Forecast of peak infection and estimate of excess deaths in COVID-19 transmission and prevalence in Taiyuan City, 2022 to 2023.

In this paper, with the method of epidemic dynamics, we assess the spread and prevalence of COVID-19 after the policy adjustment of prevention and control measure in December 2022 in Taiyuan City in China, and estimate the excess population deaths caused by COVID-19. Based on the transmission mechanism of COVID-19 among individuals, a dynamic model with heterogeneous contacts is established to describe the change of control measures and the population's social behavior in Taiyuan city. The model is verified and simulated by basing on reported case data from November 8th to December 5th, 2022 in Taiyuan city and the statistical data of the questionnaire survey from December 1st to 23rd, 2022 in Neijiang city. Combining with reported numbers of permanent residents and deaths from 2017 to 2021 in Taiyuan city, we apply the dynamic model to estimate theoretical population of 2022 under the assumption that there is no effect of COVID-19. In addition, we carry out sensitivity analysis to determine the propagation character of the Omicron strain and the effect of the control measures. As a result of the study, it is concluded that after adjusting the epidemic policy on December 6th, 2022, three peaks of infection in Taiyuan are estimated to be from December 22nd to 31st, 2022, from May 10th to June 1st, 2023, and from September 5th to October 13th, 2023, and the corresponding daily peaks of new cases can reach 400 000, 44 000 and 22 000, respectively. By the end of 2022, excess deaths can range from 887 to 4887, and excess mortality rate can range from 3.06% to 14.82%. The threshold of the infectivity of the COVID-19 variant is estimated 0.0353, that is if the strain infectivity is above it, the epidemic cannot be control with the previous normalization measures.

Chemical profiles and metabolite study of raw and processed Polygoni Multiflori Radix in rats by UPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MSn spectrometry.

The raw and processed roots of Plygonum multiflorum Thunb (PM) are used to treat different diseases in clinical practice. In order to clarify the influence of processing, a comparative study of chemical substance analysis was carried out. As the xenobiotics with a high enough exposure in target organs being considered as the potential effective or toxicity components, an in vivo study was also implemented to characterize the constitutes and metabolites, and meanwhile, the factor of compatibility with black bean were also considered. As a result, a total of 148 compounds were detected in PM extracts and more than 40 compounds were only detected in the processed products, which were probably new components produced during the steaming process. In in vivo study, 7 prototype components and 66 metabolites were detected or tentatively identified, 24 of which were reported for the first time. Our results indicated that processing greatly changed the chemical composition of PM and influenced the disposition of the compounds in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first global comparative study of raw and processed PM. These results expanded our knowledge about the influence of processing of PM and provided the essential data for further efficacy or toxicity studies.

[MicroRNAs Regulation of Cancer Stem Cells].

Cancer stem cells(CSCs) have been reported in many human tumors and are associated with tumor initiation and progression. CSCs share many biological properties with normal somatic stem cells, such as self-renewal, the propagation of differentiated progeny. However, they also have differences in their chemoresistance and tumorigenic and metastatic activity. CSCs have potential clinical importance, but the regulation at the molecular level is not well-understood. MicroRNAs(miRNAs) are a class of endogenous non-coding RNAs, and play important role in the regulation of several cellular processes. Varieties of evidence show that, miRNAs can regulates the CSCs at a molecular level and are associated with tumor initiation and progression. Better understanding of the regulation of CSCs gene expression by miRNAs could be used to identify the biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In the present review, we summarize the major development on the regulation of CSCs by miRNAs.

Isolation and characterization of 10 SSR markers of Momordica charantia (Cucurbitaceae).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Microsatellite markers were isolated and characterized from the genome of Momordica charantia (bitter melon) to be applied in studies of genetic diversity and population structure. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-five microsatellite loci were isolated from the genome of bitter melon using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining Repeats (FIASCO) method. Ten loci were polymorphic, and the number of alleles per locus ranged from three to seven, with the observed heterozygosity ranging from 0.46 to 0.65. The markers also amplified successfully in the related species M. cochinchinensis and Cucurbita pepo. CONCLUSIONS: These markers will have potential utility for applications in genetic diversity evaluation, molecular fingerprinting, identification, comparative genomics analysis, and genetic mapping in Momordica species, as well as in C. pepo.

[Histological and cytological study on the ontogeny of embryoid in pepper anther culture].

The characteristics of histology and cytology of embryogenesis in pepper anther culture were examined with fluorescence microscopy, scanning microscopy, and electron microscopy. Pepper was characterized by a strong asynchrony of pollen development within a single anther. With the change of culture period, the proportion of dead pollen increased drastically from 2 day after culture. Microspores that were cultured at the late-uninucleate stage followed one of two developmental pathways. In the more common route, the first sporophytic division was asymmetric and produced what appeared to be typical bicellular pollen. Embryogenic pollen was formed by repeated divisions of the vegetative nuclei. An exine with its specific pattern had already been formed, when microspores were released from tetrads. During subsequent pollen development, microspores increased in size and continued to strengthen the exine. After 24 h in culture, the microspores had increased in size. Thereafter, embryogenesis was indicated in some microspores by two different morphological changes. One featured an expansion in volume of the cell cluster around the germination aperture, the other showed cell cluster volume expansion over the entire microspore surface. Morphogenesis of microspore-derived embryos has been analyzed, at both light and electron microscopical levels. The changes in cell organization after embryogenesis induction, and the characterization of the time sequence of a set of structural events, had been also explained. These changes mainly affected the plastids, the vacuolar compartment, the cell wall and the nucleus. Further differentiation processes mimicked that of the zygotic development.