UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 1A1 glucuronidates bilirubin, estrogens, and exogenous compounds, including dietary carcinogens. The UGT1A1*28 polymorphism, characterized by variation in the number ...of thymine-adenine repeats in the promoter region, modulates UGT1A1 transcription. Observational and in vitro studies suggest that certain phytochemicals may increase UGT activity. We investigated, in a randomized, controlled, crossover feeding trial, whether ∼10 servings/d (doses adjusted for body weight) of crucifers, soy, and citrus for 2 wk compared with a fruit- and vegetable-free basal diet affected UGT1A1 activity as measured by serum bilirubin concentrations and whether effects were modulated by the UGT1A1*28 polymorphism. Healthy men (n = 32) and women (n = 31), aged 20–40 y, enrolled based on UGT1A1 genotype, completed the study. We measured bilirubin in blood collected at d 8 and d 15 of each feeding period. Overall, fruit and vegetables (F…V) did not affect serum bilirubin; however, among 7/7 individuals, d 8 total (P = 0.057) and indirect (unconjugated) (P = 0.051) bilirubin tended to be lower when individuals consumed the F…V diet (28.97 ± 2.36 μmol/L and 25.97 ± 2.15 μmol/L) compared with the basal diet (32.46 ± 2.63 μmol/L and 29.31 ± 2.43 μmol/L). We no longer detected this difference at d 15, by which time bilirubin had also decreased when participants consumed the basal diet. Additionally, intervention effects on bilirubin were restricted to women with 7/7 genotype (P = 0.002). These results suggest that serum bilirubin glucuronidation is modulated by dietary intervention, but factors such as UGT1A1 genotype and sex may affect the response to diet.
This study examined whether folate and vitamin B
imbalance is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and explored interactions between B vitamin imbalance and maternal risk factors for ...GDM.
A cross-sectional study was performed in 406 Chinese pregnant women. Serum folate, vitamin B
, and blood glucose concentrations were measured at 24 to 28 weeks gestation during GDM screening. A diagnosis of GDM was made based on International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria (fasting plasma glucose FPG ≥5.1 mM, 1-hour plasma glucose ≥10.0 mM, or 2-hour plasma glucose ≥8.5 mM). Binary logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios (ORs) after controlling for different confounders.
Higher folate levels were associated with higher glucose concentrations and a higher risk of GDM (OR 1.98; 95% confidence interval CI 1.00-3.90), whereas higher vitamin B
levels were associated with lower FPG and a lower risk of GDM (OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.15-0.60). A higher folate: vitamin B
ratio was associated with higher glucose and a higher risk of GDM (OR 3.08; 95% CI 1.63-5.83). The presence of both a higher folate: vitamin B
ratio and advanced age further increased the OR to 2.13 (95% CI 1.09-4.15) with a significant additive interaction. Furthermore, a higher folate: vitamin B
ratio and a higher prepregnancy body mass index (pp-BMI) were synergistically associated with an increased risk of GDM (OR 3.03; 95% CI 1.40-6.57).
An imbalance between folate and vitamin B
, represented by a higher folate: vitamin B
ratio, was highly associated with GDM risk, and this association could be further modified by maternal age and pp-BMI.
Direct seeding of rice is an efficient and labor-saving planting method. Deep sowing during direct seeding may benefit rice, although it will influence seed germination and seedling establishment. In ...a pot experiment, thirty rice varieties were grown under two different sowing depths (0 cm and 2.5 cm) under dry-seeded conditions, and the germination rate and seedling establishment parameters were measured. The results showed that the seed germination rate and seedling emergence rate were higher than 90% at the 0 cm sowing depth, while under deep sowing, the seed germination rate, and seedling emergence rate were 77.70% and 50.97%, respectively. Rice varieties with seedling establishment rates > 80% and better growth under deep-sowing conditions were identified. In addition, variety, sowing depth, and their interaction significantly affected seedling establishment parameters. Parameters, such as the seed germination rate, seedling emergence rate, prophyll leaf length, first leaf sheath length, and first leaf length, which are highly related to sowing depth, were analyzed. The seedling rate was significantly positively associated with the seed germination rate, mesocotyl length, root length, root fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, and total fresh weight under deep sowing. An approach for screening rice varieties with tolerance to deep sowing is proposed.
In this paper, the method based on Laplace transform and Fourier transform and their inverse transforms is developed to give an exact solution to the forced torsional vibration of a shaft subjected ...to multiple inertias, multiple elastic supports, arbitrary boundary conditions and arbitrary excitation forces. Two simple cases are used to show in detail how this developed method can obtain an exact analytical solution to the forced torsional vibration of shaft and the results are compared with Eigenfunction Expansion Method and Finite Element Method (FEM) to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the developed method. Two more complex cases are investigated to further show the superiority of the developed method over FEM in highly efficient and accurate. Finally, using the developed method, the effects of parameters on forced torsional vibration response of shaft are discussed, including the stiffness, the location of elastic supports and the time interval of impact loading. The developed method can provide a reliable theoretical base not only for analysis and fault diagnosis of a shaft system in engineering signal testing projects but also for the verification of other numerical and analytical methods.
Highlights • The bioaccumulation of azocyclotin in Xenopus laevis tadpoles was studied • Azocyclotin exhibited obvious inhibitory effects on Xenopus laevis metamorphosis. • Genes involved in thyroid ...hormones signaling were down-regulated after azocyclotin exposure • Levels of thyroid hormones decreased in Xenopus laevis tadpoles after azocyclotin exposure
Objective: Pituitary hormones are critical for bone development and maturation. It is currently unknown whether congenital multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (CMPHD) is associated with ...osteonecrosis of femoral head (ONFH).
Methods: Clinical presentations and hormonal profiles of three patients with CMPHD and ONFH were retrospectively described. The incidence of ONFH in this population was studied.
Results: (1) Congenital hypopituitarism was diagnosed in three patients. Femoral epiphyseal fusion in these patients was markedly delayed, and they had very low bone mineral density. (2) Hip pain, which is the main presentation of ONFH, occurred at the age of 20-30 years. ONFH induced by excessive glucocorticoids was excluded. (3) The estimated incidence of ONFH was approximately 694:100,000.
Conclusions: CMPHD, especially a lack of growth and sex hormones, may contribute to ONFH.
Multifunctionality, green, flexibility, and low reflectivity are promising development tendencies of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. However, it is still a challenge to ...effectively integrate multiple functions into a single material. Herein, we reported a multifunctional, green, and flexible EMI shielding material with low reflection. It is a multilayer structure consisting of a low-infrared emission layer, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compensation layer, and a microwave absorption layer. The shielding effectiveness (SE) of the proposed multifunctional material can reach above 28 dB with a green index g s ≥ 1 and reflection loss SE R < 3.01 dB in the sub-6 GHz band. Furthermore, an ultralow infrared (IR) emissivity of 0.17 within the 3–15 μm spectrum is obtained by optimizing the pattern of the indium tin oxide (ITO) part. The designed material is also optically transparent, flexible, wide-angle, low-profile, and polarization-insensitive. Excellent consistency between the experimental and simulation results demonstrates that this multifunction shielding material can find practical applications in signal shielding scenarios in the sub-6G microwave and 3–15 μm infrared regimes.
To study the alleviating effects of flavonoids from
Cuscuta chinensis
(CCFs) on ovary injury in female offspring of pregnant mice exposed to BPA, five groups (
n
= 20) of pregnant mice were ...intragastrically administrated with BPA (5 mg/kg/day) and CCFs (20 mg/kg/day, 30 mg/kg/day, 40 mg/kg/day) at pregnancy days 1–18. The ovaries and serum of F1 female mice were collected at postnatal day (PND) 21 and PND 56 for the detection of related indicators. The ovarian and testicular histomorphologies were observed with hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E). The levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) and the contents of estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), and testosterone (T) in serum were detected by radioimmunoassay. The contents of ovarian and testicular estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of caspase-7, caspase-9, bcl-2, and bax in ovaries and testes of offspring mice were detected by Western blot, and apoptosis in ovaries and testes was detected by TUNEL. The mRNA relative transcription levels of ERα, progesterone receptor (PgR), DNA methyltransferase1 (Dnmt1), DNA methyltransferase3A (Dnmt3A), and DNA methyltransferase3B (Dnmt3B) were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The ovary of female offspring with PND 56 was treated with bisulfite sequence PCR (BSP). Our results showed that, compared with the BPA group, 40 mg/kg CCFs significantly reduced the ovarian index of F1 females and the ovarian cytoapoptosis (
P
< 0.01). CCFs also can alleviate the injure of the levels of serum hormone, hormone receptors, and DNMTs induced by BPA in F1 females at PND 21 and PND 56. Forty milligrams per kilogram of CCFs significantly inhibited the hypermethylation of the H19/Igf2 imprinted gene induced by BPA (
P
< 0.01). It indicated that CCFs adjusted H19/Igf2 methylation by increasing the expression of DNMTs, thereby increasing the levels of reproductive hormones and receptors along with reducing the cytoapoptosis.
Rolling circle amplification (RCA) has been widely used to enhance detection signals as its long single‐stranded RCA products can provide multiple binding sites for signal probes for sensitive ...detections. In the current study, we employ atomic force microscopy (AFM) to monitor the RCA products during the course of the RCA process over time. Subsequently, the results of the RCA obtained from the AFM study are combined with those from the conventional electrophoresis method to optimize RCA reactions for rapid and sensitive detection. We show that there appears to be an inhomogeneous RCA initiation phase in early to mid‐stage of the RCA reaction where some chains grow faster while others grow slower or remain dormant, an observation that has not been reported in the literature. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the RCA can significantly enhance detection signals by up to 100‐fold. We also show that the Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection with the RCA can be carried out in different food matrices with excellent detection sensitivities and specificities. In conclusion, these results suggest that a microfluidic device in combination with RCA signal enhancement is a simple and robust approach to sensitive whole‐cell detection in food samples.
Practical applications
The current research has exciting potentials for applications in sensitive detections of food samples for food safety inspections.
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