conclusions:Gas could influence the gastric sensitivity and anxiety-like behavior of the brain-stomach axis regulated anxiety-like gastric hypersensitivity in FD rat model.