Fan Li

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is widely recognized for its potential to reduce childhood obesity. However, research investigating these benefits in children breastfed for a short duration (up to 6 months) remains limited despite this being a common practice globally. METHODS: This study focused on a population breastfed for 6 months or less to determine the potential benefits of short-term breastfeeding for preventing childhood obesity. Data were collected from five survey cycles of an US-based population study (the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)), spanning 2009-2020. A sample of 3,211 children aged 2-6 years was selected, including 1,373 never breastfed and 1,838 ever breastfed. Logistic regression analysis examined the direct association between short-term breastfeeding and childhood obesity. Subsequent subgroup analyses were conducted. Additionally, stratified logistic regression explored the relationship between childhood obesity and the introduction of other early nutrition in both ever-breastfed and never-breastfed children. RESULTS: Overall, breastfeeding for 6 months or less did not directly prevent childhood obesity. However, among participants with older mothers (aged 35 or above), short-term breastfeeding was associated with a lower risk of childhood obesity compared to never being breastfed (OR 0.31, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.59). Similarly, children aged 3-4 years who were breastfed for > 3 ~ 6 months exhibited a lower obesity risk (OR 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.89). In ever-breastfed children, delayed infant formula introduction was linked to a lower risk of obesity (P-trend < 0.05: introduction at age ≤ 1 vs. >1 ~ 3 vs. >3 months). Conversely, for non-breastfed children, introducing milk (other than breast milk or formula) later (≥ 12 versus < 12 months) and introducing alternatives to whole cow's milk were associated with lower obesity risks (OR 0.54, 95% CI: 0.37, 0.78; OR 0.21, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.60, respectively). Notably, these trends were not observed in ever-breastfed children. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term breastfeeding may offer some benefits in preventing childhood obesity for specific populations. Additionally, it could potentially mitigate risks associated with the introduction of formula and cow's milk at inappropriate times.

BACKGROUND: The surge in omicron variants has caused nationwide breakthrough infections in mainland China since the December 2022. In this study, we report the neutralization profiles of serum samples from the patients with breast cancer and the patients with liver cancer who had contracted subvariant breakthrough infections. METHODS: ) for the preceding (wild type), circulating omicron (BA.4-BA.5, and BF.7), and new subvariants (XBB.1.5) were comprehensively analyzed. RESULTS: Patients with liver cancer receiving booster doses had higher levels of anti-spike RBD IgG against circulating omicron (BA.4-BA.5, and BF.7) and a novel subvariant (XBB.1.5) compared to patients with breast cancer after breakthrough infection. Additionally, all vaccinated patients produced higher neutralizing antibody titers against circulating omicron (BA.4-BA.5, and BF.7) compared to unvaccinated patients. However, the unvaccinated patients produced higher neutralizing antibody against XBB.1.5 than vaccinated patients after Omicron infection, with this trend being more pronounced in breast cancer than in liver cancer patients. Moreover, we found that there was no correlation between anti-spike RBD IgG against wildtype virus and the neutralizing antibody titer, but a positive correlation between anti-spike RBD IgG and the neutralizing antibody against XBB.1.5 was found in unvaccinated patients. CONCLUSION: Our study found that there may be differences in vaccine response and protective effect against COVID-19 infection in patients with liver and breast cancer. Therefore, we recommend that COVID-19 vaccine strategies should be optimized based on vaccine components and immunology profiles of different patients with cancer.

Phlebopus portentosus is a widely consumed edible mushroom and the only Boletales species currently cultivated on an industrial scale. Despite its economic importance, its trophic strategy and genomic adaptations remain elusive. Here, we presented high-quality, chromosome-level genome assemblies for two sexually compatible monokaryons (PP78 and PP85) of P. portentosus . Comparative genomic analysis revealed a genome size difference of 1.17 Mb (30.87 vs. 32.04 Mb), primarily attributed to transposable element (TE) expansion in strain PP85. Genome structural variations were largely driven by TEs, particularly LTR retrotransposons. DNA transposons were also involved in structural rearrangement of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, impacting their organization and transcriptional profiles. Functional annotation identified 187 PP78-specific and 236 PP85-specific genes, with the latter enriched in TE-related and putative virulence factors. P. portentosus displays genomic signatures of both ECM symbiosis (reduced lignocellulose-degrading enzymes) and saprotroph (expanded glycoside hydrolase 31 and sugar transporters), supporting a facultative ECM lifestyle. The expansion of non-ribosomal peptide synthetase and polyketide synthase pathways, alongside contraction of terpenoid clusters typical of ECM fungi, further indicated its adaptation to saprotroph. These findings highlight the role of TEs in driving genome plasticity, metabolic diversity, and nuclear divergence in P. portentosus , providing valuable genomic resources for this species.