Adherence to the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Background: Although previous investigations have proposed an association between Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)-style diet and lower mortality from chronic diseases, the exposure-response relationship is not clear. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore the linear and non-linear dose-response association between adherence to the DASH diet and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Methods: Database search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE for prospective cohort studies investigating the association between adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and risk of mortality. Summary hazard ratios (HRs) and 95 confidence intervals (CI) were estimated with the use of a random-effects model for the linear and nonlinear relationships. The two-stage hierarchical regression model was applied to test the potential non-linear dose-response associations. Results: The inclusion criteria were met by 17 studies (13 publications). The scores reported for adherence to the DASH diet in different studies were converted to a conventional scoring method in which the adherence score might range between 8 to 40. The linear analysis revealed that summary HRs were 0.95 (95 CI: 0.94-0.96, I2 = 91.6, n = 14) for all-cause, 0.96 (95 CI: 0.95-0.98, I2 = 82.4, n = 12) for CVD, 0.97 (95 CI: 0.96-0.98, I2 = 0.00, n = 2) for stroke, and 0.97 (95 CI: 0.95-0.98, I2 = 63.7, n = 12) for cancer mortality per each 5-point increment of adherence to the DASH diet. There was also evidence of non-linear associations between the DASH diet and all-cause and cause-specific mortality as the associations became even more evident when the adherence scores were more than 20 points (P < 0.005). Conclusion: Even the modest adherence to the DASH diet is associated with a lower risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The higher adherence to the diet also strengthens the risk-reducing association. Registration: This review was registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) database (registration ID: CRD42018086500). © 2020 The Author(s)

The effects of resveratrol treatment on Bcl-2 and bax gene expression in endometriotic compared with non-endometriotic stromal cells

Background: We aimed to examine resveratrol effects on gene expression of Bcl-2, Bax and Bcl-2/Bax ratio in endometrial stromal cells derived from women with and without endometriosis. Methods: Endometrial tissues were obtained from 40 endometriotic patients and 15 non-endometriotic controls undergoing laparoscopic surgery or hysterectomy in the gynecology ward of Rassoul Akram Hospital, Tehran, Iran from 2015 to 2017. After the enzymatic digestion, eutopic (EuESCs) and ectopic (EESCs) endometrial stromal cells from patients with endometriosis as well as endometrial stromal cells from non-endometriotic controls (CESCs) were treated with or without resveratrol (100 µM) and the levels of Bcl-2, Bax and Bcl-2/Bax gene expression ratio in the cells from all origins were examined at 6, 24 and 48 h post-treatment by real-time PCR. Results: Resveratrol treatment increased Bcl-2 expression in CESCs at 24 and 48 h and in EuESCs at 48 h (P<0.05), but had no significant effects on the expression of this gene in EESCs. On the other hand, resveratrol treatment increased Bax expression in EuESCs at 6 h and decreased its expression in EESCs at 48 h (P<0.05). Regarding the Bcl-2/Bax gene expression ratio, resveratrol treatment increased Bcl-2/Bax gene expression ratio in CESCs and EuESCs at 48 h (P<0.01). However, this treatment had no significant differential effect on Bcl-2 and Bcl-2/Bax gene expression ratio between CESCs and EuESCs at 48 h. Conclusion: Resveratrol treatment significantly increased Bcl-2/Bax gene expression ratio in EuESCs and CESCs but had no significant effect in EESCs. © 2020, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Resveratrol treatment reduces expression of MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8 and RANTES in endometriotic stromal cells

Endometriosis is an inflammatory disease affecting reproductive-aged women. Immunologic disturbance, as well as inflammation, have crucial roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of resveratrol treatment on expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, and regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) in endometrial stromal cells from patients with endometriosis compared with non-endometriotic controls. Thirteen eutopic (EuESCs) and nine ectopic (EESCs) endometrial stromal cells from endometriotic patients as well as eleven endometrial stromal cells from non-endometriotic controls (CESCs) were treated with resveratrol (100 μmol/L) or ethanol, and gene and/or protein expression of MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8 and RANTES was examined at 6, 24 and 48 hours following treatment in the cells from all origins. Resveratrol treatment significantly reduced gene and protein expression of MCP-1, IL-6, and IL-8 in EuESCs and EESCs compared with CESCs (P <.05-.001, P <.05-.001 and P <.05-<.01, respectively), and this reduction was more noticeable in EESCs than EuESCs (P <.05-<.001). Besides, resveratrol treatment significantly reduced RANTES protein expression in EESCs in all time intervals (P <.05). Resveratrol treatment significantly reduced the expression of MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8 and RANTES in EESCs. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

The effects of resveratrol on the expression of VEGF, TGF-β, and MMP-9 in endometrial stromal cells of women with endometriosis

Resveratrol is a phytochemical with anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The present study has evaluated the effect of resveratrol on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as factors related to endometriosis progression. Thirteen eutopic (EuESCs) and 8 ectopic (EESCs) endometrial stromal cells from women with endometriosis and 11 control endometrial stromal cells (CESCs) were treated with resveratrol (100 µM) for 6, 24 and 48 h. The gene and protein expression levels of VEGF, TGF-β, and MMP-9 were measured using real-time PCR and ELISA methods, respectively. Results showed that the basal gene and protein expression of VEGF and MMP-9 were higher in EESCs compared to EuESCs and CESCs (P < 0.01 to < 0.001 and P < 0.05 to < 0.01 respectively). Also, resveratrol treatment decreased the gene and protein expression of VEGF and MMP-9 in EuESCs, EESCs and CESCs (P < 0.05 to < 0.01 and P < 0.05 to < 0.01 respectively) and gene and protein expression of TGF-β in EESCs and EuESCs (P < 0.05 to < 0.01). The effect of resveratrol in reduction of VEGF gene expression was statistically more noticeable in EESCs compared to EuESCs and CESCs (P < 0.05). According to the findings, resveratrol may ameliorate endometriosis progression through reducing the expression of VEGF, TGF-β, and MMP-9 in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). © 2021, The Author(s)

Analysis of Financial Transmission Rights Obligations and Hourly Congestion Prices in PJM Markets

In this research we analyze patterns of FTR obligation contracts using hourly data from January 1st, 2015 through December 31st, 2018 between PJM Western and AEP Dayton hubs and concluded that there are positive net profits in FTR obligation contracts if someone were to buy and hold the contracts until they were actualized. We applied Schwartz’s one-factor log-model to changes in congestion prices, but our tests showed that residuals of the model are not normally distributed. We then applied OU process to outright congestion prices and used recursive approach proposed by Clewlow and Strickland (2000) to remove jumps from OU residuals. We concluded that non-jump and jump data sets are not normally distributed in both PJM Western and AEP Dayton hubs. Given congestion prices showed fat-tails and non-normal distributions for both jumps and non-jumps data points, we applied Johnson’s Unbounded Distribution to congestion prices and calibrated its parameters for both congestion prices. We defined a variable to filter out hourly data depending on how much of transmission interface were used in different hours and we recalibrated sets of parameters for those cases

The effect of ginger (Zingiber Officinale) as an ancient medicinal plant on improving blood lipids

Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) is a plant that is used as a popular spice in foods, desserts and drinks all around the world. This plant is native to Asia and has been used since ancient times in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. To date, several properties of ginger such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticoagulation activities have been studied and the effect of the plant to reduce pain and improve nausea and vomiting has been established. Among human and animal studies that have been carried out in recent years on the properties of ginger, some literature aimed to investigate the effect of this plant on blood lipids. In this review, we consider those studies and their possible enzymatic and molecular mechanisms regarding the effect of ginger on lipid profiles. © 201

Curcumin and endometriosis: Review on potential roles and molecular mechanisms

Endometriosis, an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease, is one of the most common chronic gynecological disorders affecting women in reproductive age. It is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. The exact pathophysiology of endometriosis is not still well-known, but the immune system and inflammation have been considered as pivotal factors in disease progression. Turmeric, an important spice all around the world, is obtained from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa, a member of the Zingiberaceae family. It has been used in the prevention and treatment of many diseases since ancient times. Curcumin is the principal polyphenol isolated from turmeric. Several evidences have shown the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-angiogenesis, and anti-metastatic activities of curcumin. In this review, relevant articles on the effect of curcumin on endometriosis and possible molecular mechanisms are discussed. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SA

Curcumin and endometriosis: Review on potential roles and molecular mechanisms

Endometriosis, an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease, is one of the most common chronic gynecological disorders affecting women in reproductive age. It is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. The exact pathophysiology of endometriosis is not still well-known, but the immune system and inflammation have been considered as pivotal factors in disease progression. Turmeric, an important spice all around the world, is obtained from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa, a member of the Zingiberaceae family. It has been used in the prevention and treatment of many diseases since ancient times. Curcumin is the principal polyphenol isolated from turmeric. Several evidences have shown the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-angiogenesis, and anti-metastatic activities of curcumin. In this review, relevant articles on the effect of curcumin on endometriosis and possible molecular mechanisms are discussed. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SA

The effect of ginger supplementation on some immunity and inflammation intermediate genes expression in patients with active Rheumatoid Arthritis

Objective: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ginger supplementation on the expression of some immunity and inflammation intermediate genes in patients who suffer from RA. Methods: In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, seventy active RA patients were allocated randomly into two groups who either received 1500 mg ginger powder or placebo daily for 12 weeks. Disease activity score and gene expression of NF-κB, PPAR-γ FoxP3, T-bet, GATA-3, and RORγt as immunity and inflammation intermediate factors were measured using quantitative real-time PCR before and after the intervention. Results: After the intervention, FoxP3 genes expression increased significantly within ginger group and between the two groups (P-value = 0.02). Besides, T-bet and RORγt genes expression decreased significantly between the two groups (P-value < 0.05). In ginger group, PPAR-γ genes expression increased significantly (P-value = 0.047) but the difference between the two groups wasn't statistically significant (P-value = 0.12). The reduction in disease activity score was statistically significant within ginger group and between the two groups after the intervention. Conclusion: It seems that ginger can improve RA by decreasing disease manifestations via increasing FoxP3 genes expression and by decreasing RORγt and T-bet genes expression. © 201

Higher frequency of circulating, but not tissue regulatory T cells in patients with endometriosis

Background: Endometriosis is one of the most common chronic gynecological disorders affecting women at reproductive age. Dysregulation of immune cells, including regulatory T (Treg) cells has contributed to the growth of ectopic lesion in patients with endometriosis. Objective: The present study investigated the frequency of Tregs in peripheral blood and the expression of Foxp3 in eutopic and ectopic endometriotic tissues in women with and without endometriosis. Materials and methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and eutopic and ectopic endometriotic tissues were obtained from 23 endometriotic and 20 non-endometriotic control women. The frequency of Treg cells in PBMCs was measured using flowcytometry and the expression of Foxp3 in eutopic and ectopic endometriotic tissues was determined by real-time PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Result: The frequency of circulating Tregs was significantly higher in endometriotic patients compared with non-endometriotic controls (P < 0.01). The mRNA and protein expression of Foxp3 in eutopic and ectopic endometriotic tissues had no significant differences between the two study groups. Conclusion: Higher frequency of circulating Tregs in patients with endometriosis compared with controls may be considered as a compensatory mechanism to regulate the inflammatory condition in this disease. © 202