Incidence and prognosis of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain infection in China: A national multicenter survey of 35,566 individuals.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the epidemiology of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to COVID-19 in China. Methods: This study was conducted by 45 tertiary Grade-A hospitals in China. Online and offline questionnaire data were obtained from patients infected with COVID-19 between December 28, 2022, and February 21, 2023. The collected information included basic demographics, medical history, smoking and drinking history, vaccination history, changes in olfactory and gustatory functions before and after infection, and other postinfection symptoms, as well as the duration and improvement status of olfactory and gustatory disorders. Results: Complete questionnaires were obtained from 35,566 subjects. The overall incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunction was 67.75%. Being female or being a cigarette smoker increased the likelihood of developing olfactory and taste dysfunction. Having received four doses of the vaccine or having good oral health or being a alcohol drinker decreased the risk of such dysfunction. Before infection, the average olfactory and taste VAS scores were 8.41 and 8.51, respectively; after infection, they decreased to 3.69 and 4.29 and recovered to 5.83 and 6.55 by the time of the survey. The median duration of dysosmia and dysgeusia was 15 and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% of patients having symptoms lasting for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate was 59.16%. Recovery was higher in males, never smokers, those who received two or three vaccine doses, and those that had never experienced dental health issues, or chronic accompanying symptoms. Conclusions: The incidence of dysosmia and dysgeusia following infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is high in China. Incidence and prognosis are influenced by several factors, including sex, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, history of head-facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking and drinking history, and the persistence of accompanying symptoms.

Kinesin Family Member C1 Overexpression Exerts Tumor-Promoting Properties in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma via the Rac1/Wnt/ß-catenin Pathway.

Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) is a kinesin-14 motor protein, and its abnormal upregulation promotes the malignant behavior of cancer cells. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation is a common modification of eukaryotic messenger RNA and affects RNA expression. In this study, we explored how KIFC1 regulated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) tumorigenesis and how m6A modification affected KIFC1 expression. A bioinformatics analysis was performed to screen for genes of interest, and in vitro and in vivo studies were carried out to investigate the function and mechanism of KIFC1 in HNSCC tissues. We observed that the expression of KIFC1 in HNSCC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal or adjacent normal tissues. Patients with cancer with higher KIFC1 expression have a lower tumor differentiation status. Demethylase alkB homolog 5, a cancer-promoting factor in HNSCC tissues, could interact with KIFC1 messenger RNA and posttranscriptionally activate KIFC1 through m6A modification. KIFC1 downregulation suppressed HNSCC cell growth and metastasis in vivo and in vitro. However, overexpression of KIFC1 promoted these malignant behaviors. We demonstrated that KIFC1 overexpression activated the oncogenic Wnt/ß-catenin pathway. KIFC1 interacted with the small GTPase Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) at the protein level and increased its activity. The Rho GTPase Rac1 was indicated to be an upstream activator of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, and its Rac1 inhibitor, NSC-23766, treatment reversed the effects caused by KIFC1 overexpression. Those observations demonstrate that abnormal expression of KIFC1 may be regulated by demethylase alkB homolog 5 in an m6A-dependent manner and promote HNSCC progression via the Rac1/Wnt/ß-catenin pathway.

Iron(III)-Selective Chelation-Enhanced Fluorescence Sensing for In Vivo Imaging Applications.

A "turn-on" pattern Fe(3+) -selective fluorescent sensor was synthesized and characterized that showed high fluorescence discrimination of Fe(3+) over Fe(2+) and other tested ions. With a 62-fold fluorescence enhancement towards Fe(3+) , the probe was employed to detect Fe(3+) in vivo in HeLa cells and Caenorhabditis elegans, and it was also successfully used to elucidate Fe(3+) enrichment and exchange infected by innexin3 (Inx3) in hemichannel-closed Sf9 cells.

Highly selective in vivo imaging of endogenous/exogenous phosphate ion over ATP and PPi.

A chemodosimeter was designed to function as a highly selective phosphate ion (Pi ) sensor, showing a 91-fold ratiometric fluorescence enhancement. The probe successfully visualized exogenous and endogenous apyrase-catalyzed Pi generation and was the first probe able to trace the generation and enrichment of Pi through hemichannel closure in Sf9 cells.

A pyrene derivative for Hg(2+) -selective fluorescent sensing and its application in in vivo imaging.

An Hg(2+) -selective fluorescent sensor (1) bearing pyrene as a fluorophore was synthesized. A sandwich-stacking binding mode was formed during the binding process, which increased the excimer fluorescence 22-fold at 490 nm. Compound 1 was successfully applied in in vivo imaging to trace the enrichment and distribution of mercury in the nervous system, digestive system, and reproductive system of Caenorhabditis elegans, as well as the organs of zebrafish.

[Heteologous expression of Mortierella isabellina delta6 -fatty acid desaturase gene in soybean].

Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3delta(6, 9, 12) is one of nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids in human and animal diets. Vast majority oilseeds crops do not produce GLA. Delta6-fatty acid desaturase (D6D) is the rate-limiting enzyme, which catalyzes the conversion of linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) to GLA and octadecatetraenoic acid (OTA). In this study, a delta6-fatty acid desaturase gene isolated from Mortierella isabellina was transformed into some soybean cultivars Jilin 35, Jilin 47, Suinong 10, Suinong 14 and Heinong 37 successfully by agrobacterium-mediated cotylendon node transformation system. The results of PCR analysis, Southern blotting and Northern blotting with transgenic plants indicated that target gene was integrated into transgenic soybean genome and expressed at the level of RNA. Meanwhile, total fatty acids were extracted from transgenic seeds and methyl-esterified. Analysis of gas chromatograph (GC) showed that a novel peak corresponding to the standard of GLA methyl ester was detected, the highest percentage of gamma-lenolenic acid to total fatty acids in transgenic seeds was 27. 067%, which indicated that Mortierella isabellina delta6-fatty acid desaturase gene was expressed in transgenic soybean. It is so far the first report on the expression of delta6-fatty acid desaturase gene in transgenic soybean in the world.