Plant-based dietary patterns and risk of esophageal cancer:A prospective cohort study spanning 17 years

Objective: Plant-based diets have multiple health benefits for cancers;however, little is known about the association between plant-based dietary patterns and esophageal cancer(EC).This study presents an investigation of the prospective associations among three predefined indices of plant-based dietary patterns and the risk of EC.Methods: We performed endoscopic screening for 15,709 participants aged 40-69 years from two high-risk areas of China from January 2005 to December 2009 and followed the cohort until December 31, 2022. The overall plant-based diet index(PDI), healthful plant-based diet index(h PDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet index(u PDI), were calculated using survey responses to assess dietary patterns. We applied Cox proportional hazard regression to estimate the multivariable hazard ratios(HRs) and 95% confidence intervals(95% CIs) of EC across 3plant-based diet indices and further stratified the analysis by subgroups.Results: The final study sample included 15,184 participants in the cohort. During a follow-up of 219,365person-years, 176 patients with EC were identified. When the highest quartile was compared with the lowest quartile, the pooled multivariable-adjusted HR of EC was 0.50(95% CI, 0.32-0.77) for h PDI. In addition, the HR per 10-point increase in the h PDI score was 0.42(95% CI, 0.27-0.66) for ECs. Conversely, u PDI was positively associated with the risk of EC, and the HR was 1.80(95% CI, 1.16-2.82). The HR per 10-point increase in the u PDI score was 1.90(95% CI, 1.26-2.88) for ECs. The associations between these scores and the risk of EC were consistent in most subgroups. These results remained robust in sensitivity analyses.Conclusions: A healthy plant-based dietary pattern was associated with a reduced risk of EC. Emphasizing the healthiness and quality of plant-based diets may be important for preventing the development of EC.

Clinical,Laboratory and Imaging Features of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema in Tibetan Plateau

Objective To analyze characteristics of high altitude pulmonary edema(HAPE)in Chinese patients.Methods We performed a retrospective study of 98 patients with HAPE.We reviewed the medical records and summarized the clinical,laboratory and imaging characteristics of these cases,and compared the results on admission with those determined before discharge.Results Forty-eight(49.0%)patients developed HAPE at the altitude of 2800 m to 3000 m.Ninty-five(96.9%)patients were man.Moist rales were audible from the both lungs,and moist rales over the right lung were clearer than those over the left lung in fourteen patients.The white blood cells[(12.83±5.55)versus(8.95±3.23)×109/L,P=0.001)]as well as neutrophil counts[(11.34±3.81)versus(7.49±2.83)×109/L,P=0.001)]were higher,whereas the counts of other subsets of white blood cells were lower on admission than those after recovery(all P<0.05).Serum levels of alkaline phosphatase(115.8±37.6 versus 85.7±32.4 mmol/L,P=0.020),cholinesterase(7226.2±1631.8 versus 6285.3±1693.3 mmol/L,P=0.040),creatinine(85.2±17.1 versus 75.1±12.8 mmol/L,P=0.021),uric acid(401.9±114.2 versus 326.0±154.3 mmol/L,P=0.041),and uric glucose(7.20±1.10 versus 5.51±1.11 mmol/L,P=0.001)were higher,but carbondioxide combining power(CO2CP,26.7±4.4 versus 28.9±4.5 mmol/L,P=0.042)and serous calcium(2.32±0.13 versus 2.41±0.10 mmol/L,P=0.006)were lower on admission.Arterial blood gas results showed hypoxemia and respiratory alkalosis on admission.Conclusions In the present research,men were more susceptible to HAPE than women,and in the process of HAPE,the lesions of the right lung were more serious than those of the left lung.Some indicators of routine blood test and blood biochemistry of HAPE patients changed.

Disruption of the bHLH transcription factor Abnormal Tapetum 1 causes male sterility in watermelon

Although male sterility has been identified as a useful trait for hybrid vigor utilization and hybrid seed production,its underlying molecular mechanisms in Cucurbitaceae species are still largely unclear.Here,a spontaneous male-sterile watermelon mutant,Se18,was reported to have abnormal tapetum development,which resulted in completely aborted pollen grains.Map-based cloning demonstrated that the causal gene Citrullus lanatus Abnormal Tapetum 1(ClATM1)encodes a basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH)transcription factor with a 10-bp deletion and produces a truncated protein without the bHLH interaction and functional(BIF)domain in Se18 plants.qRT–PCR and RNA in situ hybridization showed that ClATM1 is specifically expressed in the tapetum layer and in microsporocytes during stages 6–8a of anther development.The genetic function of ClATM1 in regulating anther development was verified by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis.Moreover,ClATM1 was significantly downregulated in the Se18 mutant,displaying a clear dose effect at the transcriptional level.Subsequent dual-luciferase reporter,β-glucuronidase(GUS)activity,and yeast one-hybrid assays indicated that ClATM1 could activate its own transcriptional expression through promoter binding.Collectively,ClATM1 is the first male sterility gene cloned from watermelon,and its self-regulatory activity provides new insights into the molecular mechanism underlying anther development in plants.

Diversity and Biomass of Understory Plants in Larix gmelinii Forest under Different Reconstruction Methods

The effects of different management measures on the undergrowth diversity of Larix gmelinii forests were determined.The undergrowth vegetation of Xing'an Larch forest under seven different transformation methods was investigated in the Chaocha Forest Farm of the Genhe Forestry Bureau in the northern Daxinganling Mountains.Community composition,structural characteristics,species diversity and biomass of seven different retrofitting methods and one control plot.The results showed that the species composition of Larix gmeliniii under 7 different transformation methods included 34 species of 30 genera and 21 families of shrubs,including 7 species,7 genera and 7 species of shrub layer,and 20 species,24 genera and 24 species of common species in the herb layer.The species with the largest proportion in the layer is bilberry,followed by Xing'an rhododendron,and the dominant species of herbaceous layer is quite different.In terms of diversity index,the diversity index of Xing'an larch forest under local tending artificial promotion natural regeneration and transformation measures was low(P<0.05);the study showed that the best tending thinning intensity was between 30%and 40%,different.The impact of the transformation method on the structure and diversity of understory vegetation in Larix gmelinii forest is not only related to the transformation,but also depends on the transformation measures taken.

Mechanism of Impact of Entrepreneurial Spirit on the Development of Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in China

As a necessary factor for a successful business,entrepreneurial spirit is an important means for enterprises to survive in the unstable environment of fierce competition. Under the circumstance of mass entrepreneurship and innovation,a large number of small and medium-sized private enterprises have emerged in all walks of life in China. This paper examines the differences in the definition of entrepreneurial spirit by different scholars,the influence of Chinese entrepreneurship on the development of small and medium-sized private enterprises,the origin of the spirit of private entrepreneurs with Chinese characteristics,and the disadvantages of the spirit of small and medium-sized private entrepreneurs in China. It is necessary to further improve entrepreneurial spirit to contribute to the development of small and medium-sized private enterprises and help China to build the national economic system.

Prevalence of Reproductive Tract Infections and Association with Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Reproductive-Age Women—Six Tertiary Hospitals,China,June 2021-December 2022

Summary What is already known about this topic?Previous studies have indicated a possible association between reproductive tract infections(RTIs)and highrisk human papillomavirus(HPV)infection,but the evidence is still inconclusive.What is added by this report?This multicenter study found significantly higher positive rates of HPV,including general HPV,highrisk HPV.