Perimenopause raises the risk and incidence of depression, whereas the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Disturbed glucose regulation has been widely documented in depressive disorders, which renders the brain susceptible to various stresses such as estrogen depletion. However, whether and how glucose dysfunction regulates depression-like behaviors and neuronal damage in perimenopausal transition remains unexplored. Here, a prominent depressive phenotype was found in perimenopausal mice induced by the ovarian toxin 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD). The VCD depression susceptible group (VCD^SS) and the VCD depression resilient group (VCD^RES) were determined using a ROC-based behavioral screening approach. We found that the hippocampus, a crucial region linked to depression, had hyperglycemia and mitochondrial abnormalities. Interestingly, oral administration of the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (EMPA) and intrahippocampal glucose infusion suggest a close relationship between hyperglycemia in the hippocampus and the susceptibility to depression. We verified that cytochrome c oxidase 7c (COX7C) downregulation is a potential cause of the high glucose-induced neuronal injury using proteomic screening and biochemical validations. High glucose causes COX7C to be ubiquitinated in a S-phase kinase associated protein 1 (SKP1)-dependent manner. According to these results, SKP1/COX7C represents a unique therapeutic target and a novel molecular route for treating perimenopausal depression.

Objective:To ulteriorly explore the differences of psychotic symptoms and neurocognitive between patients with first-episode deficit subtype of schizophrenia (FDS) and patients with first-episode nondeficit subtype of schizophrenia (FNDS).Methods:From January 2021 to September 2021, a total of 88 first-episode treatment-naive schizophrenia were recruited from the Mental Health Center of West China Hospital and divided into FDS group( n=44) and FNDS group( n=44) according to the schedule for the deficit syndrome (SDS), and 44 healthy subjects were included as healthy control group (HC group, n=44). Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) was used to assess psychotic symptoms of patients and Wechsler adult intelligence scale, trail making test and logic memory test were used to evaluate intelligence quotient and neurocognitive function of all subjects.SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis, and independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare variables that met normal distribution, while the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used to compare variables that did not meet normal distribution. Results:(1) There were significant differences in psychotic symptoms between the FDS group and the FNDS group.Compared with the FNDS group, the FDS group had higher total score of PANSS ((95.95±16.82) vs (88.39±16.29)), negative symptoms ((27.57±7.52) vs (16.57±5.76)) and anergastic reaction ((13.43±3.82) vs (7.00(5.00, 9.00)), and lower positive symptoms scores ((21.95±6.88) vs (25.41±6.07)), activation ((8.00(5.00, 9.00) vs (9.27±3.47)), depression ((5.50(4.00, 9.00) vs (8.00(6.00, 12.00)) and supplementary item ((13.60±4.17) vs (17.30±5.39))(all P<0.05). (2) There were differences in neurocognitive functions between FDS group and FNDS group, and which in FDS and FNDS group were worse than that in HC group.Spatial memory (block design test: (23.70±11.05) vs (31.72±11.49)) and information processing speed (digit symbol test: (38.38±15.85) vs (47.97±14.99)) of FDS group were significantly lower than those of FNDS group(both P<0.05). Intelligence quotient, information processing speed and spatial memory of FDS group and FNDS group were lower than those of HC group(all P<0.05). Conclusion:FDS patients has more severe negative symptoms and anergastic reaction, and exit worse information processing speed and spatial memory dysfunction than FNDS patients.This unique pattern of impairment suggests that information processing speed and spatial memory may be important classification indicators for differentiating the deficit subtype of schizophrenia in the early stage.

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is capable of hydrolyzing nearly all β-lactam antibiotics, posing an emerging threat to public health. There are currently less effective treatment options for treating NDM-1 positive “superbug”, and no promising NDM-1 inhibitors were used in clinical practice. In this study, structure–activity relationship based on thiosemicarbazone derivatives was systematically characterized and their potential activities combined with meropenem (MEM) were evaluated. Compounds 19bg and 19bh exhibited excellent activity against 10 NDM-positive isolate clinical isolates in reversing MEM resistance. Further studies demonstrated compounds 19bg and 19bh were uncompetitive NDM-1 inhibitors with Ki = 0.63 and 0.44 μmol/L, respectively. Molecular docking speculated that compounds 19bg and 19bh were most likely to bind in the allosteric pocket which would affect the catalytic effect of NDM-1 on the substrate meropenem. Toxicity evaluation experiment showed that no hemolysis activities even at concentrations of 1000 mg/mL against red blood cells. In vivo experimental results showed combination of MEM and compound 19bh was markedly effective in treating infections caused by NDM-1 positive strain and prolonging the survival time of sepsis mice. Our finding showed that compound 19bh might be a promising lead in developing new inhibitor to treat NDM-1 producing superbug.

Endophytic fungi are promising producers of bioactive small molecules. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of an endophytic fungus

Objective:To evaluate the effect of microevolution on phenotypes and drug resistance of the Trichosporon asahii biofilm. Methods:The standard strain of Trichosporon asahii was obtained from the Fungal Biodiversity Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the fluconazole-sensitive primary strain (TO) of Trichosporon asahii was isolated from a case of trichosporonosis diagnosed in the Department of Dermatology, the Seventh Medical Center of Chinese People′s Liberation Army General Hospital in 2000, and the fluconazole-resistant evolved strain (TEVO) of Trichosporon asahii was isolated from the above patient in 2014. Biofilms of the above-mentioned strains were formed in vitro, and tetrazolium salt XTT reduction assay was performed to evaluate growth kinetics of the Trichosporon asahii biofilm, and laser scanning confocal microscopy to determine the thickness of the biofilm; the sessile minimum inhibitory concentrations (SMICs) of fluconazole, itraconazole and voriconazole against the biofilms at different growth stages were determined in vitro for the evaluation of the resistance of the biofilms. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons among multiple groups, and Hartley test for testing homogeneity of variance. If the variance was homogeneous, least significant difference test was used for multiple comparisons; if the variance was heterogeneous, Tamhane′ T2 test was used for multiple comparisons. Results:In the adhesion (0 h) and formation stages (4- 24 hours) of the Trichosporon asahii biofilm, the metabolic activity of the evolved strain TEVO was the weakest (adhesion stage: F = 35.705, P < 0.001; formation stage: F = 15.042, P < 0.001) . At 48 hours after adhesion, the biofilms matured, and the TO strain showed the weakest metabolic activity ( F = 10.985, P < 0.001) . In the maturation stage, the biofilm thickness of the TEVO strain (26.1 ± 1.18 μm) was significantly higher than that of the TO strain (22.8 ± 1.73 μm, P = 0.001) , but significantly lower than that of the standard strain (29.5 ± 1.28 μm, P = 0.001) . As drug susceptibility testing showed, the SMICs of azole antifungal agents against the TEVO strain were higher than those against the TO strain in the adhesion and formation stages of the Trichosporon asahii biofilm, and the SMICs of azole antifungal agents against the biofilms of the 3 strains of Trichosporon asahii were all over 1 024 mg/L in the maturation stage of the biofilm. Conclusion:Under the dual pressure of host environment and antifungal drugs, adaptive changes took place in the phenotypes of the Trichosporon asahii biofilm with an increase in the resistance to azole antifungal drugs.

OBJECTIVE：To establish a meth od for the simultaneous determination of 7 active components in Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex from different sources in Chongqing area ，so as to provide reference for improving the quality control standards of Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex and comparing the equivalence of their quality. METHODS ：HPLC method was used to determine the contents of neochlorogenic acid ，mulberroside A ，chlorogenic acid ，astragalin，kaempferol，morusin and isoquercetin in 58 batches of Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex. The chromatographic column was Diamonsil C 18 with mobile phase consisted of 0.1％ formic acid solution-acetonitrile （gradient elution ） at the flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 280 nm，column temperature was 30 ℃，and the injection volume was 10 μL. Using SPSS 22.0 software， independent sample t-test，principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to analyze the content difference of the above-mentioned 7 active components in Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex. RESULTS ：There was a good linear relationship between the peak area and the concentration of the above 7 active components （r≥0.999 0）. The RSDs of precision ，stability（24 h），repeatability，durability and recovery were less than 3％. The average contents of neochlorogenic acid ，mulberroside A ， chlorogenic acid ， astragalin， kaempferol， morusin and 023-58576130。E-mail：1025473978@qq.com isoquercetin in Mori Australis Cortex were 0.304，22.462， 1.730，1.308，1.593，2.842 and 0.657 mg/g，respectively. Those of Mori Cortex were 0.305，22.995，2.486，2.438， 2.916，4.158 and 1.264 mg/g，respectively. The results of independent sample t-test showed that only the content of kaempferol in the above 7 active components of Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex had significant difference （P＜0.05）. The results of principal component analysis and cluster analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the contents of above 7 active components between Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex. CONCLUSIONS：The established HPLC method is simple ，sensitive and accurate ，which can provide a reference for improving the quality control standard of Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex. Mori Australis Cortex and Mori Cortex have certain quality equivalence in main active components ，and the Mori Australis Cortex from M. australis and M. cathayana can be used as a substitute for the Mori Cortex.

Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of hyaluronidase injection through the facial artery in the treatment of vascular embolism such as skin ulceration and necrosis after cosmetic injection.Methods:Hyaluronidase was injected through facial artery in 13 patients who were diagnosed with vascular embolism after facial injection from January 2019 to May 2020. The facial artery was punctured with 22-gauge arterial blood collection needle or 19/23-gauge disposable venous infusion needle. The angle between the needle body and the skin varies depending on the patients’ weight, ranged 30°-45°. The needle was advanced slowly and pushed forward by 2-3 mm when blood backflow appeared in the needle core. After confirming the successful puncture of the facial artery, 0.5-1.5 ml hyaluronidase was slowly injected into the facial artery. The time of skin relaxation, tenderness relief, ulcer healing and wound recovery were observed. The pigmentation was observed and the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) was used to score the scars after 3-12 months.Results:A toal of 13 patients with vascular complications of hyaluronidase filler were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were 18-45-year-old(mean age, 35 years) and received hyaluronidase filler at private clinics. There were 12 women and 1 man. The time from onset to visit was 14 h to 4 d, with an average time of 2.5 d. Hyaluronidase was most commonly injected into the nasolabial folds (54%, 7 of 13). The second-ranked area is the nasalroot (23%, 3 of 13). These patients had skin swelling, necrosis, ecchymosis or black scabs during or after hyaluronidase injection. Some patients showed skin lesions combined with oral ulcer. After percutaneous facial arterial hyaluronidase injection, the local skin tissue injuries of the 13 patients were improved in time. The time of skin relaxation was (0.77±0.25) d, the time of tenderness relief was (1.23±0.64) d, the time of ulcer healing was (3.14±0.64) d and the time of wound recovery was (5.85±0.86) d. Patients were followed up for 3-12 months, with an average of 7 months. One patient had slight scar (VSS score of 1), two patients had only mild pigmentation (VSS score of 0), and the other ten patients had no scar and pigmentation (VSS score of 0).Conclusions:It is effective to improve local microcirculation and reduce skin tissue injury after percutaneous facial artery hyaluronidase injection in the treatment of skin injury caused by facial filler injection.

Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of hyaluronidase injection through the facial artery in the treatment of vascular embolism such as skin ulceration and necrosis after cosmetic injection.Methods:Hyaluronidase was injected through facial artery in 13 patients who were diagnosed with vascular embolism after facial injection from January 2019 to May 2020. The facial artery was punctured with 22-gauge arterial blood collection needle or 19/23-gauge disposable venous infusion needle. The angle between the needle body and the skin varies depending on the patients’ weight, ranged 30°-45°. The needle was advanced slowly and pushed forward by 2-3 mm when blood backflow appeared in the needle core. After confirming the successful puncture of the facial artery, 0.5-1.5 ml hyaluronidase was slowly injected into the facial artery. The time of skin relaxation, tenderness relief, ulcer healing and wound recovery were observed. The pigmentation was observed and the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) was used to score the scars after 3-12 months.Results:A toal of 13 patients with vascular complications of hyaluronidase filler were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were 18-45-year-old(mean age, 35 years) and received hyaluronidase filler at private clinics. There were 12 women and 1 man. The time from onset to visit was 14 h to 4 d, with an average time of 2.5 d. Hyaluronidase was most commonly injected into the nasolabial folds (54%, 7 of 13). The second-ranked area is the nasalroot (23%, 3 of 13). These patients had skin swelling, necrosis, ecchymosis or black scabs during or after hyaluronidase injection. Some patients showed skin lesions combined with oral ulcer. After percutaneous facial arterial hyaluronidase injection, the local skin tissue injuries of the 13 patients were improved in time. The time of skin relaxation was (0.77±0.25) d, the time of tenderness relief was (1.23±0.64) d, the time of ulcer healing was (3.14±0.64) d and the time of wound recovery was (5.85±0.86) d. Patients were followed up for 3-12 months, with an average of 7 months. One patient had slight scar (VSS score of 1), two patients had only mild pigmentation (VSS score of 0), and the other ten patients had no scar and pigmentation (VSS score of 0).Conclusions:It is effective to improve local microcirculation and reduce skin tissue injury after percutaneous facial artery hyaluronidase injection in the treatment of skin injury caused by facial filler injection.

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of Escherchia albertii in Shanxi province. Methods:The chicken intestines were enriched in EC broth. The eae gene was detected by PCR, and the eae-positive EC enrichments were inoculated in MacConkey agar plate. The eae-positive lactose non-fermenting isolates were presumed as Escherchia albertii, and then analyzed by triplex-PCR, 16S rDNA sequencing and MLST. Results:Two suspected Escherchia albertiiwere isolated from 250 samples of chicken intestines. It was identified as Escherchia albertii by phenotypic, specific genes,16S rDNA sequencing, and MLST analyses . The cytolethal distending toxin B ( cdtB) showed positive by PCR,and they were clusted to Ⅱ/Ⅲ/Ⅴ group by sequencing. Conclusion:This study showed that the Escherchia albertii was existed in Shanxi province, China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate curative effects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients by the transfusion of other convalescent plasma. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 18 patients with severe and critical COVID-19, who were hospitalized in the ICU of Xianghu Branch of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from February 1 to March 15, 2020. Patients were subdivided into an experimental group (=6, who had transfused the plasma) and an observation group (=12, who had no plasma transfusion). Basic clinical data and prognosis indexes of these two groups were compared. Moreover, for the experimental group, the dynamic changes of blood oxygen saturation before and after the transfusion, the changes of lymphocyte absolute value 48 hours after the transfusion, and the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) nucleic acid were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, gender, blood type and other basic clinical data between the two groups (all >0.05).There were no significant differences in ventilator machine weaning time, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) weaning time, body temperature recovery to normal time, and hospitalization days between these two groups (all >0.05). For the experimental group, before, during and after the convalescent plasma transfusion, the blood oxygen saturation of all 6 patients at all time (1, 6, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h) was more than 90%, and there was no significant fluctuation. There were 3 patients whose absolute value of lymphocyte was increased 48 hours after the transfusion, and the remaining was decreased. There were 5 patients whose SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid detection turned negative 48 hours after the transfusion, accounting for 83.3%. CONCLUSIONS Transfusion of convalescent plasma will not affect outcomesof COVID-19 patients, which can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in patients and reduce the loading capacity of SARS-CoV-2.
Betacoronavirus ; Blood Component Transfusion ; China ; Coronavirus Infections ; therapy ; Humans ; Immunization, Passive ; Pandemics ; Plasma ; Pneumonia, Viral ; therapy ; Retrospective Studies