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1.
Effects of Dietary Phytochemicals on DNA Damage in Cancer Cells.
Ye, Y, Ma, Y, Kong, M, Wang, Z, Sun, K, Li, F
Nutrition and cancer. 2023;(3):761-775
Abstract
With the increasing incidence of cancer worldwide, the prevention and treatment of cancer have garnered considerable scientific attention. Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs are highly toxic and associated with substantial side effects; therefore, there is an urgent need for developing new therapeutic agents. Dietary phytochemicals are important in tumor prevention and treatment because of their low toxicity and side effects at low concentrations; however, their exact mechanisms of action remain obscure. DNA damage is mainly caused by physical or chemical factors in the environment, such as ultraviolet light, alkylating agents and reactive oxygen species that cause changes in the DNA structure of cells. Several phytochemicals have been shown inhibit the occurrence and development of tumors by inducing DNA damage. This article reviews the advances in phytochemical research; particularly regarding the mechanisms related to DNA damage and provide a theoretical basis for future chemoprophylaxis research.
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2.
Optimistic contributions of plant growth-promoting bacteria for sustainable agriculture and climate stress alleviation.
Cao, M, Narayanan, M, Shi, X, Chen, X, Li, Z, Ma, Y
Environmental research. 2023;:114924
Abstract
Global climate change is the major cause of abiotic and biotic stresses that have adverse effects on agricultural productivity to an irreversible level, thus threatening to limit gains in production and imperil sustainable agriculture. These climate change-induced abiotic stresses, especially saline, drought, extreme temperature, and so on affect plant morphological, physiological, biochemical, and metabolic characteristics through various pathways and mechanisms, ultimately hindering plant growth, development, and productivity. However, overuse and other inappropriate uses of agrochemicals are not conducive to the protection of natural resources and the environment, thus hampering sustainable agricultural development. With the vigorous development of modern agriculture, the application of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) can better ensure sustainable agriculture, due to their ability to improve soil properties and confer stress tolerance in plants. This review deciphered the underlying mechanisms of PGPB involved in enhancing plant stress tolerance and performance under various abiotic and biotic stresses. Moreover, the recent advancements in PGPB inoculation techniques, the commercialization of PGPB-based technology and the current applications of PGPB in sustainable agriculture were extensively discussed. Finally, an outlook on the future directions of microbe-aided agriculture was pointed out. Providing insights into plant-PGPB interactions under biotic and abiotic stresses and offering evidence and strategies for PGPB better commercialization and implementation can inspire the development of innovative solutions exploiting PGPB under climatological conditions.
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3.
The role of ferroptosis in prostate cancer: a novel therapeutic strategy.
Wang, Y, Ma, Y, Jiang, K
Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases. 2023;(1):25-29
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Abstract
The incidence of prostate cancer is the second most among male cancers after lung cancer. Prostate cancer develops rapidly and is inclined to metastasize, and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) can be formed in the later stage, which brings great challenges to the prognosis and treatment. At present, the main treatment of prostate cancer is generally divided into four methods: surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy. However, the efficacy of these methods fails to satisfy the demands of patient prognosis. Ferroptosis is a newly discovered iron-dependent process, characterized by lipid peroxidation. Ferroptosis is associated with many diseases, especially tumor growth. In recent years, inhibiting tumor growth and overcoming tumor drug resistance by inducing ferroptosis has become a hot research topic. Previous studies have shown that induction of ferroptosis may be a new treatment for prostate cancer. We review the research progress of ferroptosis in prostate cancer in order to provide highly effective therapies for patients with prostate cancer.
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4.
Association of fast-food restaurants with overweight and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Jiang, J, Lau, PWC, Li, Y, Gao, D, Chen, L, Chen, M, Ma, Y, Ma, T, Ma, Q, Zhang, Y, et al
Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 2023;(3):e13536
Abstract
We aimed to explore associations between the accessibility of fast-food restaurants (FFRs) and weight-related outcomes in children and adolescents through a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies. We searched three databases for studies published before October 21, 2022. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health's Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies. Meta-analysis was performed, and the leave-one-out method was used for sensitivity analysis. A total of 60 studies were included. According to our analysis, FFRs within a smaller buffer radius from residences or that provide unhealthy foods may have a more significant influence on children's and adolescents' weight. Children of younger ages and girls may have a higher possibility of being overweight due to FFRs. Though we could hardly avoid bias, the estimates in low-and middle-income countries (only six studies) are much higher than those in high-income countries (54 studies). More research analyses based on microscope data and individual economic levels are needed. This study yields quantitative results, provides policymakers and urban planners with a theoretical support for building resilient and sustainable human settlements, and promotes the translation of research findings from public health to environmental planning.
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5.
Flavonoids and saponins: What have we got or missed?
Wang, X, Ma, Y, Xu, Q, Shikov, AN, Pozharitskaya, ON, Flisyuk, EV, Liu, M, Li, H, Vargas-Murga, L, Duez, P
Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology. 2023;:154580
Abstract
BACKGROUND Flavonoids and saponins are important bioactive compounds that have attracted wide research interests. This review aims to summarise the state of the art of the pharmacology, toxicology and clinical efficacy of these compounds. METHODS Data were retrieved from PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Proquest, CNKI, Chongqing VIP, Wanfang, NPASS and HIT 2.0 databases. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews were evaluated following the PRISMA guideline. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS23.0. RESULTS Rising research trends on flavonoids and saponins were observed since the 1990s and the 2000s, respectively. Studies on pharmacological targets and activities of flavonoids and saponins represent an important area of research advances over the past decade, and these important resources have been documented in open-access specialised databases and can be retrieved with ease. The rising research on flavonoids and saponins can be attributed, at least in part, to their links with some highly investigated fields of research, e.g., oxidative stress, inflammation and cancer; i.e., 6.88% and 3.03% of publications on oxidative stress cited by PubMed in 1990 - 2021 involved flavonoids and saponins, respectively, significantly higher than the percentage involving alkaloids (1.88%). The effects of flavonoids concern chronic venous insufficiency, cervical lesions, diabetes, rhinitis, dermatopathy, prostatitis, menopausal symptoms, angina pectoris, male pattern hair loss, lymphocytic leukaemia, gastrointestinal diseases and traumatic cerebral infarction, etc, while those of saponins may have impact on venous oedema in chronic deep vein incompetence, erectile dysfunction, acute impact injuries and systemic lupus erythematosus, etc. The volume of in vitro research appears way higher than in vivo and clinical studies, with only 10 meta-analyses and systematic reviews (involving 290 interventional and observational studies), and 36 clinical studies on flavonoids and saponins. Data are sorely needed on pharmacokinetics, in vitro pan-assay interferences, purity of tested compounds, interactions in complex herbal extracts, real impact of anti-oxidative strategies, and mid- and long-term toxicities. To fill these important gaps, further investigations are warranted. On the other hand, drug interactions may cause adverse effects but might also be useful for synergism, with the goals of enhancing effects or of detoxifying. Furthermore, the interactions between phytochemicals and the intestinal microbiota are worth investigating as the field may present a promising potential for novel drug development.
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High-temperature stress in crops: male sterility, yield loss and potential remedy approaches.
Khan, AH, Min, L, Ma, Y, Zeeshan, M, Jin, S, Zhang, X
Plant biotechnology journal. 2023;(4):680-697
Abstract
Global food security is one of the utmost essential challenges in the 21st century in providing enough food for the growing population while coping with the already stressed environment. High temperature (HT) is one of the main factors affecting plant growth, development and reproduction and causes male sterility in plants. In male reproductive tissues, metabolic changes induced by HT involve carbohydrates, lipids, hormones, epigenetics and reactive oxygen species, leading to male sterility and ultimately reducing yield. Understanding the mechanism and genes involved in these pathways during the HT stress response will provide a new path to improve crops by using molecular breeding and biotechnological approaches. Moreover, this review provides insight into male sterility and integrates this with suggested strategies to enhance crop tolerance under HT stress conditions at the reproductive stage.
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7.
Deep-learning-based automatic evaluation of rice seed germination rate.
Zhao, J, Ma, Y, Yong, K, Zhu, M, Wang, Y, Luo, Z, Wei, X, Huang, X
Journal of the science of food and agriculture. 2023;(4):1912-1924
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rice is an important food crop plant in the world and is also a model plant for genetics and breeding research. The germination rate is an important indicator that measures the performance of rice seeds. Currently, solutions involving image processing techniques have substantial challenges in the identification of seed germination. The detection of rice seed germination without human intervention involves challenges because the rice seeds are small and densely distributed. RESULTS In this article, we develop a convolutional neural network (YOLO-r) that can detect the germination status of rice seeds and automatically evaluate the total number of germinations. Image partition, the Transformer encoder, a small target detection layer, and CDIoU loss are exploited in YOLO-r to improve the detection accuracy. A total of 21 429 seeds were collected, which have different phenotypic characteristics in length, shape, and color. The results show that the mean average precision of YOLO-r is 0.9539, which is higher than the compared models. Moreover, the average detection time per image of YOLO-r was 0.011 s, which meets the real-time requirements. The experimental results demonstrate that YOLO-r is robust to complex situations such as water stains, impurities, awns, adhesion, and so on. The results also show that the mean absolute error of the predicted germination rate mainly exists within 0.1. CONCLUSIONS Numerous experimental studies have demonstrated that YOLO-r can predict rice germination rate in a fast, easy, and accurate manner. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
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8.
Reconsidering Meat Intake and Human Health: A Review of Current Research.
Xie, Y, Ma, Y, Cai, L, Jiang, S, Li, C
Molecular nutrition & food research. 2022;(9):e2101066
Abstract
Meat consumption is gradually increasing and its impact on health has attracted widespread attention, resulting in epidemiological studies proposing a reduction in meat and processed meat intake. This review briefly summarizes recent advances in understanding the effects of meat or processed meat on human health, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Meat consumption varies widely among individuals, populations, and regions, with higher consumption in developed countries than in developing countries. However, increasing meat consumption may not be the main cause of increasing incidence of chronic disease, since the development of chronic disease is a complex physiological process that involves many factors, including excessive total energy intake and changes in food digestion processes, gut microbiota composition, and liver metabolism. In comparison, unhealthy dietary habits and a sedentary lifestyle with decreasing energy expenditure are factors more worthy of reflection. Meat and meat products provide high-value protein and many key essential micronutrients. In short, as long as excessive intake and overprocessing of meats are avoided, meat remains an indispensable source of nutrition for human health.
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The Effects of Sesamin Supplementation on Obesity, Blood Pressure, and Lipid Profile: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Sun, Y, Ren, J, Zhu, S, Zhang, Z, Guo, Z, An, J, Yin, B, Ma, Y
Frontiers in endocrinology. 2022;13:842152
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Plain language summary
Cardiovascular disease is characterised by modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, elevated cholesterol and obesity. Sesamin, a lignin found in sesame seeds, is suggested to have anti-obesity, antihypertensive, and cholesterol-lowering properties. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effectiveness of sesamin as an adjuvant therapy for cardiovascular disease. A total of seven randomised controlled trials are included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Four studies used 200 mg/day sesamin dosage, and intervention duration ranged from twenty-eight to sixty days. This systematic review and meta-analysis showed improvements in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. However, the improvements depended on the duration of sesamin intervention, study design and health status. Further robust studies are required to evaluate the benefits of sesamin in improving cardiovascular disease risk factors due to the high heterogeneity of the included studies in sesamin dosage, participant characteristics and study design. However, healthcare professionals can use the results of this study to understand the potential of sesamin to act as a safe, healthy, and sustainable adjuvant therapy in modifying cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Abstract
AIMS: Sesamin, the main lignin constituent of sesame, plays a pivotal role in regulating physical state. Some studies have evidenced that the supplementation of sesamin may decrease cardiovascular disease risk. The goal of this systematic review was to summarize evidence of the effects of sesamin supplementation on obesity, blood pressure, and lipid profile in humans by performing a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. DATA SYNTHESIS Five databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched electronically from inception to July 2021 to identify randomized controlled trials that assessed the impact of sesamin on obesity, blood pressure, and lipid profile. Weighted mean difference (WMD) and standard deviation (SD) were used to present the major outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Seven trials (n = 212 participants) were included in the overall analysis. Results showed that sesamin supplementation caused a great reduction in TC (WMD: -10.893 mg/dl, 95% CI: -19.745 to -2.041, p = 0.016), LDL-c (WMD: -8.429 mg/dl, 95% CI: -16.086 to -0.771, p = 0.031), and SBP (WMD: -3.662 mmHg, 95% CI: -6.220 to -1.105, p = 0.005), whereas it had no effect on HDL-c, TG, DBP, or weight. Subgroup analysis showed that duration, parallel design, and unhealthy status can affect TC, LDL-c, and SBP evidently. We did not discover a strong link between indicators' changes and duration of supplementation. Sesamin can be used as an obtainable dietary supplement to improve blood pressure and blood lipids, and further as a health product to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
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Prediction of the Short-Term Risk of New-Onset Renal Dysfunction in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Longitudinal Observational Study.
Xu, J, Shan, X, Xu, Y, Ma, Y, Wang, H
Journal of immunology research. 2022;:6289261
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies in the past decade have reported many novel biomarkers for predicting the new-onset or progression risk of renal dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) based on the genomic, metabolomic, and proteomic technologies. These novel predictive markers, however, are difficult to be widely used in clinical practice over the short term due to their high technology content, instability, and high cost. This study was aimed at evaluating the associations of clinical features and six traditional renal markers with the short-term risk of new-onset renal dysfunction in patients with T2D. METHODS This study involved 213 participants with T2D and normal renal function at baseline. The baseline levels of the albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), alpha-1-microglobulin-to-creatinine ratio (A1MCR), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin-to-creatinine ratio, transferrin-to-creatinine ratio (UTRF/Cr), and retinol-binding protein-to-creatinine ratio (URBP/Cr) were analyzed. Multivariate logistic models were established and validated. RESULTS During the two-year follow-up period, 23.01% participants progressed to renal dysfunction. The basal levels of ACR, A1MCR, UTRF/Cr, and URBP/Cr were the independent risk factors of new-onset renal dysfunction (P < 0.05). Several logistic models incorporating clinical characteristics and these renal markers were constructed for predicting the short-term risk of new-onset renal dysfunction. Comparatively, the model including age, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), hypertension, ACR, A1MCR, UTRF/Cr, and URBP/Cr levels at baseline had the highest potential (C - index = 0.785, P < 0.001). This model was validated using the K-fold cross-validation method; the accuracy was 0.815 ± 0.013 in training sets and 0.784 ± 0.019 in validation sets, indicating a good consistency for predicting the new-onset renal dysfunction risk. Finally, a nomogram based on this model was constructed to provide a quantitative tool to assess the individualized risk of short-term new-onset renal dysfunction. CONCLUSION The model incorporating these markers and clinical features may have a high potential to predict the short-term risk of new-onset renal dysfunction.
