0000000000428379
AUTHOR
Bo Zhang
The Norway spruce genome sequence and conifer genome evolution
Conifers have dominated forests for more than 200 million years and are of huge ecological and economic importance. Here we present the draft assembly of the 20-gigabase genome of Norway spruce (Picea abies), the first available for any gymnosperm. The number of well-supported genes (28,354) is similar to the >100 times smaller genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, and there is no evidence of a recent whole-genome duplication in the gymnosperm lineage. Instead, the large genome size seems to result from the slow and steady accumulation of a diverse set of long-terminal repeat transposable elements, possibly owing to the lack of an efficient elimination mechanism. Comparative sequencing of Pinu…
Treatment with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells for COVID-19 patients with lung damage: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial
AbstractBACKGROUNDTreatment of severe Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging. We performed a phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy and safety of human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) to treat severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage, based on our phase 1 data.METHODSIn this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, we recruited 101 severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage. They were randomly assigned to receive either UC-MSCs (4 × 107 cells per infusion) or placebo on day 0, 3, and 6. The primary endpoint was an altered proportion of whole lung lesion volumes from baseline to day 28. Other imaging outcomes, 6-minute walk test, maximum vital capaci…
Timing of surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international prospective cohort study
Peri-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases postoperative mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal duration of planned delay before surgery in patients who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study included patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery during October 2020. Surgical patients with pre-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared with those without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality. Logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted 30-day mortality rates stratified by time from diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery. Among 140,231…
Evidence for the decays of and *
Abstract We study the hadronic decays of to the final states and , using an annihilation data sample of 567 pb-1 taken at a center-of-mass energy of 4.6 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We find evidence for the decays and with statistical significance of and , respectively. Normalizing to the reference decays and , we obtain the ratios of the branching fractions and to be and , respectively. The upper limits at the 90% confidence level are set to be and . Using BESIII measurements of the branching fractions of the reference decays, we determine % (<0.68%) and % (<1.9%). Here, the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The obtained branching …
Characteristics and Outcomes of 35 Breast Cancer Patients Infected With COVID-19
Since December 2019, a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly engulfed the world. Cancer patients infected with COVID-19 are considered to carry higher severity of the disease and higher mortality rate than common COVID-19 patients in previous studies. However, due to the poor clinical information on COVID-19 patients with cancer, the evidences that supported this conclusion are insufficient. At present, rather limited reports have analyzed the clinical data of breast cancer patients infected with COVID-19. Therefore, in this retrospective study, we described the clinical characteristics and the outcomes of 35 …
Functional implications of the staminal lever mechanism in Salvia cyclostegia (Lamiaceae)
Flower morphology and inflorescence architecture affect pollinator foraging behaviour and thereby influence the process of pollination and the reproductive success of plants. This study explored possible ecological functions of the lever-like stamens and the floral design in Salvia cyclostegia.Flower construction was experimentally manipulated by removing either the lower lever arms or the upper fertile thecae of the two stamens from a flower. The two types of manipulated individuals were intermixed with the control ones and randomly distributed in the population.Removing the sterile lower lever arms significantly reduced handling time per flower of the main pollinator, Bombus personatus. I…