[Clinical features of children and their family members with family clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection in Shanghai, China: an analysis of 380 cases]. / 上海380例家庭聚集性感染Omicronå˜å¼‚æ ªçš„å„¿ç«¥åŠå ¶å®¶å±žä¸´åºŠç‰¹å¾åˆ†æž.

OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical features and prognosis of children and their family members with family clusters of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant infection under the admission mode of parent-child ward. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 190 children and 190 family members with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection who were admitted to Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, the designated hospital for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), April 8 to May 10, 2022. RESULTS: Both the child and adult groups were mainly mild COVID-19, and the proportion of mild cases in the child group was higher than that in the adult group (P<0.05). Respiratory symptoms were the main clinical manifestations in both groups. Compared with the adult group, the child group had higher incidence rates of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and wheezing (P<0.05) and lower incidence rates of nasal obstruction, runny nose, cough, dry throat, throat itching, and throat pain (P<0.05). Compared with the child group, the adult group had higher rates of use of Chinese patent drugs, traditional Chinese medicine decoction, recombinant interferon spray, cough-relieving and phlegm-eliminating drugs, and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir tablets (P<0.05). Compared with the adult group, the child group had a lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (30.5% vs 71.1%, P<0.001) and a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid (P<0.05). The patients with mild COVID-19 had a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those with common COVID-19 in both groups (P<0.05). The patients with underlying diseases had a longer duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than those without such diseases in both groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both children and adults with family clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection manifest mainly mild COVID-19. Despite lower vaccination rate of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in children, they have rapid disease recovery, with a shorter duration of positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid than adults, under the admission mode of parent-child ward.

Dietary exposure of general Chinese population to fatty acid esters of 3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (3-MCPD) from edible oils and oil-containing foods.

Edible oils and oil-containing foods have been regarded as the main source of 3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol (3-MCPD) esters. A total of 3,847 individual food samples were collected in China to carry out 3-MCPD fatty acid esters analysis. The samples comprising edible oils, fried foods and bakery foods from 31 Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions were obtained from the national food contaminant information system during 2015-2017. The dietary exposure and potential risks associated with the consumption of 3-MPCD esters from edible oils and oil-containing foods were estimated using a semi-probabilistic assessment model. Concentrations of 3-MCPD fatty acid esters in food samples were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The mean levels of 3-MCPD fatty acid esters in edible oils, fried foods and bakery foods were 0.862, 0.249 and 0.145 mg/kg, respectively. The range of mean dietary intakes of 3-MCPD esters in different subpopulation groups (classified by gender and age) was from 0.586 to 1.539 µg/kg bw/day, which were all lower than 2 µg/kg bw/day - the tolerable daily intake (TDI) established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The range of dietary intake of 3-MCPD esters in high consumers (95th percentile) in each group was from 1.511 to 4.027 µg/kg bw/day, which accounted for 75.6% to 201.4% of the TDI. The 3-MCPD esters exposure level of 3.5% of the total Chinese population exceeded the TDI. The findings indicate that the potential health risks caused by dietary 3-MCPD esters from edible oils and oil-containing foods were of low concern for most of the Chinese population. However, the exposure risk of the consumers with excessive edible oil consumption calls for attention.

Comprehensive Characterization of Toxoplasma Acyl Coenzyme A-Binding Protein TgACBP2 and Its Critical Role in Parasite Cardiolipin Metabolism.

Acyl coenzyme A (CoA)-binding protein (ACBP) can bind acyl-CoAs with high specificity and affinity, thus playing multiple roles in cellular functions. Mitochondria of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii have emerged as key organelles for lipid metabolism and signaling transduction. However, the rationale for how this parasite utilizes acyl-CoA-binding protein to regulate mitochondrial lipid metabolism remains unclear. Here, we show that an ankyrin repeat-containing protein, TgACBP2, is localized to mitochondria and displays active acyl-CoA-binding activities. Dephosphorylation of TgACBP2 is associated with relocation from the plasma membrane to the mitochondria under conditions of regulation of environmental [K+]. Under high [K+] conditions, loss of ACBP2 induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis-like cell death. Disruption of ACBP2 caused growth and virulence defects in the type II strain but not in type I parasites. Interestingly, mitochondrial association factor-1 (MAF1)-mediated host mitochondrial association (HMA) restored the growth ability of ACBP2-deficient type II parasites. Lipidomics analysis indicated that ACBP2 plays key roles in the cardiolipin metabolism of type II parasites and that MAF1 expression complemented the lipid metabolism defects of ACBP2-deficient type II parasites. In addition, disruption of ACBP2 caused attenuated virulence of Prugniuad (Pru) parasites for mice. Taking the results collectively, these data indicate that ACBP2 is critical for the growth and virulence of type II parasites and for the growth of type I parasites under high [K+] conditions.IMPORTANCEToxoplasma gondii is one of the most successful human parasites, infecting nearly one-third of the total world population. T. gondii tachyzoites residing within parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs) can acquire fatty acids both via salvage from host cells and via de novo synthesis pathways for membrane biogenesis. However, although fatty acid fluxes are known to exist in this parasite, how fatty acids flow through Toxoplasma lipid metabolic organelles, especially mitochondria, remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that Toxoplasma expresses an active ankyrin repeat containing protein TgACBP2 to coordinate cardiolipin metabolism. Specifically, HMA acquisition resulting from heterologous functional expression of MAF1 rescued growth and lipid metabolism defects in ACBP2-deficient type II parasites, manifesting the complementary role of host mitochondria in parasite cardiolipin metabolism. This work highlights the importance of TgACBP2 in parasite cardiolipin metabolism and provides evidence for metabolic association of host mitochondria with T. gondii.

Application of ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography for the determination of carotenoids in dietary supplements.

A quick and simple ultra-high performance supercritical fluid chromatography-photodiode array detector method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 9 carotenoids in dietary supplements. The influences of stationary phase, co-solvent, pressure, temperature and flow rate on the separation of carotenoids were evaluated. The separation of the carotenoids was carried out using an Acquity UPC(2) HSS C18 SB column (150mm×3.0mm, 1.8µm) by gradient elution with carbon dioxide and a 1:2 (v:v) methanol/ethanol mixture. The column temperature was set to 35°C and the backpressure was 15.2MPa. Under these conditions, 9 carotenoids and the internal standard, ß-apo-8'-carotenal, were successfully separated within 10min. The correlation coefficients (R(2)) of the calibration curves were all above 0.997, the limits of detection for the 9 carotenoids were in the range of 0.33-1.08µg/mL, and the limits of quantification were in the range of 1.09-3.58µg/mL. The mean recoveries were from 93.4% to 109.5% at different spiking levels, and the relative standard deviations were between 0.8% and 6.0%. This method was successfully applied to the determination of 9 carotenoids in commercial dietary supplements.

Study on incompatibility of traditional chinese medicine: evidence from formula network, chemical space, and metabolism room.

A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula network including 362 TCM formulas was built by using complex network methodologies. The properties of this network were analyzed including network diameter, average distance, clustering coefficient, and average degree. Meanwhile, we built a TCM chemical space and a TCM metabolism room under the theory of chemical space. The properties of chemical space and metabolism room were calculated and analyzed. The properties of the medicine pairs in "eighteen antagonisms and nineteen mutual inhibitors," an ancient rule for TCM incompatibility, were studied based on the TCM formula network, chemical space, and metabolism room. The results showed that the properties of these incompatible medicine pairs are different from those of the other TCM based on the analysis of the TCM formula network, chemical space, and metabolism room. The lines of evidence derived from our work demonstrated that the ancient rule of TCM incompatibility, "eighteen antagonisms and nineteen mutual inhibitors," is probably scientifically based.

[Determination of 7 microcystins in Spirulina health food products by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/ MS) combined with solid phase extraction (SPE) has been developed for the determination of 7 microcystins (MCs) in Spirulina health food products. The sample was extracted by 70% (v/v) methanol. The lipid substances were isolated by centrifugation under freezing condition, and then followed by clean-up with a Waters Oasis HLB solid phase extraction cartridge. The separation was performed on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column with gradient elution using acetonitrile and 0.2 mmol/L ammonium acetate. The electrospray ionization (ESI) source in positive ion mode was used for multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). The external standard method was used for the quantification. The linear ranges for 7 MCs were 20 - 400 microg/kg, and the correlation coefficients were not less than 0.995. The limits of detection were 6.7 - 33.3 microg/kg. The limits of quantification were 20.0 - 100.0 microg/kg. The recoveries of the 7 MCs spiked in blank Spirulina samples ranged from 87.5% to 97.9% with the relative standard deviations of 1.6% - 6.9%. The results demonstrated that the method is easy, fast, sensitive, and suitable for the confirmation and quantification of the 7 MCs in Spirulina samples.

Dihydroartemisinin is an inhibitor of ovarian cancer cell growth.

AIM: To investigate the anticancer activity of dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a derivative of antimalaria drug artemisinin in a panel of human ovarian cancer cell lines. METHODS: Cell growth was determined by the MTT viability assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle progression were evaluated by a DNA fragmentation gel electro-phoresis, flow cytometry assay, and TUNEL assay; protein and mRNA expression were analyzed by Western blotting and RT-PCR assay. RESULTS: Artemisinin and its derivatives, including artesunate, arteether, artemether, arteannuin, and DHA, exhibit anticancer growth activities in human ovarian cancer cells. Among them, DHA is the most effective in inhibiting cell growth. Ovarian cancer cell lines are more sensitive (5-10-fold) to DHA treatment compared to normal ovarian cell lines. DHA at micromolar dose levels exhibits a dose- and time-dependent cytotoxicity in ovarian cancer cell lines. Furthermore, DHA induced apoptosis and G2 cell cycle arrest, accompanied by a decrease of Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 and an increase of Bax and Bad. CONCLUSION: The promising results show for the first time that DHA inhibits the growth of human ovarian cancer cells. The selective inhibition of ovarian cancer cell growth, apoptosis induction, and G2 arrest provide in vitro evidence for further studies of DHA as a possible anticancer drug in the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer.