CMAUP database update 2024: extended functional and association information of useful plants for biomedical research.

Knowledge of the collective activities of individual plants together with the derived clinical effects and targeted disease associations is useful for plant-based biomedical research. To provide the information in complement to the established databases, we introduced a major update of CMAUP database, previously featured in NAR. This update includes (i) human transcriptomic changes overlapping with 1152 targets of 5765 individual plants, covering 74 diseases from 20 027 patient samples; (ii) clinical information for 185 individual plants in 691 clinical trials; (iii) drug development information for 4694 drug-producing plants with metabolites developed into approved or clinical trial drugs; (iv) plant and human disease associations (428 737 associations by target, 220 935 reversion of transcriptomic changes, 764 and 154121 associations by clinical trials of individual plants and plant ingredients); (v) the location of individual plants in the phylogenetic tree for navigating taxonomic neighbors, (vi) DNA barcodes of 3949 plants, (vii) predicted human oral bioavailability of plant ingredients by the established SwissADME and HobPre algorithm, (viii) 21-107% increase of CMAUP data over the previous version to cover 60 222 chemical ingredients, 7865 plants, 758 targets, 1399 diseases, 238 KEGG human pathways, 3013 gene ontologies and 1203 disease ontologies. CMAUP update version is freely accessible at https://bidd.group/CMAUP/index.html.

NPASS database update 2023: quantitative natural product activity and species source database for biomedical research.

Quantitative activity and species source data of natural products (NPs) are important for drug discovery, medicinal plant research, and microbial investigations. Activity values of NPs against specific targets are useful for discovering targeted therapeutic agents and investigating the mechanism of medicinal plants. Composition/concentration values of NPs in individual species facilitate the assessments and investigations of the therapeutic quality of herbs and phenotypes of microbes. Here, we describe an update of the NPASS natural product activity and species source database previously featured in NAR. This update includes: (i) new data of ∼95 000 records of the composition/concentration values of ∼1 490 NPs/NP clusters in ∼390 species, (ii) extended data of activity values of ∼43 200 NPs against ∼7 700 targets (∼40% and ∼32% increase, respectively), (iii) extended data of ∼31 600 species sources of ∼94 400 NPs (∼26% and ∼32% increase, respectively), (iv) new species types of ∼440 co-cultured microbes and ∼420 engineered microbes, (v) new data of ∼66 600 NPs without experimental activity values but with estimated activity profiles from the established chemical similarity tool Chemical Checker, (vi) new data of the computed drug-likeness properties and the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) properties for all NPs. NPASS update version is freely accessible at http://bidd.group/NPASS.

Heterogeneous Multiple Sensors Joint Tracking of Maneuvering Target in Clutter.

To solve the problem of tracking maneuvering airborne targets in the presence of clutter, an improved interacting multiple model probability data association algorithm (IMMPDA-MDCM) using radar/IR sensors fusion is proposed. Under the architecture of the proposed algorithm, the radar/IR centralized fusion tracking scheme of IMMPDA-MDCM is designed to guarantee the observability of the target state. The interacting multiple model (IMM) deals with the model switching. The modified debiased converted measurement (MDCM) filter accounts for non-linearity in the dynamic system models, and reduces the effect of measurement noise on the covariance effectively. The probability data association (PDA) handles data association and measurement uncertainties in clutter. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the tracking precision for maneuvering target in clutters, and has higher tracking precision than the traditional IMMPDA based on EKF and IMMPDA based on DCM algorithm.

Associations of parental reproductive age and elevated blood pressure in offspring: An observational study.

Background: Increased parental reproductive age has been a social trend around the world, and elevated blood pressure in children leads to an approximately two-fold increased risk of hypertension in adulthood. Aim of this study is to assess the associations of parental reproductive age with the risk of elevated blood pressure in offspring, and to explore the influence of offspring lifestyle on the associations. Methods: Data was obtained from a national school program conducted in 7 Chinese provinces, and the final sample was 39,190 students aged 7-18 years. Anthropometric measurements and questionnaires were designed to collect data of children blood pressure and information respectively. Results: In this study, 26.7% of children were defined as elevated blood pressure. A U-shaped pattern was observed in the relationship between maternal age and risk of elevated blood pressure, while risk of elevated blood pressure decreased continuously with paternal age increased. After adjustment, offspring of paternal age ≤27 & maternal age ≤26 years and those of paternal age >30 & maternal age >32 years were related to great risk of elevated blood pressure (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08-1.29, P < 0.001; OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01-1.38, P < 0.05). When stratified by lifestyle status, significant associations between maternal/paternal age and risk of elevated blood pressure were only observed in those with worse lifestyle behaviors, but not in offspring with healthier lifestyle. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that risk of elevated blood pressure in children is independently related to parental reproductive age, and children maintaining a healthy lifestyle may mitigate the adverse effect.

Maternal weight and its association with risk of overweight in offspring: a trajectory analysis from a birth cohort in China.

BACKGROUND: Most studies on the association of maternal pregnancy weight with offspring weight trajectory have a short follow-up time. This study aimed to explore the associations of maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) with childhood weight trajectories in a 7-year birth cohort. METHODS: A total of 946 mother-child pairs (467 boys and 479 girls) from a longitudinal birth cohort in Tianjin City, China, were included in this study, ranging from pregnancy to offspring at 7 years. The outcome variable was defined as overweight or not overweight in offspring at the last round. A group-based trajectory model was applied to identify childhood BMI trajectory groups. RESULTS: Five discrete BMI trajectory groups were identified and characterized as constant underweight (25.2%), constant normal weight (42.8%), and high or increasing trajectory [at risk of overweight (16.9%), progressive overweight (11.0%) and progressive obesity (4.1%)]. Maternal prepregnancy overweight was associated with 1.72 (95% CI 1.14-2.60, P = 0.01) to 4.02 (95% CI 1.94-8.36, P < 0.001) times the risk of all high or increasing trajectory groups, and excessive GWG was related to groups at risk of overweight [relative risk ratio (RRR) 2.09, 95% CI 1.27-3.46, P = 0.004] and progressive obesity (RRR 3.33, 95% CI 1.13-9.79, P = 0.029). Children in all high or increasing trajectory groups were associated with greater overweight risk at the last round [risk ratios (RRs) ranged from 3.54 (95% CI 2.53-4.95, P < 0.001) to 6.18 (95% CI 4.05-9.42, P < 0.001)]. CONCLUSION: Maternal prepregnancy overweight and excessive gestational weight gain were associated with increasing or high-level childhood body mass index trajectories as well as a greater risk of overweight at 7 years.

Fecal microbiota transplantation inhibits colorectal cancer progression: Reversing intestinal microbial dysbiosis to enhance anti-cancer immune responses.

Many lines of evidence demonstrate the associations of colorectal cancer (CRC) with intestinal microbial dysbiosis. Recent reports have suggested that maintaining the homeostasis of microbiota and host might be beneficial to CRC patients, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we established a CRC mouse model of microbial dysbiosis and evaluated the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on CRC progression. Azomethane and dextran sodium sulfate were used to induce CRC and microbial dysbiosis in mice. Intestinal microbes from healthy mice were transferred to CRC mice by enema. The vastly disordered gut microbiota of CRC mice was largely reversed by FMT. Intestinal microbiota from normal mice effectively suppressed cancer progression as assessed by measuring the diameter and number of cancerous foci and significantly prolonged survival of the CRC mice. In the intestine of mice that had received FMT, there were massive infiltration of immune cells, including CD8+ T and CD49b+ NK, which is able to directly kill cancer cells. Moreover, the accumulation of immunosuppressive cells, Foxp3+ Treg cells, seen in the CRC mice was much reduced after FMT. Additionally, FMT regulated the expressions of inflammatory cytokines in CRC mice, including down-regulation of IL1a, IL6, IL12a, IL12b, IL17a, and elevation of IL10. These cytokines were positively correlated with Azospirillum_sp._47_25, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, the E. coli complex, Akkermansia, Turicibacter, and negatively correlated with Muribaculum, Anaeroplasma, Candidatus_Arthromitus, and Candidatus Saccharimonas. Furthermore, the repressed expressions of TGFb, STAT3 and elevated expressions of TNFa, IFNg, CXCR4 together promoted the anti-cancer efficacy. Their expressions were positively correlated with Odoribacter, Lachnospiraceae-UCG-006, Desulfovibrio, and negatively correlated with Alloprevotella, Ruminococcaceae UCG-014, Ruminiclostridium, Prevotellaceae UCG-001 and Oscillibacter. Our studies indicate that FMT inhibits the development of CRC by reversing gut microbial disorder, ameliorating excessive intestinal inflammation and cooperating with anti-cancer immune responses.

Exploring the Associations between Single-Child Status and Childhood High Blood Pressure and the Mediation Effect of Lifestyle Behaviors.

Background: This study aimed to assess the association between single-child status and childhood high blood pressure (HBP) and to explore the role of lifestyle behaviors in this relationship. Methods: This study used data from a cross-sectional survey of 50,691 children aged 7~18 years in China. Linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between single-child status and HBP, and interactions between single-child status and lifestyle behaviors were also evaluated. Mediation analysis was conducted to detect the mediation effect of lifestyle behaviors. Results: Of the participants enrolled, 67.2% were single children and 49.4% were girls. Non-single children were associated with a greater risk of HBP, especially in girls (OR = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.03~1.19). Meat consumption and sedentary behavior mediated 58.9% of the association between single-child status and HBP (p < 0.01). When stratified by sleeping duration, non-single girls of insufficient sleep and hypersomnia showed a higher risk of HBP (p < 0.05) than single-child peers, but not in those with adequate sleep. Conclusion: Findings suggest that non-single children had an increased risk of HBP, and keeping healthy lifestyle behaviors could help to mitigate the adverse impact in non-single children.

Lifestyle Risk Factors and the Population Attributable Fractions for Overweight and Obesity in Chinese Students of Zhejiang Province.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors and risk of overweight/obesity in Chinese students, and to evaluate the predicting prevalence of overweight if the lifestyle risk factors were removed. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 40,141 students in grade three and above (8-24yrs) in 2019 in Zhejiang Province, China. Physical examination was performed, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect lifestyle information, including dietary behavior, physical activity, TV watching, sleeping, smoking, drinking, and tooth-brushing habits. Logistic regression models were performed to assess the relationship between overweight/obesity and a series of lifestyle factors. Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were used to calculate the predicting prevalence of overweight/obesity if lifestyle risk factors were removed. Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity of participants was 25.5% (male 32.3%, female 18.1%). Overweight/obesity were associated with adverse lifestyle factors, such as watch TV ≥1 h/day (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22), insufficient sleep (OR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22), and irregular toothbrushing habits (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01-1.39). Based on the calculated PAFs, the predicted prevalence of overweight/obesity would decline moderately if lifestyle factors were modified, with the magnitudes of decrease vary by sex, age and residence. Generally, a larger reduction was estimated if the sleeping time was increased and TV time was reduced, with the prevalence of overweight/obesity decreased by 1.1% (95% CI: 0.7, 1.5%) and 0.9% (95% CI: 0.6, 1.2%), respectively. Conclusions: Predicted prevalence of overweight/ obesity in Chinese students may decrease if modifiable lifestyle risk factors were removed. The attributable risk for obesity of lifestyle behaviors varied in age, sex and residence groups. The findings of this study may provide insights for planning and optimizing future obesity intervention endeavors.