Erectile dysfunction is now a common disorder of sexual function, and its relationship to dietary calcium, phosphorus, and potassium has not been well studied. We set out to determine if dietary ...intakes of calcium, phosphorus, and potassium are related to erectile dysfunction in U.S. men.
For this cross-sectional investigation, we used data from NHANES 2001-2004. To investigate the connection of dietary calcium, phosphorus, and potassium intake with erectile dysfunction, we employed multivariate logistic regression, smoothed curve fitting, and subgroup analysis.
This cross-sectional study comprised 3,556 eligible male subjects in total, with a weighted mean age of 49.93±18.13 years. After controlling for race and age, the greatest tertile of calcium consumption was found to have a 34% lower risk of erectile dysfunction than the lowest tertile (OR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.52-0.84; p = 0.0006). The risk of erectile dysfunction was found to be reduced by 33% (OR = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.52-0.87; p = 0.0024) for the highest tertile of phosphorus intake compared to the lowest tertile of phosphorus intake and by 35% (OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.50-0.83; p = 0.0006) for the highest tertile of potassium intake compared to the lowest tertile of potassium intake in the fully adjusted model.
Erectile dysfunction and dietary consumption of calcium, phosphorus, and potassium are inversely associated with the U.S. population. To confirm the accuracy of our findings, additional prospective studies are necessary. Furthermore, it is imperative to do further fundamental research at the molecular level to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms.
Although previous studies have linked obesity and erectile dysfunction, the novel surrogate indicators of adipose accumulation are more essential and dependable factors to consider. Therefore, the ...primary objective of the current investigation was to examine and clarify the association between metabolic score for visceral fat (METS-VF) and erectile dysfunction.
Firstly, multivariate logistic regression analysis, smoothed curve fitting, and threshold effect analysis were employed to investigate the association between METS-VF and erectile dysfunction. Mediation analysis was also performed to evaluate the mediating role of homocysteine and inflammation. After that, subgroup analysis was carried out to examine the stability of the correlation of METS-VF with erectile dysfunction in various population settings. Furthermore, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm were utilized to assess the capability of identifying METS-VF in comparison to the other four obesity-related indicators in identifying erectile dysfunction.
After adjusting for all confounding factors, METS-VF was strongly and favourablely correlated with erectile dysfunction. With each additional unit rise in METS-VF, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction increased by 141%. A J-shaped relationship between METS-VF and erectile dysfunction was discovered through smoothed curve fitting. Marital status, physical activity, and smoking status can potentially modify this association. This finding of the ROC curve suggests that METS-VF had a powerful identifying capacity for erectile dysfunction (AUC = 0.7351). Homocysteine and inflammation mediated 4.24% and 2.81%, respectively.
The findings of the current investigation suggest that METS-VF can be considered a dependable identifying indicator of erectile dysfunction.
Few systemic assessments have evaluated the success of these afforestation programs in alpine semiarid desert ecosystems in the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. In this study, we investigated the influences of ...three Salix cupularis plantation age classes (6, 18, and 34 years) on the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) storages and stoichiometry of the soil–plant ecosystem. The consequences of S. cupularis plantation induced soil spatial heterogeneity. The soil–plant ecosystem C storage increased after the plantation. The N storage showed an increasing trend from 6 to 18 years and then slightly decreased. The P storage presented a continuously declining trend. The result indicated that the imbalance in soil N, P, C occurred with plantation age because of the imbalance of their inputs. The N and P uptakes from subsoil and redistribution to topsoil by S. cupularis may contribute to meet N and P demands for the understory plants. Leaf N:P ratios varied from 8.3 to 17.5. These results imply that N and P status are the main factors limiting plant growth in the alpine‐cold desert ecosystem. Thus, we recommend adding N and P fertilizers during plant growth.
The spikelet number per spike (SNS) contributes greatly to grain yield in wheat. Identifying various genes that control wheat SNS is vital for yield improvement. This study used a recombinant inbred ...line population genotyped by the Wheat55K single-nucleotide polymorphism array to identify two major and stably expressed quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for SNS. One of them (QSns.sau-2SY-2D.1) was reported previously, while the other (QSns.sau-2SY-7A) was newly detected and further analyzed in this study. QSns.sau-2SY-7A had a high LOD value ranging from 4.46 to 16.00 and explained 10.21–40.78％ of the phenotypic variances. QSns.sau-2SY-7A was flanked by the markers AX-110518554 and AX-110094527 in a 4.75-cM interval on chromosome arm 7AL. The contributions and interactions of both major QTLs were further analyzed and discussed. The effect of QSns.sau-2SY-7A was successfully validated by developing a tightly linked kompetitive allele specific PCR marker in an F2:3 population and a panel of 101 high-generation breeding wheat lines. Furthermore, several genes including the previously reported WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO1), an ortholog of the rice gene ABERRANT PANICLE ORGANIZATION 1 (APO1) related to SNS, were predicted in the interval of QSns.sau-2SY-7A. In summary, these results revealed the genetic basis of the multi-spikelet genotype of wheat line 20828 and will facilitate subsequent fine mapping and breeding utilization of the major QTLs.
Lumican is a dermatan sulfate proteoglycan highly expressed in connective tissue and has the ability to regulate collagen fibril assembly. Previous studies have shown that lumican is involved in ...wound healing, but the precise effects of lumican on reepithelialization and wound contraction, the two pivotal aspects of skin wound healing, have not been investigated. Here we explored the roles of lumican in fibroblast contractility, a main aspect of skin wound healing, by adopting mice skin wound healing model and the corresponding in vitro cellular experiments. Our results showed that lumican can promote skin wound healing by facilitating wound fibroblast activation and contraction but not by promoting keratinocyte proliferation and migration. Silencing of integrin α2 completely abolished the pro-contractility of lumican, indicating lumican enhances fibroblast contractility via integrin α2. Our study for the first time demonstrated that lumican can affect fibroblast's mechanical property, which is pivotal for many important pathological processes, such as wound healing, fibrosis, and tumor development, suggesting that lumican might have a potential to be used to modulate these processes.
After nitrogen treatments, plant leaves become narrower and thicker, and the chlorophyll content increases. However, the molecular mechanisms behind these regulations remain unknown. Here, we found ...that the changes in leaf width and thickness were largely compromised in the
(
) mutant. The
gene encodes an amino-transferase in the auxin biosynthesis pathway. Thus, the crosstalk between shade and nitrogen in Arabidopsis leaf development was investigated. Both hypocotyl elongation and leaf expansion promoted by the shade treatment were reduced by the high-N treatment; high-N-induced leaf narrowing and thickening were reduced by the shade treatment; and all of these developmental changes were largely compromised in the
mutant. Shade treatment promoted
expression, while high-N treatment repressed
expression, which then increased or decreased auxin accumulation in cotyledons/leaves, respectively. SAV3 also regulates chlorophyll accumulation and nitrogen assimilation and thus may function as a master switch responsive to multiple environmental stimuli.
Traditional suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) and RNA-Seq usually screen out thousands of differentially expressed genes. However, identification of the most important regulators has not ...been performed to date. Here, we employed two methods, namely, a two-round SSH and two-factor transcriptome analysis derived from the two-factor ANOVA that is commonly used in the statistics, to identify development-associated inorganic phosphate (Pi) starvation-induced genes in Brassica napus. Several of these genes are related to ethylene signaling (such as EIN3, ACO3, ACS8, ERF1A, and ERF2) or sugar metabolism (such as ACC2, GH3, LHCB1.4, XTH4, and SUS2). Although sucrose and ethylene may counteract each other at the biosynthetic level, they may also work synergistically on Pi-starvation-induced gene expression (such as PT1, PT2, RNS1, ACP5, AT4, and IPS1) and root acid phosphatase activation. Furthermore, three new transcription factors that are responsive to Pi starvation were identified: the zinc-finger MYND domain-containing protein 15 (MYND), a Magonashi family protein (MAGO), and a B-box zinc-finger family salt-tolerance protein. This study indicates that the two methods are highly efficient for functional gene screening in non-model organisms.
The liver is a vital organ in chickens that performs a number of crucial physiological functions, including the storage of hepatic glycogen, protein synthesis, detoxification, and deoxidation. The ...growth and metabolism of the liver are complex processes influenced by factors such as environment, diet, and genetics. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as post-transcriptional regulatory molecules, play a role in various biological processes. There is growing evidence that miR-27b-5p plays a key role in the regulation of liver development and metabolism in various species. However, its role in chicken livers has yet to be determined. In our experiment, we found that chickens with fatty livers had significantly higher levels of serum triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) compared to the normal chickens, while the control group had significantly higher levels of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and serum hormones. Further research showed that the mRNA of miR-27b-5p was highly expressed in fatty livers. By exploring the function of miR-27b-5p in chicken livers, we discovered that it promotes lipogenesis, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses, leading to hepatocyte apoptosis. Our study also established the mechanism by which miR-27b-5p interacts with its target gene, and found that miR-27b-5p targets insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) and modulates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Additionally, our investigation of IRS2 in chicken hepatocytes revealed that knocking down IRS2 has the same effects as overexpressing miR-27b-5p. In conclusion, our study revealed that miR-27b-5p directly binds to IRS2, inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and causing steatosis, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in chicken liver.
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