Zinc and COVID-19: Immunity, Susceptibility, Severity and Intervention.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and continuing emergence of viral mutants, there has been a lack of effective treatment methods. Zinc maintains immune function, with direct and indirect antiviral activities. Zinc nutritional status is a critical factor in antiviral immune responses. Importantly, COVID-19 and zinc deficiency overlap in high-risk population. Hence, the potential effect of zinc as a preventive and adjunct therapy for COVID-19 is intriguing. Here, this review summarizes the immune and antiviral function of zinc, the relationship between zinc levels, susceptibility, and severity of COVID-19, and the effect of zinc supplementation on COVID-19. Existing studies have confirmed that zinc deficiency was associated with COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. Zinc supplementation plays a potentially protective role in enhancing immunity, decreasing susceptibility, shortening illness duration, and reducing the severity of COVID-19. We recommend that zinc levels should be monitored, particularly in COVID-19 patients, and zinc as a preventive and adjunct therapy for COVID-19 should be considered for groups at risk of zinc deficiency to reduce susceptibility and disease severity.

Comparisons of different vitamin D supplementation for prevention of osteoporotic fractures: a Bayesian network meta-analysis and meta-regression of randomised controlled trials.

Previous randomised controlled trials have shown the controversial effectiveness of oral vitamin D supplementation in preventing osteoporotic fractures. PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library electronic databases were searched. Pairwise meta-analysis, Bayesian network meta-analysis and meta-regression were applied. A total of 33 studies containing 83,083 participants were included. Oral vitamin D supplementation showed no statistically significant on reducing the risk of total fractures (RR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.87-1.05 p = 0.389). Vitamin D3 (700-800IU/d) plus calcium showed statistical significance in reducing the incidence of total, hip and non-vertebral fractures in the pairwise meta-analysis. Significant reductions were specifically identified in female in total and hip fractures. However, we did not observe any above significant results using Bayesian network meta-analyses. Strikingly, a meta-regression analysis identified an inverse association between the efficacy of fracture prevention and increased body mass index. Thus, we recommended that the vitamin D dose should be adjusted according to BMI based on further confirmation.

Days to heading 7, a major quantitative locus determining photoperiod sensitivity and regional adaptation in rice.

Success of modern agriculture relies heavily on breeding of crops with maximal regional adaptability and yield potentials. A major limiting factor for crop cultivation is their flowering time, which is strongly regulated by day length (photoperiod) and temperature. Here we report identification and characterization of Days to heading 7 (DTH7), a major genetic locus underlying photoperiod sensitivity and grain yield in rice. Map-based cloning reveals that DTH7 encodes a pseudo-response regulator protein and its expression is regulated by photoperiod. We show that in long days DTH7 acts downstream of the photoreceptor phytochrome B to repress the expression of Ehd1, an up-regulator of the "florigen" genes (Hd3a and RFT1), leading to delayed flowering. Further, we find that haplotype combinations of DTH7 with Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7) and DTH8 correlate well with the heading date and grain yield of rice under different photoperiod conditions. Our data provide not only a macroscopic view of the genetic control of photoperiod sensitivity in rice but also a foundation for breeding of rice cultivars better adapted to the target environments using rational design.

Potential serum biomarkers from a metabolomics study of autism.

BACKGROUND: Early detection and diagnosis are very important for autism. Current diagnosis of autism relies mainly on some observational questionnaires and interview tools that may involve a great variability. We performed a metabolomics analysis of serum to identify potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and clinical evaluation of autism. METHODS: We analyzed a discovery cohort of patients with autism and participants without autism in the Chinese Han population using ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF MS/MS) to detect metabolic changes in serum associated with autism. The potential metabolite candidates for biomarkers were individually validated in an additional independent cohort of cases and controls. We built a multiple logistic regression model to evaluate the validated biomarkers. RESULTS: We included 73 patients and 63 controls in the discovery cohort and 100 cases and 100 controls in the validation cohort. Metabolomic analysis of serum in the discovery stage identified 17 metabolites, 11 of which were validated in an independent cohort. A multiple logistic regression model built on the 11 validated metabolites fit well in both cohorts. The model consistently showed that autism was associated with 2 particular metabolites: sphingosine 1-phosphate and docosahexaenoic acid. LIMITATIONS: While autism is diagnosed predominantly in boys, we were unable to perform the analysis by sex owing to difficulty recruiting enough female patients. Other limitations include the need to perform test-retest assessment within the same individual and the relatively small sample size. CONCLUSION: Two metabolites have potential as biomarkers for the clinical diagnosis and evaluation of autism.

A urinary metabonomics analysis of long-term effect of acetochlor exposure on rats by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

The study was to assess the long-term toxic effects of acetochlor on rats. Two different doses (42.96 and 107.4 mg/kg body weight/day) of acetochlor were administered to Wistar rats through their food for over 24 weeks. Rat urine samples were collected at two time-points for the measurements of the metabonomics profiles with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MSMS). The results of clinical chemistry and histopathology suggested that long-term use of acetochlor in rats caused liver and kidney damage, and dysfunction of antioxidant system. The urinary metabonomics analysis indicated that the high and low-dose exposure of acetochlor could cause alterations of these metabonomics in urine in the rat. Significant changes of the levels of hippuric acid (0.403-fold decrease), citric acid (0.430-fold decrease), pantothenic acid (0.486-fold decrease), uracil (0.419-fold decrease), ß-Alanine (0.325-fold decrease), nonanedioic acid (0.445-fold decrease), L-tyrosine (0.410-fold decrease), D-glucuronic acid (8.389-fold increase) and 2-ethyl-6-methyl-N-methyl-2-chloro-acetanilide in urine were observed. In addition, it may interfere with the fatty acid synthesis, the pyrimidine degradation and pantothenate biosynthesis. The level of 2-ethyl-6-methyl-N-methyl-2-chloro-acetanilide is detected in all treated groups which is not found in the control groups, indicating which can be used as an early, sensitive marker of acetochlor exposure in rat. This study illustrates the important utility of metabonomics approaches to understand the toxicity of long-term exposure of acetochlor.

Combinations of Hd2 and Hd4 genes determine rice adaptability to Heilongjiang Province, northern limit of China.

Heading date is a key trait in rice domestication and adaption, and a number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been identified. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars in the Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost region of China, have to flower extremely early to fulfill their life cycle. However, the critical genes or different gene combinations controlling early flowering in this region have not been determined. QTL and candidate gene analysis revealed that Hd2/Ghd7.1/OsPRR37 plays a major role in controlling rice distribution in Heilongjiang. Further association analysis with a collection of rice cultivars demonstrated that another three major QTL genes (Hd4/Ghd7, Hd5/DTH8/Ghd8, and Hd1) also participate in regulating heading date under natural long day (LD) conditions. Hd2/Ghd7.1/OsPRR37 and Hd4/Ghd7 are two major QTLs and function additively. With the northward rice cultivation, the Hd2/Ghd7.1/OsPRR37 and Hd4/Ghd7 haplotypes became non-functional alleles. Hd1 might be non-functional in most Heilongjiang rice varieties, implying that recessive hd1 were selected during local rice breeding. Non-functional Hd5/DTH8/Ghd8 is very rare, but constitutes a potential target for breeding extremely early flowering cultivars. Our results indicated that diverse genetic combinations of Hd1, Hd2, Hd4, and Hd5 determined the different distribution of rice varieties in this northernmost province of China.

Biomarkers identified by urinary metabonomics for noninvasive diagnosis of nutritional rickets.

Nutritional rickets is a worldwide public health problem; however, the current diagnostic methods retain shortcomings for accurate diagnosis of nutritional rickets. To identify urinary biomarkers associated with nutritional rickets and establish a noninvasive diagnosis method, urinary metabonomics analysis by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis were employed to investigate the metabolic alterations associated with nutritional rickets in 200 children with or without nutritional rickets. The pathophysiological changes and pathogenesis of nutritional rickets were illustrated by the identified biomarkers. By urinary metabolic profiling, 31 biomarkers of nutritional rickets were identified and five candidate biomarkers for clinical diagnosis were screened and identified by quantitative analysis and receiver operating curve analysis. Urinary levels of five candidate biomarkers were measured using mass spectrometry or commercial kits. In the validation step, the combination of phosphate and sebacic acid was able to give a noninvasive and accurate diagnostic with high sensitivity (94.0%) and specificity (71.2%). Furthermore, on the basis of the pathway analysis of biomarkers, our urinary metabonomics analysis gives new insight into the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of nutritional rickets.

Highly Defective Zirconium-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks for the Efficient Adsorption and Detection of Sugar Phosphates in the Biological Sample.

Enrichment and quantification of sugar phosphates (SPx) in biological samples were of great significance in biological medicine. In this work, a series of zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with different degrees of defects, namely, HP-UiO-66-NH2-X, were synthesized using acetic acid as a modulator and were utilized as high-capacity adsorbents for the adsorption of SPx in biological samples. The results indicated that the addition of acetic acid altered the morphology of HP-UiO-66-NH2-X, with corresponding changes in pore size (3.99-9.28 nm) and specific surface area (894.44-1142.50 m2·g-1). HP-UiO-66-NH2-10 showed the outstanding performance by achieving complete adsorption of all four SPx using only 80 µg of the adsorbent. The excellent adsorption efficiency of HP-UiO-66-NH2-10 was also obtained with a wide pH range and short adsorption time (10 min). Adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption process involved chemical adsorption and multilayer adsorption. By utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory to explain the adsorption mechanism, it was found that various interactions (including coordination, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions) collectively contributed to the exceptional adsorption capability of HP-UiO-66-NH2-10. Those results indicated that the defect strategy not only increased the specific surface area and pore size, providing additional adsorption sites, but also reduced the adsorption energy between HP-UiO-66-NH2-10 and SPx. Moreover, HP-UiO-66-NH2-10 showed a low limit of detection (0.001-0.01 ng·mL-1), high precision (<13.77%), and accuracy (80.10-111.83%) in serum, liver, and cells, good stability, high selectivity (SPx/glucose, 1:100 molar ratio), and high adsorption capacity (292 mg·g-1 for SPx). The practical detection of SPx from human serum was also verified, prefiguring the great potentials of defective zirconium-based MOFs for the enrichment and detection of SPx in the biological medicine.

Calcium-deficiency assessment and biomarker identification by an integrated urinary metabonomics analysis.

BACKGROUND: Calcium deficiency is a global public-health problem. Although the initial stage of calcium deficiency can lead to metabolic alterations or potential pathological changes, calcium deficiency is difficult to diagnose accurately. Moreover, the details of the molecular mechanism of calcium deficiency remain somewhat elusive. To accurately assess and provide appropriate nutritional intervention, we carried out a global analysis of metabolic alterations in response to calcium deficiency. METHODS: The metabolic alterations associated with calcium deficiency were first investigated in a rat model, using urinary metabonomics based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis. Correlations between dietary calcium intake and the biomarkers identified from the rat model were further analyzed to confirm the potential application of these biomarkers in humans. RESULTS: Urinary metabolic-profiling analysis could preliminarily distinguish between calcium-deficient and non-deficient rats after a 2-week low-calcium diet. We established an integrated metabonomics strategy for identifying reliable biomarkers of calcium deficiency using a time-course analysis of discriminating metabolites in a low-calcium diet experiment, repeating the low-calcium diet experiment and performing a calcium-supplement experiment. In total, 27 biomarkers were identified, including glycine, oxoglutaric acid, pyrophosphoric acid, sebacic acid, pseudouridine, indoxyl sulfate, taurine, and phenylacetylglycine. The integrated urinary metabonomics analysis, which combined biomarkers with regular trends of change (types A, B, and C), could accurately assess calcium-deficient rats at different stages and clarify the dynamic pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanism of calcium deficiency in detail. Significant correlations between calcium intake and two biomarkers, pseudouridine (Pearson correlation, r = 0.53, P = 0.0001) and citrate (Pearson correlation, r = -0.43, P = 0.001), were further confirmed in 70 women. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of reliable biomarkers of calcium deficiency, which were identified using an integrated strategy. The identified biomarkers give new insights into the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms of calcium deficiency. The correlations between calcium intake and two of the biomarkers provide a rationale or potential for further assessment and elucidation of the metabolic responses of calcium deficiency in humans.

Fasting serum lipid and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate as important metabolites for detecting isolated postchallenge diabetes: serum metabolomics via ultra-high-performance LC-MS.

BACKGROUND: Isolated postchallenge diabetes (IPD), a subtype of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) defined as 2-h postprandial plasma glucose ≥ 200 mg/dL (≥ 11.1 mmol/L) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) <108 mg/dL (<6.0 mmol/L), is often overlooked during screening for diabetes on the basis of FPG concentrations. A key challenge is early identification of IPD by the use of fasting serum, which is critical for large-scale diabetes screening. METHODS: We applied a nontargeted metabolomic approach using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole TOF-mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS) to analyze serum samples from 51 patients with IPD, 52 with newly diagnosed T2DM, and 49 healthy individuals. We processed metabolite profiles by multivariate analysis to identify potential metabolites, which were further confirmed by tandem MS (MS/MS). We also used GC-MS and ELISA methods to detect potentially important metabolites. A number of independent samples were selected to validate the identified candidates. RESULTS: We selected 15 metabolites with a view to distinguishing patients with IPD, whereas 11 were identified with an authentic standard. The selected metabolites included linoleic acid, oleic acid, phospholipids, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). In IPD samples, significantly higher linoleic and oleic acid (P < 0.001) and lower DHEA-S (P < 0.001) concentrations were observed, compared with controls. The area under the curve from a combination of linoleic acid, oleic acid, and DHEA-S in the validation study was 0.849 for the IPD group. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides useful information to bridge the gaps in our understanding of the metabolic alterations associated with IPD and might facilitate the characterization of patients with IPD by the use of fasting serum.

Lipoprotein lipase links vitamin D, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] play important roles in the regulation of lipid metabolism. Although dyslipidemia is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), there are limited data available regarding the relationship of LPL and 25(OH)D to IR and T2D at a population level. The objective of the present study is to investigate the associations of LPL and 25(OH)D with IR and T2D in a Chinese population. METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 2708 subjects (1326 males, 1382 females; mean age 48.5 ± 12.6 years) in main communities of Harbin, China. Serum 25(OH)D, LPL, free fatty acids (FFAs), fasting glucose (FG), fasting insulin, lipid profile, apoA and apoB concentrations were measured. RESULTS: Serum 25(OH)D concentration was positively associated with LPL (ß = 0.168, P < 0.001). LPL was inversely associated with IR and T2D. Subjects in the lowest quartile of LPL had the highest risk of IR [odds ratio (OR) = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.22-2.68] and T2D (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.14-2.38). Serum 25(OH)D was also inversely associated with IR and T2D. Vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D < 20 ng/ml] was associated with an increasing risk of IR (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.23-2.76) and T2D (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.37-3.24). The associations of 25(OH)D with IR and T2D were attenuated by further adjustment for LPL. CONCLUSIONS: LPL is associated with serum 25(OH)D, IR and T2D in the Chinese population. These results suggest a potential mediating role of LPL in the associations of 25(OH)D with IR and T2D.

Microbial community diversity and potential functionality in response to dam construction along the Three Gorge Reservoir, China.

River and reservoir bacterial communities are the most basic part of river biomes and ecosystem structure, and play an important role in river biological processes. Yet, it remains unclear how highly regulated dam reservoirs affect both soil and sediment bacterial communities. A temporal distribution pattern of bacterial communities was investigated using Illumina MiSeq sequencing in a transition section of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR). In total, 106,682 features belong to the bacteria kingdom, encompassing 95 phyla, 228 classes, 514 orders, 871 families, 1959 genera, and 3,053 species. With water level regulation, Shannon diversity index, and observed species differed significantly, with no significant difference in Simpson evenness. Both in the high water level period (October) and the low water level period (June), Proteobacteria, Acidobacteri, and Chloroflexi were the most abundant phyla. Whereas, based on PCA plots and Circos plot, the microbial community structure has changed significantly. LEfSe method was used to identify the classified bacterial taxa with significant abundance differences between the low water level and high water level periods. KOs (KEGG Orthology) pathway enrichment analysis were conducted to investigate functional and related metabolic pathways in groups. To some extent, it can be inferred that water level regulation affects community growth by affecting the metabolism of the microbial community.

Inhibition of MAOB Ameliorated High-Fat-Diet-Induced Atherosclerosis by Inhibiting Endothelial Dysfunction and Modulating Gut Microbiota.

In this study, monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) was activated under pathological conditions, and was the novel source of cardiovascular reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS-induced endothelial dysfunction results in sustained and chronic vascular inflammation, which is central to atherosclerotic diseases. However, whether MAOB regulates endothelial oxidative stress and its related mechanism and whether gut microbiota mediates the anti-atherosclerosis effect of MAOB inhibitor remains unclear. In our study, MAOB expressions were elevated in high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice aortas, but only in vascular endothelial cells (not in smooth muscle cells). MAOB small interfering RNA significantly attenuated the palmitic-acid (PA)-induced endothelial oxidative stress and dysfunction. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing data revealed that MAOB knockdown decreased the levels of proinflammatory and apoptotic gene induced by PA. Microarray analysis and qPCR assay showed that miR-3620-5p was significantly decreased under the HFD condition. The dual-luciferase reporter, Western blot and qPCR assay confirmed that miR-3620-5p directly regulated MAOB by binding to its mRNA 3'UTR. Moreover, inhibition of MAOB by selegiline significantly ameliorated endothelial dysfunction and reduced atherosclerotic burden in HFD-fed ApoE-/- mice. Finally, 16S rRNA sequencing showed that selegiline significantly altered the community compositional structure of gut microbiota. Specifically, selegiline treatment enriched the abundance of Faecalibaculum and Akkermansia, decreased the abundance of unclassified_f__Lachnospiraceae, Desulfovibrio, and Blautia, and these genera were significantly correlated with the serum biochemical indices. Taken together, our findings showed that MAOB controlled endothelial oxidative stress homeostasis, and revealed the anti-atherosclerotic effect of selegiline by ameliorating endothelial dysfunction and modulating the composition and function of gut microbiota.

Marginal zinc deficiency alters the heart proteome of rats.

Zinc deficiency is closely related to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), but the effects of marginal zinc deficiency (MZD) after birth on the heart are unknown. In this study, 4-week-old male rats were fed a low zinc diet (10 mg kg-1, 1/3 recommended nutrient intake, RNI) for 8 weeks. Echocardiography and histopathology were performed to assess the functional and morphological alterations of the heart. High-throughput proteomics was used to study the effects of MZD on cardiac protein expression. We found that MZD reduced food intake, body weight, serum zinc, and heart weight; however, the coefficient, zinc concentration, function, and histopathology of the heart were not changed. The heart proteome was altered in the marginal zinc-deficient diet group (MZG), compared with the normal zinc diet group (NZG). A total of 310 differentially expressed proteins (P < 0.05) were significantly changed by MZD, among which 163 proteins were up-regulated and 147 were down-regulated. Of these, 43 proteins are related to CVDs and 18 proteins are zinc-associated proteins. Gene Ontology and Pathway analysis revealed that 74 biological processes (BPs) and 37 pathways were significantly changed by MZD. This included six CVD-related BPs, such as regulation of heart rate, cardiac muscle contraction, regulation of ventricular cardiac muscle cell action potential, and regulation of blood pressure, and eight CVD-related pathways, such as dilated cardiomyopathy, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Our data show that marginal zinc deficiency after birth significantly alters cardiac protein expression and pathways related to CVDs.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 90 cohort studies of social isolation, loneliness and mortality.

The associations between social isolation, loneliness and the risk of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer are controversial. We systematically reviewed prospective studies on the association between social isolation, loneliness and mortality outcomes in adults aged 18 years or older, as well as studies on these relationships in individuals with CVD or cancer, and conducted a meta-analysis. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO (reg. no. CRD42022299959). A total of 90 prospective cohort studies including 2,205,199 individuals were included. Here we show that, in the general population, both social isolation and loneliness were significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (pooled effect size for social isolation, 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.26 to 1.39; P < 0.001; pooled effect size for loneliness, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.20; P < 0.001) and cancer mortality (pooled effect size for social isolation, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.19 to 1.28; P < 0.001; pooled effect size for loneliness, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.17; P = 0.030). Social isolation also increased the risk of CVD mortality (1.34; 95% CI, 1.25 to 1.44; P < 0.001). There was an increased risk of all-cause mortality in socially isolated individuals with CVD (1.28; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.48; P = 0.001) or breast cancer (1.51; 95% CI, 1.34 to 1.70; P < 0.001), and individuals with breast cancer had a higher cancer-specific mortality owing to social isolation (1.33; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.75; P = 0.038). Greater focus on social isolation and loneliness may help improve people's well-being and mortality risk.

How to Keep the Balance between Red and Processed Meat Intake and Physical Activity Regarding Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases have become a major threat to public health, with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and cancer being the top two causes of death each year. OBJECTIVE: Our objective is to evaluate the balanced association between the effect of red and processed meat intake on the risk of death and the effect of physical activity on the risk of mortality, where the risk of death includes all causes, CVDs, and cancers. METHODS: We searched electronic databases, including PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, for prospective studies reporting risk estimates for the association between the intake of red and processed meat, walking, and muscle-strengthening activity (MSA) and the risk of mortality from all causes, CVDs, and cancer. We extracted fully adjusted effect estimates from original studies and performed a summary analysis using the fixed and random-effect models. RESULTS: A conventional meta-analysis showed that red meat and processed meat were positively associated with the risk of mortality, and daily steps and MSA were negatively associated with the risk of death. Further analysis of the dose-response relationship showed that a risk reduction (20%) from 39.5 min/week of MSA or 4100 steps/d was equivalent to an increased risk of all-cause mortality from a daily intake of 103.4 g/d of red meat or 50 g/d of processed meat. The risk was further decreased as the number of steps per day increased, but the risk reversed when the MSA exceeded the threshold (39.5 min/week). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to physical activity is an effective way to reduce the risk of mortality due to meat intake. However, the total intake of red meat and processed meat should be controlled, especially the latter. Walking is recommended as the main daily physical activity of choice, while MSAs are preferred when time is limited, but it should be noted that longer MSAs do not provide additional benefits.

Correction: Marginal zinc deficiency alters the heart proteome of rats.

Correction for 'Marginal zinc deficiency alters the heart proteome of rats' by Yongzhi Sun et al., Food Funct., 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2fo03815c.

Effect of dewatering conditioners on phosphorus removal efficiency of sludge biochar.

Based on the best dehydration effect, this study compared the adsorption phosphorus effect of sludge biochar after sludge conditioning with FeCl3, KMnO4, and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM). This provided insights into the effects of chemical conditioning during the sludge dewatering stage on the overall phosphate adsorption of the dewatered sludge biochar. The phosphorus adsorption mechanism of the dewatering sludge biochar was analysed by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Under the optimal pyrolysis temperature (300°C), the phosphate adsorption capacity of FeCl3-conditioned sludge biochar (SB-FeCl3) was increased 77 times of the unconditioned sludge biochar. In different solution environments (e.g. pH and coexisting anions), Phosphate adsorption of SB-FeCl3 was srtrongest when the pH of 9 and contained CO32-. Through the analysis of surface elements and functional groups, it was explained that the phosphorus removal effect of SB-FeCl3 comes from abundant active sites containing iron. Phosphorus release occurred in sludge biochar (SB) during the study. SB-FeCl3 solved SB the release of phosphorus, and improved the adsorption capacity of phosphorus.

Genomic decoding of breeding history to guide breeding-by-design in rice.

Deciphering the intrinsic molecular logic of empirical crop breeding from a genomic perspective is a decisive prerequisite for breeding-by-design (BbD), but remains not well established. Here, we decoded the historical features of past rice breeding by phenotyping and haplotyping 546 accessions covering the majority of cultivars bred in the history of Northeast China (NEC). We revealed that three groups founded the genetic diversities in NEC rice with distinct evolution patterns and traced and verified the breeding footprints to known or genome-wide association study (GWAS)-detected quantitative trait loci (QTLs), or introgressions from indica sub-species with chronological changes in allele frequencies. Then we summarized a rice breeding trend/principle in NEC, and combined with the successful example in breeding and application of Zhongkefa5 to demonstrate the guiding value of our conclusion for BbD in practice. Our study provides a paradigm for decoding the breeding history of a specific crop to guide BbD, which may have implications in different crop breeding.

Global burden of type 2 diabetes in adolescents and young adults, 1990-2019: systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the global burden of type 2 diabetes in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) from 1990 to 2019. DESIGN: Systematic analysis. DATA SOURCE: Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Participants aged 15-39 years from 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Age standardised incidence rate, age standardised disability adjusted life years (DALY) rate, and age standardised mortality rate for type 2 diabetes in people aged 15-39 years from 1990 to 2019, and proportional DALY attributable to different risk factors. RESULTS: From 1990 to 2019, significant increases in age standardised incidence rate and age standardised DALY rate were found for type 2 diabetes in adolescents and young adults globally (P<0.001). Age standardised incidence rate (per 100 000 population) increased from 117.22 (95% confidence interval 117.07 to 117.36) in 1990 to 183.36 (183.21 to 183.51) in 2019, and age standardised DALY rate (per 100 000 population) increased from 106.34 (106.20 to 106.48) in 1990 to 149.61 (149.47 to 149.75) in 2019. The age standardised mortality rate (per 100 000 population) was modestly increased from 0.74 (0.72 to 0.75) in 1990 to 0.77 (0.76 to 0.78) in 2019. When grouped by countries with different sociodemographic indexes, countries with a low-middle and middle sociodemographic index had the highest age standardised incidence rate and age standardised DALY rate in 2019, whereas countries with a low sociodemographic index had the lowest age standardised incidence rate but the highest age standardised mortality rate. Women generally had higher mortality and DALY rates than men at ages <30 years, but differences between the sexes were reversed in those aged >30 years except in countries with a low sociodemographic index. The main attributable risk factor for DALY for early onset type 2 diabetes was high body mass index in all regions by sociodemographic index. The proportional contribution of other risk factors varied across regions, however, with higher proportions of ambient particulate air pollution and smoking in countries with a high sociodemographic index and higher proportions of household air pollution from solid fuels and diet low in fruit in countries with a low sociodemographic index. CONCLUSIONS: Early onset type 2 diabetes is a growing global health problem in adolescents and young adults, especially in countries with a low-middle and middle sociodemographic index. A greater disease burden in women aged <30 years was found. Specific measures are needed in countries with different levels of socioeconomic development because of the variable attributable risk factors for type 2 diabetes in adolescents and young adults.