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1.
A novel OsHB5-OsAPL-OsMADS27/OsWRKY102 regulatory module regulates grain size in rice.
Zhang, H, Liu, M, Yin, K, Liu, H, Liu, J, Yan, Z
Journal of plant physiology. 2024;:154210
Abstract
Grain size, a crucial trait that determines rice yield and quality, is typically regulated by multiple genes. Although numerous genes controlling grain size have been identified, the precise and dynamic regulatory network governing grain size is still not fully understood. In this study, we unveiled a novel regulatory module composed of OsHB5, OsAPL and OsMADS27/OsWRKY102, which plays a crucial role in modulating grain size in rice. As a positive regulator of grain size, OsAPL has been found to interact with OsHB5 both in vitro and in vivo. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing, we successfully mapped two potential targets of OsAPL, namely OsMADS27, a positive regulator in grain size and OsWRKY102, a negative regulator in lignification that is also associated with grain size control. Further evidence from EMSA and chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative PCR experiments has shown that OsAPL acts as an upstream transcription factor that directly binds to the promoters of OsMADS27 and OsWRKY102. Moreover, EMSA and dual-luciferase reporter assays have indicated that the interaction between OsAPL and OsHB5 enhances the repressive effect of OsAPL on OsMADS27 and OsWRKY102. Collectively, our findings discovered a novel regulatory module, OsHB5-OsAPL-OsMADS27/OsWRKY102, which plays a significant role in controlling grain size in rice. These discoveries provide potential targets for breeding high-yield and high-quality rice varieties.
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2.
The effect of therapeutic massage on patients with obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Cong, Z, Tai, Y, Gao, T, Zhang, L, Jiang, R, Li, P, Liu, M
Heliyon. 2024;(7):e28791
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obesity is related to various diseases such as endocrine metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. We provide an evidence-based evaluation for the effect of massage on patients with obesity. METHODS Relevant literature published in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and other databases were searched until October 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4. A p value less than 0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference. RESULTS Twelve studies were finally included. Compared with conventional therapy, massage therapy were more effective, mainly in terms of (1) weight [mean difference (MD) = -3.71, 95%CI = -6.51,-0.88]; (2) body mass index (BMI), [MD = -2.00, 95%CI = -3.38, -0.62]; (3) Waist circumference (WC), [MD = -6.24, 95%CI = -8.71, -3.77]; (4) total cholesterol (TC), [MD = -0.65, 95%CI = -1.08, -0.22]; (5) triglycerides (TG), [MD = -0.92, 95%CI = -1.37, -0.47]. CONCLUSION Massage therapy may be more effective for patients with obesity than conventional treatment. Given the number of studies and potential heterogeneity, more high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm our conclusions.
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3.
Effect of Intensive Lifestyle Intervention on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Analysis From the Perspective of Long-Term Variability.
He, L, Liu, M, Zhuang, X, Guo, Y, Wang, P, Zhou, Z, Chen, Z, Peng, L, Liao, X
Journal of the American Heart Association. 2024;(3):e030132
Abstract
BACKGROUND An association between variability of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular events has been reported. We examined whether intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) for weight loss decreased variability of cardiovascular risk factors with a view to additional cardiometabolic benefits. METHODS AND RESULTS This study was a post hoc secondary analysis of the Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) study. Cardiovascular risk factors were measured at 1-year intervals for 4 years in 4249 adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes who were randomly assigned to ILI or diabetes support and education. Long-term variability was defined as the SD of cardiovascular risk factors during 4-year follow-up. At multiple linear regression analysis, compared with the diabetes support and education group, the ILI group was associated with reduced variability of fasting blood glucose (β=-1.49 [95% CI, -2.39 to -0.59]), total cholesterol (β=-1.12 [95% CI, -1.75 to -0.48]), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (β=-1.04 [95% CI, -1.59 to -0.49]), as well as increased variability of systolic blood pressure (β=0.27 [95% CI, 0.00-0.54]). No significant effect of ILI was found on the variability of diastolic blood pressure (β=-0.08 [95% CI, -0.22 to 0.05]). CONCLUSIONS Among adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes, ILI may reduce long-term variability of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Our results support that ILI should be recommended to individuals with diabetes as part of management of long-term glycemic and blood lipid control.
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4.
Joint Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants, Genetic Risk, and Ischemic Stroke: A Prospective Analysis in UK Biobank.
Li, P, Wang, Y, Tian, D, Liu, M, Zhu, X, Wang, Y, Huang, C, Bai, Y, Wu, Y, Wei, W, et al
Stroke. 2024;(3):660-669
Abstract
BACKGROUND Our primary objective was to assess the association between joint exposure to various air pollutants and the risk of ischemic stroke (IS) and the modification of the genetic susceptibility. METHODS This observational cohort study included 307 304 British participants from the United Kingdom Biobank, who were stroke-free and possessed comprehensive baseline data on genetics, air pollutant exposure, alcohol consumption, and dietary habits. All participants were initially enrolled between 2006 and 2010 and were followed up until 2022. An air pollution score was calculated to assess joint exposure to 5 ambient air pollutants, namely particulate matter with diameters equal to or <2.5 µm, ranging from 2.5 to 10 µm, equal to or <10 µm, as well as nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide. To evaluate individual genetic risk, a polygenic risk score for IS was calculated for each participant. We adjusted for demographic, social, economic, and health covariates. Cox regression models were utilized to estimate the associations between air pollution exposure, polygenic risk score, and the incidence of IS. RESULTS Over a median follow-up duration of 13.67 years, a total of 2476 initial IS events were detected. The hazard ratios (95% CI) of IS for per 10 µg/m3 increase in particulate matter with diameters equal to or <2.5 µm, ranging from 2.5 to 10 µm, equal to or <10 µm, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrogen oxide were 1.73 (1.33-2.14), 1.24 (0.88-1.70), 1.13 (0.89-1.33), 1.03 (0.98-1.08), and 1.04 (1.02-1.07), respectively. Furthermore, individuals in the highest quintile of the air pollution score exhibited a 29% to 66% higher risk of IS compared with those in the lowest quintile. Notably, participants with both high polygenic risk score and air pollution score had a 131% (95% CI, 85%-189%) greater risk of IS than participants with low polygenic risk score and air pollution score. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggested that prolonged joint exposure to air pollutants may contribute to an increased risk of IS, particularly among individuals with elevated genetic susceptibility to IS.
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5.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of using prednisolone, tacrolimus, and intravenous immunoglobulin combination therapy on immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy-A non-randomized, observational research.
Liu, M, Liu, J, Li, K, Qiao, L, Chen, J, Lin, Y, Shi, Q
International journal of rheumatic diseases. 2024;(3):e15124
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To recruit immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy (IMNM) patients with extramuscular manifestations who were refractory to initial therapy with either monotherapy with prednisolone or dual therapy with prednisolone and immunosuppressants. These patients subsequently received a combination of prednisolone, tacrolimus, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and the efficacy of this treatment regimen was assessed in patients with IMNM. METHOD ①Clinical data and treatment measures are as follows: This study enrolled IMNM patients who were treated at the Neurology Department of the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from April 2020 to May 2023. These patients received a combination therapy of prednisolone, tacrolimus, and IVIG. ②Observational indicators included manual muscle test for 8 groups of muscles (MMT-8), muscle enzyme levels (creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)), and myositis disease activity assessment tool (MDAAT). RESULTS This study enrolled eight patients. All observational indicators declined after treatment compared to before treatment, and these changes were statistically significant. Moreover, extramuscular manifestations also ameliorated compared to before treatment. CONCLUSION The combination therapy of prednisolone, tacrolimus, and IVIG has demonstrated favorable efficacy in IMNM and broadened the treatment options for this disease. However, the results still require further validation by large-scale and randomized controlled studies.
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6.
Mechanism Exploration of Environmental Pollutants on Premature Ovarian Insufficiency: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Zhu, X, Liu, M, Dong, R, Gao, L, Hu, J, Zhang, X, Wu, X, Fan, B, Chen, C, Xu, W
Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). 2024;(1):99-106
Abstract
As a public health problem, premature ovarian insufficiency leads to infertility or sub-fertility. In addition to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) increases the lifetime risk of bone fragility, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive impairment. To investigate the effects of environmental pollutants on the occurrence of POI and explore its mechanism, we conducted a computer search for articles published in electronic databases by December 13, 2022. Three reviewers independently examined all included studies and scored the qualities of included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale criteria. In this meta-analysis, eight clinical studies as well as ten preclinical findings showed a pooled OR of 2.331 and 95% CI of 1.968-2.760. This confirms that environmental pollutants, including POPs, heavy metals, PAEs, PAHs, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, and cigarette smoke, are indeed significant risk factors for POI. In addition, it is demonstrated from the results of this study that signaling pathway of calcium and PI3K Akt and Xpnpep2, Col1, Col3, Col4, Cx43, Egr3, Tff1, and Ptgs2 genes may all be involved in the process. Environmental pollutants, including POPs, heavy metals, PAEs, PAHs, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, and cigarette smoke, are indeed significant risk factors for POI.
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7.
Recent advances in the degradation efficacy and mechanisms of mycotoxins in food by atmospheric cold plasma.
Liu, M, Feng, J, Yang, X, Yu, B, Zhuang, J, Xu, H, Xiang, Q, Ma, R, Jiao, Z
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety. 2024;:115944
Abstract
Food contaminated by mycotoxins has become a worldwide public problem with political and economic implications. Although a variety of traditional methods have been used to eliminate mycotoxins from agri-foods, the results have been somewhat less than satisfactory. As an emerging non-thermal processing technology, atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) has great potential for food decontamination. Herein, this review mainly presents the degradation efficiency of ACP on mycotoxins in vitro and agri-foods as well as its possible degradation mechanisms. Meanwhile, ACP effects on food quality, factors affecting the degradation efficiency and the toxicity of degradation products are also discussed. According to the literatures, ACP could efficiently degrade many mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin, deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, fumonisin, and T-2 toxin) both in vitro and various foods (e.g., hazelnut, peanut, maize, rice, wheat, barley, oat flour, and date palm fruit) with little effects on the nutritional and sensory properties of food. The degradation efficacy was dependent on many factors including ACP treatment parameter, working gas, mycotoxin property, and food substrate. The mycotoxin degradation by ACP was mainly attributed to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in ACP, which can damage the chemical bonds of mycotoxins, consequently reducing the toxicity of mycotoxins.
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8.
Embedding Atomically Dispersed Manganese/Gadolinium Dual Sites in Oxygen Vacancy-Enriched Biodegradable Bimetallic Silicate Nanoplatform for Potentiating Catalytic Therapy.
Ye, J, Zhang, K, Yang, X, Liu, M, Cui, Y, Li, Y, Li, C, Liu, S, Lu, Y, Zhang, Z, et al
Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany). 2024;(4):e2307424
Abstract
Due to their atomically dispersed active centers, single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) have unparalleled advantages in cancer catalytic therapy. Here, loaded with chlorin e6 (Ce6), a hydrothermally mass-produced bimetallic silicate-based nanoplatforms with atomically dispersed manganese/gadolinium (Mn/Gd) dual sites and oxygen vacancies (OVs) (PMnSA GMSNs-V@Ce6) is constructed for tumor glutathione (GSH)-triggered chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and O2 -alleviated photodynamic therapy. The band gaps of silica are significantly reduced from 2.78 to 1.88 eV by doping with metal ions, which enables it to be excited by a 650 nm laser to produce electron-hole pairs, thereby facilitating the generation of reactive oxygen species. The Gd sites can modulate the local electrons of the atom-catalyzed Mn sites, which contribute to the generation of superoxide and hydroxyl radicals (• OH). Tumor GSH-triggered Mn2+ release can convert endogenous H2 O2 to • OH and realize GSH-depletion-enhanced CDT. Significantly, the hydrothermally generated OVs can not only capture Mn and Gd atoms to form atomic sites but also can elongate and weaken the O-O bonds of H2 O2 , thereby improving the efficacy of Fenton reactions. The degraded Mn2+ /Gd3+ ions can be used as tumor-specific magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. All the experimental results demonstrate the great potential of PMnSA GMSNs-V@Ce6 as cancer theranostic agent.
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9.
Application Effects of Individualized Diet Nursing Combined with the Modified Glasgow-Blatchford Scoring System in Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.
Liu, M, Wang, H, Shao, F, Xu, Y, Huang, J, Zhang, H, Han, Y
Alternative therapies in health and medicine. 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND Upper gastrointestinal bleeding encompasses bleeding arising from esophageal, gastric, duodenal, or pancreaticobiliary lesions above the Treitz ligament. Research indicates a close association between improper diet and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the application effects of individualized diet nursing combined with the modified Glasgow-Blatchford scoring system in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. DESIGN A randomized controlled study was conducted. SETTING The study took place at the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University. PARTICIPANTS From January 2021 to October 2022, 80 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding were selected at our hospital. Using a random number table, they were divided into a control group and an observation group, each comprising 40 cases. INTERVENTIONS The control group received routine nursing, while the observation group received individualized diet nursing based on the Glasgow-Blatchford score in addition to routine nursing. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES (1) bleeding frequency, hemostasis time, and hospital stay; (2) re-bleeding rate; (3) Glasgow-Blatchford scores; (4) quality of life; and (5) nursing satisfaction. RESULTS In the observation group, bleeding frequency, hemostasis time, and hospital stay significantly reduced compared to the control (P < .05). Post-nursing, the observation group had a lower re-bleeding rate (χ2=11.25, P < .05). Before nursing, no statistical differences existed in Glasgow-Blatchford and quality of life scores between groups (P > .05). Post-nursing, both groups saw reduced Glasgow-Blatchford scores, more so in the observation group (P < .05). Quality of life scores increased in both, more notably in the observation group (P < .05). Overall nursing satisfaction was higher in the observation group (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Individualized diet nursing, based on the Glasgow-Blatchford score, improves cure rates and quality of life and warrants promotion.
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10.
Recent Advances in 2-Keto-l-gulonic Acid Production Using Mixed-Culture Fermentation and Future Prospects.
Liu, Q, Liu, M, Chen, W, Yuan, H, Jiang, Y, Huang, D, Liu, H, Wang, T
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 2024;(3):1419-1428
Abstract
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is an essential vitamin that cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be acquired through our diet. At present, the precursor of vitamin C, 2-keto-l-gulonic acid (2-KGA), is typically produced via a two-step fermentation process utilizing three bacterial strains. The second step of this traditional two-step fermentation method involves mixed-culture fermentation employing 2-KGA-producing bacteria (Ketogulonicigenium vulgare) along with associated bacteria. Because K. vulgare has defects in various metabolic pathways, associated bacteria are needed to provide key substances to promote K. vulgare growth and 2-KGA production. Unlike previous reviews where the main focus was the interaction between associated bacteria and K. vulgare, this Review presents the latest scientific research from the perspective of the metabolic pathways associated with 2-KGA production by K. vulgare and the mechanism underlying the interaction between K. vulgare and the associated bacteria. In addition, the dehydrogenases that are responsible for 2-KGA production, the 2-KGA synthesis pathway, strategies for simplifying 2-KGA production via a one-step fermentation route, and, finally, future prospects and research goals in vitamin C production are also presented.