Effect of Different Levels of Pelleted Poultry Manure and Chemical Fertilizer on Fodder Quality and Maize (Zea mays L.) Grain Yield

Introduction Maize (Zea mays L.) ranks first in terms of forage production among forage plants by producing about 490 million tons of fresh and silage forage in the world. Chemical fertilizers are used to increase crop yields and provide human food, but reduce soil organic matter content and, in the long run, pose a serious environmental risk, resulting in contamination of arable soils and surface and groundwater. Organic manures reduce the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers by producing humus and increasing the activity of the soil microbial community. Utilization of non-chemical resources such as farmyard manure in combination with chemical fertilizers can lead to soil fertility and increase yield and crop quality because combined fertilizer systems can provide most of the plant's nutritional needs by increasing the absorption efficiency of nutrients in crops. Considering the importance of organic manures and their combination with chemical fertilizers, this experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effects of different levels of poultry manure, chemical fertilizer, and their combination on yield, yield components, and maize forage quality. Materials and Methods The research was carried out in the research farm of Kurdistan University located in Dehgolan County, Kurdistan Province, Iran in the crop year 2017-2018. The experiment was performed in the form of randomized complete blocks with three replications. Experimental treatments included different levels of pelleted poultry manure in combination with chemical fertilizers: Figure 2. T1: no fertilizer (control), T2: 1250 kg of poultry manure + zero kg of recommended chemical fertilizer, T3: 1250 kg of poultry manure + 25% of the recommended chemical fertilizer, T4: 1250 kg of poultry manure + 50% recommended chemical fertilizer, T5: 2500 kg of poultry manure + zero kg of recommended chemical fertilizer, T6: 2500 kg of poultry manure + 25% of recommended chemical fertilizer, T7: 2500 kg of poultry manure + 50% Recommended chemical fertilizer, T8: 5000 kg of poultry manure + 0 kg of recommended chemical fertilizer, T9: 5000 kg of poultry manure + 25% of recommended chemical fertilizer, T10: 5000 kg of poultry manure + 50% of chemical fertilizer Recommended, T11: 100% recommended chemical fertilizer. In this experiment, traits such as plant height, 1000-seed weight, biological and grain yield, seed nitrogen, starch, oil contents and forage quality were measured. Results and Discussion The results of the analysis of variance showed that the plant height, grain yield, biological yield, grain nitrogen, starch and oil contents, and oil yield were affected by fertilizer treatments at a probability level of 1%. The index harvest of maize was significant at the level of 5% probability. The number of plants per square meter and 1000-seed weight were not affected by fertilizer treatment. The highest plant height (241.2 cm), number of ears per plant (1.2 ears), 1000-seed weight (26.99 g.m-2), seed yield (12.76 tons per hectare) and biological yield (26.42 tons per hectare) were observed in the treatment of 5000 kg of plated chicken manure + 50% of the recommended chemical fertilizer. The highest percentage of fodder silage protein (12.58%) and silage ash (10.32%) was observed in the treatment of 2500 kg of plated chicken manure + 50% of the recommended chemical fertilizer. The highest percentage of insoluble fibers in neutral detergent was observed in the T6 and T8 treatments, and the lowest percentage of insoluble fibers in neutral detergents was observed in the T10 treatment. The highest and lowest percentages of insoluble fibers in acidic detergent were in the T2, T4, and T3 treatments, respectively. According to the results of the present experiment, the combination of chemical fertilizer with different amounts of chicken manure has reduced the consumption of chemical fertilizers, and in addition to saving on the consumption of fertilizer and the resulting costs, the harmful effects on the environment have also been reduced, and the condition of the soil in terms of fertility in the long term, the percentage of soil organic matter will improve. Conclusion  The results of the experiment showed that combined fertilizer treatments were superior compared to pure chemical fertilizer and pure poultry manure treatments, improved the yield and yield components of maize and caused a reduction in chemical fertilizers consumption. Chemical fertilizer treatment provided acceptable yield only at high levels

Utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine among Patients with Cardiovascular Disease in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) has been widely used globally, but limited data are available on the use of CAM in Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). The present study aimed to evaluate CAM use in CVD patients. The present cross-sectional study was performed in Shiraz, Iran, during the summer of 2021. Cardiovascular patients aged ≥ 18 years were included in the study. Demographic information on left ventricular ejection fraction and satisfaction with CAM utilization was collected using validated questionnaires. A total of 304 patients (194 males and 110 females) were recruited for this study. The frequency of patients identified as CAM users was 56.9% (n = 173). Patients with implanted pacemakers were less likely to use CAM than others (OR = 0.50, p = 0.031). Meanwhile, the likelihood of CAM utilization was approximately 2 and 4 times higher in the patients categorized in class I of the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification compared to those in the second and third classes, respectively. Most CAM users used herbs, dietary supplements, and praying to prevent diseases, while Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) remedies and acupuncture were more commonly used to treat acute and chronic illnesses, respectively. Praying for health, herbal therapy, and dietary supplementation were the most popular CAM types utilized by Iranian CVD patients. However, future investigations seem to be required to determine the exact physiological impacts, probable adverse effects, and long-term benefits of CAM therapies in this population

Association of NFKB1 gene polymorphism (rs28362491) with cardiometabolic risk factor in patients undergoing coronary angiography

Introduction: Genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of the study was to investigate between the genotype of the NFKB1 gene and the cardiometabolic risk factor in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 462 adults (male and women) aged between 35 and 75 years who referred to Afshar Hospital for coronary angiography in 2021- 2022. The polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to detect the genotype of rs28362491. Biochemical parameters were measured using commercial kits. Gensini and Syntax scores were calculated using the angiography result to assess the extent of coronary artery stenosis. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to examine the relationship between genotype variants and cardiometabolic risk factors. Results: There was no association between variant genotypes and abnormally levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P value=0.51), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P value=0.99), triglyceride (TG) (P value=0.48), total cholesterol (P value=0.79), low density lipoprotein-cholestero (LDL-C) (P value=0.31), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (P value=0.53), fast blood sugar (FBS) (P value=0.39), systolic blood pressure (P value=0.14), diastolic blood pressure (P value=0.64), Gensini score (P value=0.48) and syntax score (P value=0.74) in the crude model even after adjustment for confounding factors. Conclusion: We found no association between the ATTG polymorphism and cardiometabolic risk factors in patients who had coronary angiography. Further investigations are needed to assess the association between variants of 28362491 and cardiometabolic markers

Cholesterol Ester Transfer Protein Taq1B Polymorphism and Its Association with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients Undergoing Angiography in Yazd, Eastern Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Several studies assessed the relationship between the cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) Taq1B gene polymorphism (rs708272) with risk factors of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, their findings were inconsistent. The present study investigated the relationship between CVD risk factors and the Taq1B variant in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 476 patients aged 30-76 years old of both sexes from 2020-2021, in Yazd (Iran). The Taq1B polymorphism genotypes were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) on DNA extracted from whole blood. Standard protocols were used to measure cardio-metabolic markers. To determine the association between CVDs risk factors and the rs708272 variant, binary logistic regression was used in crude and adjusted models.Results: Taq1B polymorphism genotype frequencies were 10.7% for B1B1, 72.3% for B1B2, and 17% for B2B2. There was no significant association between abnormal levels of CVDs risk factors and different genotypes of the Taq1B variant, Gensini score (P=0.64), Syntax score (P=0.79), systolic blood pressure (P=0.55), diastolic blood pressure (P=0.58), and waist circumference (P=0.79). There was no significant association between genotypes of the rs708272 variant and any abnormal serum lipid levels. After adjusting for confounders, the results remained non-significant.Conclusion: There was no significant association between CVDs risk factors and CETP rs708272 polymorphism. The relationship between CETP gene variants and CVD occurrences varied across groups, implying that more research in different regions is required. A preprint version of this manuscript is available at https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-2575215/v1 with doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2575215/v1

Evidence that breast cancer risk at the 2q35 locus is mediated through IGFBP5 regulation.

GWAS have identified a breast cancer susceptibility locus on 2q35. Here we report the fine mapping of this locus using data from 101,943 subjects from 50 case-control studies. We genotype 276 SNPs using the 'iCOGS' genotyping array and impute genotypes for a further 1,284 using 1000 Genomes Project data. All but two, strongly correlated SNPs (rs4442975 G/T and rs6721996 G/A) are excluded as candidate causal variants at odds against >100:1. The best functional candidate, rs4442975, is associated with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+) disease with an odds ratio (OR) in Europeans of 0.85 (95% confidence interval=0.84-0.87; P=1.7 × 10(-43)) per t-allele. This SNP flanks a transcriptional enhancer that physically interacts with the promoter of IGFBP5 (encoding insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5) and displays allele-specific gene expression, FOXA1 binding and chromatin looping. Evidence suggests that the g-allele confers increased breast cancer susceptibility through relative downregulation of IGFBP5, a gene with known roles in breast cell biology

BRCA2 polymorphic stop codon K3326X and the risk of breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers

Background: The K3326X variant in BRCA2 (BRCA2*c.9976A>T; p.Lys3326*; rs11571833) has been found to be associated with small increased risks of breast cancer. However, it is not clear to what extent linkage disequilibrium with fully pathogenic mutations might account for this association. There is scant information about the effect of K3326X in other hormone-related cancers. Methods: Using weighted logistic regression, we analyzed data from the large iCOGS study including 76 637 cancer case patients and 83 796 control patients to estimate odds ratios (ORw) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for K3326X variant carriers in relation to breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer risks, with weights defined as probability of not having a pathogenic BRCA2 variant. Using Cox proportional hazards modeling, we also examined the associations of K3326X with breast and ovarian cancer risks among 7183 BRCA1 variant carriers. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: The K3326X variant was associated with breast (ORw = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.17 to 1.40, P = 5.9x10- 6) and invasive ovarian cancer (ORw = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.10 to 1.43, P = 3.8x10-3). These associations were stronger for serous ovarian cancer and for estrogen receptor–negative breast cancer (ORw = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.2 to 1.70, P = 3.4x10-5 and ORw = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.28 to 1.76, P = 4.1x10-5, respectively). For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was a statistically significant inverse association of the K3326X variant with risk of ovarian cancer (HR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.84, P = .013) but no association with breast cancer. No association with prostate cancer was observed. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that the K3326X variant is associated with risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers independent of other pathogenic variants in BRCA2. Further studies are needed to determine the biological mechanism of action responsible for these associations

Multi-Variant Pathway Association Analysis Reveals the Importance of Genetic Determinants of Estrogen Metabolism in Breast and Endometrial Cancer Susceptibility

Peer reviewe

Patient survival and tumor characteristics associated with CHEK2:p.I157T – findings from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium

Abstract Background P.I157T is a CHEK2 missense mutation associated with a modest increase in breast cancer risk. Previously, another CHEK2 mutation, the protein truncating c.1100delC has been associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients. Here, we have investigated patient survival and characteristics of breast tumors of germ line p.I157T carriers. Methods We included in the analyses 26,801 European female breast cancer patients from 15 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. We analyzed the association between p.I157T and the clinico-pathological breast cancer characteristics by comparing the p.I157T carrier tumors to non-carrier and c.1100delC carrier tumors. Similarly, we investigated the p.I157T associated risk of early death, breast cancer-associated death, distant metastasis, locoregional relapse and second breast cancer using Cox proportional hazards models. Additionally, we explored the p.I157T-associated genomic gene expression profile using data from breast tumors of 183 Finnish female breast cancer patients (ten p.I157T carriers) (GEO: GSE24450). Differential gene expression analysis was performed using a moderated t test. Functional enrichment was investigated using the DAVID functional annotation tool and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The tumors were classified into molecular subtypes according to the St Gallen 2013 criteria and the PAM50 gene expression signature. Results P.I157T was not associated with increased risk of early death, breast cancer-associated death or distant metastasis relapse, and there was a significant difference in prognosis associated with the two CHEK2 mutations, p.I157T and c.1100delC. Furthermore, p.I157T was associated with lobular histological type and clinico-pathological markers of good prognosis, such as ER and PR expression, low TP53 expression and low grade. Gene expression analysis suggested luminal A to be the most common subtype for p.I157T carriers and CDH1 (cadherin 1) target genes to be significantly enriched among genes, whose expression differed between p.I157T and non-carrier tumors. Conclusions Our analyses suggest that there are fundamental differences in breast tumors of CHEK2:p.I157T and c.1100delC carriers. The poor prognosis associated with c.1100delC cannot be generalized to other CHEK2 mutations

ESR1 and EGF genetic variation in relation to breast cancer risk and survival

The main purposes of this thesis were to analyse common genetic variation in candidate genes and candidate pathways in relation to breast cancer risk, prognosticators and survival, to develop statistical methods for genetic association analysis for evaluating the joint importance of genes, and to investigate the potential impact of adding genetic information to clinical risk factors for projecting individualised risk of developing breast cancer over specific time periods. In Paper I we studied genetic variation in the estrogen receptor α and epidermal growth factor genes in relation to breast cancer risk and survival. We located a region in the estrogen receptor α gene which showed a moderate signal for association with breast cancer risk but were unable to link common variation in the epidermal growth factor gene with breast cancer aetiology or prognosis. In Paper II we investigated whether suspected breast cancer risk SNPs within genes involved in androgen-to-estrogen conversion are associated with breast cancer prognosticators grade, lymph node status and tumour size. The strongest association was observed for a marker within the CYP19A1 gene with histological grade. We also found evidence that a second marker from the same gene is associated with histological grade and tumour size. In Paper III we developed a novel test of association which incorporates multivariate measures of categorical and continuous heterogeneity. In this work we described both a single-SNP and a global multi-SNP test and used simulated data to demonstrate the power of the tests when genetic effects differ across disease subtypes. In Paper IV we assessed the extent to which recently associated genetic risk variants improve breast cancer risk-assessment models. We investigated empirically the performance of eighteen breast cancer risk SNPs together with mammographic density and clinical risk factors in predicting absolute risk of breast cancer. We also examined the usefulness of various prediction models considered at a population level for a variety of individualised breast cancer screening approaches. The goal of a genetic association study is to establish statistical associations between genetic variants and disease states. Each variant linked to a disease can lead the way to a better understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms that govern the development of a disease. Increased knowledge of molecular variation provides the opportunity to stratify populations according to genetic makeup, which in turn has the potential to lead to improved disease prevention programs and improved patient care