Chili peppers are loved by people all over the world and have been indispensable vegetable for three meals a day. However, reports about the association between chili consumption and gastric cancer (GC) risk have been conflicting. So, we carried out this meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of chili consumption on the risk of GC. Medline, PubMed, Web of science, Embase, Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until May 2019. Heterogeneity among studies was examined using Q and I² statistics. Combined odds ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random- or fixed-effects model. All data were analyzed using STATA 15.1 software. 13 studies (3,095 cases and 4,761 controls) were included in the meta-analysis. A 1.96-fold increased risk of GC was shown for the moderate-high chili consumption (OR = 1.96, 95%CI =1.59−2.42). Dose-response analysis showed a significant nonlinear association of GC risk with capsaicin intake (p_{non-linearity} <0.05) and suggested a significant positive association between high chili consumption and GC risk (OR = 2.28, 95%CI = 1.76–2.96) but not moderate chili consumption (OR = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.36–1.41). Sensitivity analysis and publication bias test results indicated that no publication bias and the results were reliable (Egger’s: P = 0.288). Evidence from this meta-analysis suggested that a higher level of chili consumption may be associated with an increased incidence of GC. More studies are warranted to confirm the association between chili consumption and the risk of GC.

Garlic is used as an important medicinal food for treatment of many diseases, however, the association between garlic consumption and dyslipidemia have yielded inconsistent results. So we carried this meta-analysis to explore the blood lipid-lowering effects of garlic. Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, Embase, Cochrane Library were systematically searched until June 2024. Heterogeneity among studies was examined using Q and I2 statistics. Also subgroup analysis were conducted to explore the potential heterogeneity. Combined weighted mean differences (WMD) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. The GRADE approach was used to evaluate the overall certainty of the evidence in the meta-analyses. A total of 21 RCTs studies involved association between garlic consumption and blood lipids level of dyslipidemia patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that garlic consumption significantly reduced total cholesterol (TC)(WMD = -0.64mmol/L, 95%CI = -0.75 −-0.54, P < 0.001), triglyceride (TG)(WMD = -0.17mmol/L, 95%CI = -0.26 −-0.09, P < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein(LDL-C)(WMD = -0.44mmol/L, 95%CI = -0.57 −-0.31, P < 0.001) while slightly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C)(WMD = 0.04mmol/L, 95%CI = -0.00 − 0.08, P < 0.001). And subgroup analyses showed that TC, TG and LDL-C significantly decreased in patients aged > 50 years compared to those aged ≤ 50 years. And garlic oil greatly reduced TC and LDL-C compared with garlic power. Finally, sensitivity analysis and publication bias showed that the results were reliable. Evidence from this meta-analysis suggested that garlic consumption could be effective in reducing the risk of dyslipidemia and preventing CVDs. Particularly the older people were more susceptible to the protective effects of garlic.

Diabetes is a common metabolic disease worldwide, is also a global major public health problem. We carried out this meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of olive oil(OO) consumption on diabetes. PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until October 2024. Heterogeneity among studies was examined using Q and I2 statistics. Combined risk ratio (RR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by using a random effects model. Also dose-response analysis and subgroup analysis were performed. 10 studies (4 cohorts and 6 RCT) involved more than 50,0000 subjects and 2,0000 individuals with diabetes were included in the meta-analysis. A 13% (RR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.83 − 0.92, P < 0.01) decreased risk of diabetes was shown in Cohort study and 22% (RR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.70 − 0.88, P < 0.01) decreased risk in RCT study for the highest vs. lowest olive oil consumption. Subgroup analysis results showed that there was a better effect on reducing diabetes risk in age > 50 years(RR = 0.77, 95%CI = 0.70 − 0.89, P < 0.01), Europe(RR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.72 − 0.86, P < 0.01) and extra virgin olive oil ( RR = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.65–0.87, P < 0.01). Dose-response analysis showed a significant nonlinear association of diabetes risk with OO intake(Pnon-linearity < 0.05) and when 10–20 g of olive oil is consumed daily, the effect amount is statistically significant, while more than 20 g there was not statistically significant. Begg’s and Egger’s regression test results indicated that there was no publication bias and the results were reliable. Evidence from this meta-analysis suggested that OO consumption is associated with a decreased risk of diabetes, especially, 10–20 g OO daily may be beneficial for prevention and management of diabetes.

Infectious diseases have caused enormous disasters in human society, and asymptomatic carriers are an important challenge in our epidemic prevention and control process. Nucleic acid testing has played an important role in rapid testing for asymptomatic individuals. How to carry out nucleic acid testing in a scientific manner is a practical problem encountered in normal production and life. Based on the real COVID-19 epidemic data from Shanghai, we established a susceptible-exposed-infected-asymptomatic-recovered-death (SEIARD) dynamic model. The least squares method was used to fit the data and estimate the unknown parameters β and E(0) in the model, and MATLAB software was employed to simulate the development of the epidemic. The data fitting results indicated that the SEIARD model can better describe the early development patterns of the epidemic (R² = 0.98; MAPE = 2.54%). We calculated the basic reproduction number of the Shanghai epidemic as R₀ = 2.86. As the frequency of nucleic acid testing increased, the basic reproduction number R₀ continued to decrease. When there is one latent carrier and one asymptomatic carrier in the nucleic acid testing team, the number of queues is directly proportional to the number of infected individuals, the nucleic acid testing team increases by 50 people, and the number of new asymptomatic cases increases by approximately 4 people. If both susceptible individuals (S) and asymptomatic patients (A) are not wearing masks, the infection rate reaches approximately 7%; after wearing masks, the final infection rate is less than 1% at 1.5 m between two people. The queue spacing is inversely proportional to the number of infected individuals. With a distance of d = 1 m, a nucleic acid testing team of 100 people added 8% of the infected individuals; when d = 1.5 m, fewer than 2% of the newly infected individuals. The results confirmed that controlling the queue size for nucleic acid testing, strictly wearing masks, and maintaining a queue spacing of more than 1.5 m are safe and effective nucleic acid testing strategies. Our findings are also applicable to the prevention of other newly emerging infectious diseases.