Plants respond to insect herbivory with responses broadly known as direct defenses, indirect defenses, and tolerance. Direct defenses include all plant traits that affect susceptibility of host plants by themselves. O...Plants respond to insect herbivory with responses broadly known as direct defenses, indirect defenses, and tolerance. Direct defenses include all plant traits that affect susceptibility of host plants by themselves. Overall categories of direct plant defenses against insect herbivores include limiting food supply, reducing nutrient value, reducing preference, disrupting physical structures, and inhibiting chemical pathways of the attacking insect. Major known defense chemicals include plant secondary metabolites, protein inhibitors of insect digestive enzymes, proteases, lectins, amino acid deaminases and oxidases. Multiple factors with additive or even synergistic impact are usually involved in defense against a specific insect species, and factors of major importance to one insect species may only be of secondary importance or not effective at all against another insect species. Extensive qualitative and quantitative high throughput analyses of temporal and spatial variations in gene expression, protein level and activity, and metabolite concentration will accelerate not only the understanding of the overall mechanisms of direct defense, but also accelerate the identification of specific targets for enhancement of plant resistance for agriculture.展开更多
Biochar,an environmentally friendly soil conditioner,is produced using several thermochemical processes.It has unique characteristics like high surface area,porosity,and surface charges.This paper reviews the fertiliz...Biochar,an environmentally friendly soil conditioner,is produced using several thermochemical processes.It has unique characteristics like high surface area,porosity,and surface charges.This paper reviews the fertilizer value of biochar,and its effects on soil properties,and nutrient use efficiency of crops.Biochar serves as an important source of plant nutrients,especially nitrogen in biochar produced from manures and wastes at low temperature(≤400℃).The phosphorus,potassium,and other nutrient contents are higher in manure/waste biochars than those in crop residues and woody biochars.The nutrient contents and pH of biochar are positively correlated with pyrolysis temperature,except for nitrogen content.Biochar improves the nutrient retention capacity of soil,which depends on porosity and surface charge of biochar.Biochar increases nitrogen retention in soil by reducing leaching and gaseous loss,and also increases phosphorus availability by decreasing the leaching process in soil.However,for potassium and other nutrients,biochar shows inconsistent(positive and negative)impacts on soil.After addition of biochar,porosity,aggregate stability,and amount of water held in soil increase and bulk density decreases.Mostly,biochar increases soil pH and,thus,influences nutrient availability for plants.Biochar also alters soil biological properties by increasing microbial populations,enzyme activity,soil respiration,and microbial biomass.Finally,nutrient use efficiency and nutrient uptake improve with the application of biochar to soil.Thus,biochar can be a potential nutrient reservoir for plants and a good amendment to improve soil properties.展开更多
Rice(Oryza sativa),a major staple throughout the world and a model system for plant genomics and breeding,was the first crop genome sequenced almost two decades ago.However,reference genomes for all higher organisms t...Rice(Oryza sativa),a major staple throughout the world and a model system for plant genomics and breeding,was the first crop genome sequenced almost two decades ago.However,reference genomes for all higher organisms to date contain gaps and missing sequences.Here,we report the assembly and analysis of gap-free reference genome sequences for two elite O.sativa xian/indica rice varieties,Zhenshan 97 and Minghui 63,which are being used as a model system for studying heterosis and yield.Gap-free reference genomes provide the opportunity for a global view of the structure and function of centromeres.We show that all rice centromeric regions share conserved centromere-specific satellite motifs with different copy numbers and structures.In addition,the similarity of CentO repeats in the same chromosome is higher than across chromosomes,supporting a model of local expansion and homogenization.Both genomes have over 395 non-TE genes located in centromere regions,of which∼41%are actively transcribed.Two large structural variants at the end of chromosome 11 affect the copy number of resistance genes between the two genomes.The availability of the two gap-free genomes lays a solid foundation for further understanding genome structure and function in plants and breeding climate-resilient varieties.展开更多
Plants respond to herbivore attack by launching 2 types of defenses： direct defense and indirect defense. Direct defense includes all plant traits that increase the resistance of host plants to insect herbivores by a...Plants respond to herbivore attack by launching 2 types of defenses： direct defense and indirect defense. Direct defense includes all plant traits that increase the resistance of host plants to insect herbivores by affecting the physiology and/or be- havior of the attackers. Indirect defense includes all traits that by themselves do not have significant direct impact on the attacking herbivores, but can attract natural en- emies of the herbivores and thus reduce plant loss. When plants recognize herbivore- associated elicitors, they produce and release a blend of volatiles that can attract preda- tors, parasites, and other natural enemies. Known herbivore-associated elicitors include fatty acid-amino acid conjugates, sulfur-containing fatty acids, fragments of cell walls, peptides, esters, and enzymes. Identified plant volatiles include terpenes, nitrogenous compounds, and indoles. In addition, constitive traits including extrafloral nectars, food bodies, and domatia can be further induced to higher levels and attract natural enemies as well as provide food and shelter to carnivores. A better understanding of indirect plant defense at global and componential levels via advanced high throughput technolo- gies may lead to utilization of indirect defense in suppression of herbivore damage to plants.展开更多
The inlfuences of tillage systems on soil carbon （C） stocks have been studied extensively, but the distribution of soil C within aggregate fractions is not well understood. The objective of this study was to determi...The inlfuences of tillage systems on soil carbon （C） stocks have been studied extensively, but the distribution of soil C within aggregate fractions is not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine the inlfuences of various tillage systems on soil aggregation and aggregate-associated C under wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） and corn （Zea mays L.） double cropping systems in the North China Plain. The experiment was established in 2001, including four treatments：moldboard plow （MP） with residue （MP＋R） and without residue （MP-R）, rotary tillage with residue （RT）, and no-till with residue （NT）. In 2007 soil samples were collected from the 0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm depths, and were separated into four aggregate-size classes （〉2 000, 250-2 000, 53-250, and〈53 μm） by wet-sieving method. Aggregate-associated C was determined, and the relationships between total soil C concentration and aggregation-size fractions were examined. The results showed that NT and RT treatments signiifcantly increased the proportion of macroaggregate fractions （〉2 000 and 250-2 000 μm） compared with the MP-R and MP＋R treatments. Averaged across all depths, mean weight diameters of aggregates （MWD） in NT and RT were 47 and 20% higher than that in MP＋R. The concentration of bulk soil organic C was positively correlated with MWD （r=0.98; P=0.024） and macroaggregate fraction （r=0.96; P=0.036） in the 0-5 cm depth. In the 0-20 cm depth, comparing with MP＋R, total C occluded in the〉2 000 μm fraction was increased by 9 and 6%under NT and RT, respectively. We conclude that adoption of conservation tillage system, especially no-till, can increase soil macro-aggregation and total C accumulation in macroaggregates, which may improve soil C sequestration in the intensive agricultural region of the North China Plain.展开更多
Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae(Xoo)uses transcription activator-like effectors(TALEs)to cause bacterial blight(BB)in rice.In turn,rice has evolved several mechanisms to resist BB by targeting TALEs.One mechanism i...Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae(Xoo)uses transcription activator-like effectors(TALEs)to cause bacterial blight(BB)in rice.In turn,rice has evolved several mechanisms to resist BB by targeting TALEs.One mechanism involves the nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat(NLR)resistance gene Xa1 and TALEs.Reciprocally,Xoo has evolved TALE variants,C-terminally truncated versions(interfering TALEs or iTALEs),to overcome Xa1 resistance.However,it remains unknown to what extent the two co-adaptive mechanisms mediate Xoo–rice interactions.In this study,we cloned and characterized five additional Xa1 allelic R genes,Xa2,Xa31(t),Xa14,CGS-Xo111,and Xa45(t)from a collection of rice accessions.Sequence analysis revealed that Xa2 and Xa31(t)from different rice cultivars are identical.These genes and their predicted proteins were found to be highly conserved,forming a group of Xa1 alleles.The XA1 alleles could be distinguished by the number of C-terminal tandemrepeats consisting of 93 amino acid residues and ranged from four in XA14 to seven in XA45(t).Xa1 allelic genes were identified in the 3000 rice genomes surveyed.On the other hand,iTALEs could suppress the resistance mediated by Xa1 allelic R genes,and iTALE genes were prevalent(95%)in Asian,but not in African Xoo strains.Our findings demonstrate the prominence of a defense mechanism in which rice depends on Xa1 alleles and a counteracting mechanismin which Xoo relies on iTALEs for BB.展开更多
Nature is a rich source of medicinal plants and their products that are useful for treatment of various diseases and disorders. Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon or bitter gourd, is one of such plant...Nature is a rich source of medicinal plants and their products that are useful for treatment of various diseases and disorders. Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon or bitter gourd, is one of such plants known for its biological activities used in traditional system of medicines. This plant is cultivated in all over the world, including tropical areas of Asia, Amazon, east Africa, and the Caribbean and used as a vegetable as well as folk medicine. All parts of the plant, including the fruit, are commonly consumed and cooked with different vegetables, stir-fried, stuffed or used in small quantities in soups or beans to give a slightly bitter flavor and taste. The plant is reported to possess anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial, anti-obesity, and immunomodulatory activities. The plant extract inhibits cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, autophagy and inhibiting cancer stem cells. The plant is rich in bioactive chemical constituents like cucurbitane type triterpenoids, triterpene glycosides, phenolic acids, flavonoids, essential oils, saponins, fatty acids, and proteins. Some of the isolated compounds （Kuguacin J, Karaviloside XI, Kuguaglycoside C, Momordicoside Q-U, Charantin, a-eleostearic acid） and proteins （a-Momorcharin, RNase MC2, MAP30） possess potent biological activity. In the present review, we are summarizing the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities of Momordica charantia along with a short account of important chemical constituents, providing a basis for establishing detail biological activities of the plant and developing novel drug molecules based on the active chemical constituents.展开更多
Background:The Compendium of Physical Activities was published in 1993 to improve the comparability of energy expenditure values assigned to self-reported physical activity(PA)across studies.The original version was u...Background:The Compendium of Physical Activities was published in 1993 to improve the comparability of energy expenditure values assigned to self-reported physical activity(PA)across studies.The original version was updated in 2000,and again in 2011,and has been widely used to support PA research,practice,and public health guidelines.Methods:This 2024 update was tailored for adults 19-59 years of age by removing data from those≥60 years.Using a systematic review and supplementary searches,we identified new activities and their associated measured metabolic equivalent(MET)values(using indirect calorimetry)published since 2011.We replaced estimated METs with measured values when possible.Results:We screened 32,173 abstracts and 1507 full-text papers and extracted 2356 PA energy expenditure values from 701 papers.We added303 new PAs and adjusted 176 existing MET values and descriptions to reflect the addition of new data and removal of METs for older adults.We added a Major Heading(Video Games).The 2024 Adult Compendium includes 1114 PAs(912 with measured and 202 with estimated values)across 22 Major Headings.Conclusion:This comprehensive update and refinement led to the creation of The 2024 Adult Compendium,which has utility across research,public health,education,and healthcare domains,as well as in the development of consumer health technologies.The new website with the complete lists of PAs and supporting resources is available at https://pacompendium.com.展开更多
Cirrhosis of liver is a major problem in the western world. Portal hypertension is a complication of cirrhosis and can lead to a myriad of pathology of which include the development of porto-systemic collaterals. Gast...Cirrhosis of liver is a major problem in the western world. Portal hypertension is a complication of cirrhosis and can lead to a myriad of pathology of which include the development of porto-systemic collaterals. Gastrointestinal varices are dilated submucosal veins, which often develop at sites near the formation of gastroesophageal collateral circulation. The incidence of varices is on the rise due to alcohol and obesity. The most significant complication of portal hypertension is life-threatening bleeding from gastrointestinal varices, which is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. In addition, this can cause a significant burden on the health care facility. Gastrointestinal varices can happen in esophagus, stomach or ectopic varices. There has been considerable progress made in the understanding of the natural history, pathophysiology and etiology of portal hypertension. Despite the development of endoscopic and medical treatments, early mortality due to variceal bleeding remains high due to significant illness of the patient. Recurrent variceal bleed is common and in some cases, there is refractory variceal bleed. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the management of gastrointestinal varices with an emphasis on endoscopic interventions, strategies to handle refractory variceal bleed and newer endoscopic treatment modalities. Early treatment and improved endoscopic techniques can help in improving morbidity and mortality.展开更多
Wheat(Triticum aestivum)is a major staple food crop worldwide.Genetic dissection of important agronomic traits is essential for continuous improvement of wheat yield to meet the demand of the world's growing popul...Wheat(Triticum aestivum)is a major staple food crop worldwide.Genetic dissection of important agronomic traits is essential for continuous improvement of wheat yield to meet the demand of the world's growing population.We conducted a large-scale genome-wide association study(GWAS)using a panel of 768 wheat cultivars that were genotyped with 327609 single-nucleotide polymorphisms generated by genotyping-by-sequencing and detected 395 quantitative trait loci(QTLs)for 12 traits under 7 environments.Among them,273 QTLs were delimited to≤1.0-Mb intervals and 7 of them are either known genes(Rht-D,Vrn-B1,and Vrn-D1)that have been cloned or known QTLs(TaGA2ox8,APO1,TaSus1-7B,and Rht12)that were previously mapped.Eight putative candidate genes were identified for three QTLs that enhance spike seed setting and grain size using gene expression data and were validated in three bi-parental populations.Protein sequence analysis identified 33 putative wheat orthologs that have high identity with rice genes in QTLs affecting similar traits.Large r^2 values for additive effects observed among the QTLs for most traits indicated that the phenotypes of these identified QTLs were highly predictable.Results from this study demonstrated that significantly increasing GWAS population size and marker density greatly improves detection and identification of candidate genes underlying a QTL,solidifying the foundation for large-scale QTL fine mapping,candidate gene validation,and developing functional markers for genomics-based breeding in wheat.展开更多
AIM:To investigate endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) for predicting depth of mucosal invasion and to analyze outcomes following endoscopic and transduodenal resection.METHODS:Records of 111 patients seen at our institution f...AIM:To investigate endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) for predicting depth of mucosal invasion and to analyze outcomes following endoscopic and transduodenal resection.METHODS:Records of 111 patients seen at our institution from November 1999 to July 2011 with the postoperative pathological diagnosis of benign ampullary and duodenal adenomas were reviewed.Records of patients who underwent preoperative EUS for diagnostic purposes were identified.The accuracy of EUS in predicting the absence of muscular invasion was assessed by comparing EUS reports to the final surgical pathological results.In addition,the incidence of the post-operative complications over a period of 30 d and the subsequent long-term outcome(recurrence) over a period of 30 mo associated with endoscopic and transduodenal surgical resection was recorded,compared and analyzed.RESULTS:Among 111 patients with benign ampullary and duodenal adenomas,47 underwent preoperative EUS for 29 peri-ampullary lesions and 18 duodenal lesions.In addition,computed tomography was performed in 18 patients,endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography in 10 patients and esophagogastroduodenoscopy in 22 patients.There were 43 patients with sporadic adenomas and 4 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis(FAP)/other polyposis syndromes.In 38(81%,P < 0.05) patients,EUS reliably identified absence of submucosal and muscularis invasion.In 4 cases,EUS underestimated submucosal invasion that was proven by pathology.In the other 5 patients,EUS predicted muscularis invasion which could not be demonstrated in the resected specimen.EUS predicted tumor muscularis invasion with a specificity of 88% and negative predictive value of 90%(P < 0.05).Types of resection performed included endoscopic resection in 22 cases,partial duodenectomy in 9 cases,transduodenal ampullectomy with sphincteroplasty in 10 cases and pancreaticoduodenectomy in 6 cases.The main post-operative final pathological results included villous adenoma(n = 5),adenoma(n = 8),tubulovillous adenoma(n = 10),tubular adenom展开更多
文摘Plants respond to insect herbivory with responses broadly known as direct defenses, indirect defenses, and tolerance. Direct defenses include all plant traits that affect susceptibility of host plants by themselves. Overall categories of direct plant defenses against insect herbivores include limiting food supply, reducing nutrient value, reducing preference, disrupting physical structures, and inhibiting chemical pathways of the attacking insect. Major known defense chemicals include plant secondary metabolites, protein inhibitors of insect digestive enzymes, proteases, lectins, amino acid deaminases and oxidases. Multiple factors with additive or even synergistic impact are usually involved in defense against a specific insect species, and factors of major importance to one insect species may only be of secondary importance or not effective at all against another insect species. Extensive qualitative and quantitative high throughput analyses of temporal and spatial variations in gene expression, protein level and activity, and metabolite concentration will accelerate not only the understanding of the overall mechanisms of direct defense, but also accelerate the identification of specific targets for enhancement of plant resistance for agriculture.
基金MZH acknowledges scholarship from the University of Newcastle,Australia,and Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils(Soil CRC).
文摘Biochar,an environmentally friendly soil conditioner,is produced using several thermochemical processes.It has unique characteristics like high surface area,porosity,and surface charges.This paper reviews the fertilizer value of biochar,and its effects on soil properties,and nutrient use efficiency of crops.Biochar serves as an important source of plant nutrients,especially nitrogen in biochar produced from manures and wastes at low temperature(≤400℃).The phosphorus,potassium,and other nutrient contents are higher in manure/waste biochars than those in crop residues and woody biochars.The nutrient contents and pH of biochar are positively correlated with pyrolysis temperature,except for nitrogen content.Biochar improves the nutrient retention capacity of soil,which depends on porosity and surface charge of biochar.Biochar increases nitrogen retention in soil by reducing leaching and gaseous loss,and also increases phosphorus availability by decreasing the leaching process in soil.However,for potassium and other nutrients,biochar shows inconsistent(positive and negative)impacts on soil.After addition of biochar,porosity,aggregate stability,and amount of water held in soil increase and bulk density decreases.Mostly,biochar increases soil pH and,thus,influences nutrient availability for plants.Biochar also alters soil biological properties by increasing microbial populations,enzyme activity,soil respiration,and microbial biomass.Finally,nutrient use efficiency and nutrient uptake improve with the application of biochar to soil.Thus,biochar can be a potential nutrient reservoir for plants and a good amendment to improve soil properties.
基金This research was supported by the Natinal Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFD0100904 and 2016YFD0100802)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31871269)+1 种基金the Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(2019CFA014)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(2662020SKPY010 to J.Z.).
文摘Rice(Oryza sativa),a major staple throughout the world and a model system for plant genomics and breeding,was the first crop genome sequenced almost two decades ago.However,reference genomes for all higher organisms to date contain gaps and missing sequences.Here,we report the assembly and analysis of gap-free reference genome sequences for two elite O.sativa xian/indica rice varieties,Zhenshan 97 and Minghui 63,which are being used as a model system for studying heterosis and yield.Gap-free reference genomes provide the opportunity for a global view of the structure and function of centromeres.We show that all rice centromeric regions share conserved centromere-specific satellite motifs with different copy numbers and structures.In addition,the similarity of CentO repeats in the same chromosome is higher than across chromosomes,supporting a model of local expansion and homogenization.Both genomes have over 395 non-TE genes located in centromere regions,of which∼41%are actively transcribed.Two large structural variants at the end of chromosome 11 affect the copy number of resistance genes between the two genomes.The availability of the two gap-free genomes lays a solid foundation for further understanding genome structure and function in plants and breeding climate-resilient varieties.
文摘Plants respond to herbivore attack by launching 2 types of defenses： direct defense and indirect defense. Direct defense includes all plant traits that increase the resistance of host plants to insect herbivores by affecting the physiology and/or be- havior of the attackers. Indirect defense includes all traits that by themselves do not have significant direct impact on the attacking herbivores, but can attract natural en- emies of the herbivores and thus reduce plant loss. When plants recognize herbivore- associated elicitors, they produce and release a blend of volatiles that can attract preda- tors, parasites, and other natural enemies. Known herbivore-associated elicitors include fatty acid-amino acid conjugates, sulfur-containing fatty acids, fragments of cell walls, peptides, esters, and enzymes. Identified plant volatiles include terpenes, nitrogenous compounds, and indoles. In addition, constitive traits including extrafloral nectars, food bodies, and domatia can be further induced to higher levels and attract natural enemies as well as provide food and shelter to carnivores. A better understanding of indirect plant defense at global and componential levels via advanced high throughput technolo- gies may lead to utilization of indirect defense in suppression of herbivore damage to plants.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31000250)the National 973 Program of China(2009CB118607)
文摘The inlfuences of tillage systems on soil carbon （C） stocks have been studied extensively, but the distribution of soil C within aggregate fractions is not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine the inlfuences of various tillage systems on soil aggregation and aggregate-associated C under wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） and corn （Zea mays L.） double cropping systems in the North China Plain. The experiment was established in 2001, including four treatments：moldboard plow （MP） with residue （MP＋R） and without residue （MP-R）, rotary tillage with residue （RT）, and no-till with residue （NT）. In 2007 soil samples were collected from the 0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm depths, and were separated into four aggregate-size classes （〉2 000, 250-2 000, 53-250, and〈53 μm） by wet-sieving method. Aggregate-associated C was determined, and the relationships between total soil C concentration and aggregation-size fractions were examined. The results showed that NT and RT treatments signiifcantly increased the proportion of macroaggregate fractions （〉2 000 and 250-2 000 μm） compared with the MP-R and MP＋R treatments. Averaged across all depths, mean weight diameters of aggregates （MWD） in NT and RT were 47 and 20% higher than that in MP＋R. The concentration of bulk soil organic C was positively correlated with MWD （r=0.98; P=0.024） and macroaggregate fraction （r=0.96; P=0.036） in the 0-5 cm depth. In the 0-20 cm depth, comparing with MP＋R, total C occluded in the〉2 000 μm fraction was increased by 9 and 6%under NT and RT, respectively. We conclude that adoption of conservation tillage system, especially no-till, can increase soil macro-aggregation and total C accumulation in macroaggregates, which may improve soil C sequestration in the intensive agricultural region of the North China Plain.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31830072 to G.C.)the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Agriculture and Food(2017-67013-26521 to B.Y.)+1 种基金the Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship of the China Association for Science and Technology(2017QNRC001 to Z.J.)the Chinese National Transgenic Major Program(2016ZX08001-002 to G.C.).
文摘Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae(Xoo)uses transcription activator-like effectors(TALEs)to cause bacterial blight(BB)in rice.In turn,rice has evolved several mechanisms to resist BB by targeting TALEs.One mechanism involves the nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat(NLR)resistance gene Xa1 and TALEs.Reciprocally,Xoo has evolved TALE variants,C-terminally truncated versions(interfering TALEs or iTALEs),to overcome Xa1 resistance.However,it remains unknown to what extent the two co-adaptive mechanisms mediate Xoo–rice interactions.In this study,we cloned and characterized five additional Xa1 allelic R genes,Xa2,Xa31(t),Xa14,CGS-Xo111,and Xa45(t)from a collection of rice accessions.Sequence analysis revealed that Xa2 and Xa31(t)from different rice cultivars are identical.These genes and their predicted proteins were found to be highly conserved,forming a group of Xa1 alleles.The XA1 alleles could be distinguished by the number of C-terminal tandemrepeats consisting of 93 amino acid residues and ranged from four in XA14 to seven in XA45(t).Xa1 allelic genes were identified in the 3000 rice genomes surveyed.On the other hand,iTALEs could suppress the resistance mediated by Xa1 allelic R genes,and iTALE genes were prevalent(95%)in Asian,but not in African Xoo strains.Our findings demonstrate the prominence of a defense mechanism in which rice depends on Xa1 alleles and a counteracting mechanismin which Xoo relies on iTALEs for BB.
基金supported by NIH Grants CA182872 and CA190291 to S.Anant.S.Anant is an Eminent Scientist of the Kansas Biosciences Authority
文摘Nature is a rich source of medicinal plants and their products that are useful for treatment of various diseases and disorders. Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter melon or bitter gourd, is one of such plants known for its biological activities used in traditional system of medicines. This plant is cultivated in all over the world, including tropical areas of Asia, Amazon, east Africa, and the Caribbean and used as a vegetable as well as folk medicine. All parts of the plant, including the fruit, are commonly consumed and cooked with different vegetables, stir-fried, stuffed or used in small quantities in soups or beans to give a slightly bitter flavor and taste. The plant is reported to possess anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-bacterial, anti-obesity, and immunomodulatory activities. The plant extract inhibits cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, autophagy and inhibiting cancer stem cells. The plant is rich in bioactive chemical constituents like cucurbitane type triterpenoids, triterpene glycosides, phenolic acids, flavonoids, essential oils, saponins, fatty acids, and proteins. Some of the isolated compounds （Kuguacin J, Karaviloside XI, Kuguaglycoside C, Momordicoside Q-U, Charantin, a-eleostearic acid） and proteins （a-Momorcharin, RNase MC2, MAP30） possess potent biological activity. In the present review, we are summarizing the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities of Momordica charantia along with a short account of important chemical constituents, providing a basis for establishing detail biological activities of the plant and developing novel drug molecules based on the active chemical constituents.
文摘Background:The Compendium of Physical Activities was published in 1993 to improve the comparability of energy expenditure values assigned to self-reported physical activity(PA)across studies.The original version was updated in 2000,and again in 2011,and has been widely used to support PA research,practice,and public health guidelines.Methods:This 2024 update was tailored for adults 19-59 years of age by removing data from those≥60 years.Using a systematic review and supplementary searches,we identified new activities and their associated measured metabolic equivalent(MET)values(using indirect calorimetry)published since 2011.We replaced estimated METs with measured values when possible.Results:We screened 32,173 abstracts and 1507 full-text papers and extracted 2356 PA energy expenditure values from 701 papers.We added303 new PAs and adjusted 176 existing MET values and descriptions to reflect the addition of new data and removal of METs for older adults.We added a Major Heading(Video Games).The 2024 Adult Compendium includes 1114 PAs(912 with measured and 202 with estimated values)across 22 Major Headings.Conclusion:This comprehensive update and refinement led to the creation of The 2024 Adult Compendium,which has utility across research,public health,education,and healthcare domains,as well as in the development of consumer health technologies.The new website with the complete lists of PAs and supporting resources is available at https://pacompendium.com.
文摘Cirrhosis of liver is a major problem in the western world. Portal hypertension is a complication of cirrhosis and can lead to a myriad of pathology of which include the development of porto-systemic collaterals. Gastrointestinal varices are dilated submucosal veins, which often develop at sites near the formation of gastroesophageal collateral circulation. The incidence of varices is on the rise due to alcohol and obesity. The most significant complication of portal hypertension is life-threatening bleeding from gastrointestinal varices, which is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. In addition, this can cause a significant burden on the health care facility. Gastrointestinal varices can happen in esophagus, stomach or ectopic varices. There has been considerable progress made in the understanding of the natural history, pathophysiology and etiology of portal hypertension. Despite the development of endoscopic and medical treatments, early mortality due to variceal bleeding remains high due to significant illness of the patient. Recurrent variceal bleed is common and in some cases, there is refractory variceal bleed. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the management of gastrointestinal varices with an emphasis on endoscopic interventions, strategies to handle refractory variceal bleed and newer endoscopic treatment modalities. Early treatment and improved endoscopic techniques can help in improving morbidity and mortality.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Programs of China(2016YFD0101802,2016ZX08009003-001-006)the Shandong Province Agricultural Fine Seeds Project(2016LZGC023).
文摘Wheat(Triticum aestivum)is a major staple food crop worldwide.Genetic dissection of important agronomic traits is essential for continuous improvement of wheat yield to meet the demand of the world's growing population.We conducted a large-scale genome-wide association study(GWAS)using a panel of 768 wheat cultivars that were genotyped with 327609 single-nucleotide polymorphisms generated by genotyping-by-sequencing and detected 395 quantitative trait loci(QTLs)for 12 traits under 7 environments.Among them,273 QTLs were delimited to≤1.0-Mb intervals and 7 of them are either known genes(Rht-D,Vrn-B1,and Vrn-D1)that have been cloned or known QTLs(TaGA2ox8,APO1,TaSus1-7B,and Rht12)that were previously mapped.Eight putative candidate genes were identified for three QTLs that enhance spike seed setting and grain size using gene expression data and were validated in three bi-parental populations.Protein sequence analysis identified 33 putative wheat orthologs that have high identity with rice genes in QTLs affecting similar traits.Large r^2 values for additive effects observed among the QTLs for most traits indicated that the phenotypes of these identified QTLs were highly predictable.Results from this study demonstrated that significantly increasing GWAS population size and marker density greatly improves detection and identification of candidate genes underlying a QTL,solidifying the foundation for large-scale QTL fine mapping,candidate gene validation,and developing functional markers for genomics-based breeding in wheat.
文摘AIM:To investigate endoscopic ultrasound(EUS) for predicting depth of mucosal invasion and to analyze outcomes following endoscopic and transduodenal resection.METHODS:Records of 111 patients seen at our institution from November 1999 to July 2011 with the postoperative pathological diagnosis of benign ampullary and duodenal adenomas were reviewed.Records of patients who underwent preoperative EUS for diagnostic purposes were identified.The accuracy of EUS in predicting the absence of muscular invasion was assessed by comparing EUS reports to the final surgical pathological results.In addition,the incidence of the post-operative complications over a period of 30 d and the subsequent long-term outcome(recurrence) over a period of 30 mo associated with endoscopic and transduodenal surgical resection was recorded,compared and analyzed.RESULTS:Among 111 patients with benign ampullary and duodenal adenomas,47 underwent preoperative EUS for 29 peri-ampullary lesions and 18 duodenal lesions.In addition,computed tomography was performed in 18 patients,endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography in 10 patients and esophagogastroduodenoscopy in 22 patients.There were 43 patients with sporadic adenomas and 4 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis(FAP)/other polyposis syndromes.In 38(81%,P < 0.05) patients,EUS reliably identified absence of submucosal and muscularis invasion.In 4 cases,EUS underestimated submucosal invasion that was proven by pathology.In the other 5 patients,EUS predicted muscularis invasion which could not be demonstrated in the resected specimen.EUS predicted tumor muscularis invasion with a specificity of 88% and negative predictive value of 90%(P < 0.05).Types of resection performed included endoscopic resection in 22 cases,partial duodenectomy in 9 cases,transduodenal ampullectomy with sphincteroplasty in 10 cases and pancreaticoduodenectomy in 6 cases.The main post-operative final pathological results included villous adenoma(n = 5),adenoma(n = 8),tubulovillous adenoma(n = 10),tubular adenom
