Search

Abstract Background Soil erosion affects the stability of terrestrial ecosystems and ecosystem services by directly or indirectly impacting the cycling of soil materials and energy and reducing the fertility of grassland soils. However, research on microbial adaptation to grazing and soil erosion is limited, particularly in relation to grassland ecosystem restoration. Here, we assess microbial communities subjected to simulated soil erosion and grazing in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia, China. Results No significant change was observed in soil variables. However, the structure of the soil microbial community underwent significant changes as a result of soil erosion and soil erosion plus grazing, leading to a significant increase in the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria (116.80% vs 116.38%). Wind erosion and deposition contributed to an increase in the network complexity of soil bacterial and fungal communities. However, much of this effect was alleviated by grazing. Simultaneously, aeolian processes and grazing regulate soil microbial community assembly, leading to inconsistent patterns of change in bacterial and fungal communities. Under wind erosion and deposition, the relative contribution of deterministic processes (4.44% vs 31.11%) in bacterial communities increased, while the relative contribution of stochastic processes (2.23% vs 20%) in fungal communities reduced. Grazing resulted in a decrease in the relative contribution of deterministic processes (8.89%) in the bacterial community and an increase in the relative contribution of stochastic processes (8.89%) in the fungal community. Conclusion This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the response of soil microbial communities to aeolian erosion–deposition and grazing in a semi-arid grassland. Our findings indicate that microbial communities in the semi-arid grassland show resistance to external disturbances and that light grazing mitigates the effects of aeolian erosion–deposition on microbial communities, which is essential for maintaining the stability and biodiversity of grassland ecosystems.

Over the last few years, the cumulative use of antibiotics in healthcare institutions, as well as the rearing of livestock and poultry, has resulted in the accumulation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This presents a substantial danger to human health worldwide. The characteristics of airborne ARGs, especially those transferred from outdoors to indoors, remains largely unexplored in neighborhoods, even though a majority of human population spends most of their time there. We investigated airborne ARGs and mobile genetic element (MGE, IntI1), plant communities, and airborne microbiota transferred indoors, as well as respiratory disease (RD) prevalence using a combination of metabarcode sequencing, real-time quantitative PCR and questionnaires in 72 neighborhoods in Shanghai. We hypothesized that (i) urbanization regulates ARGs abundance, (ii) the urbanization effect on ARGs varies seasonally, and (iii) land use types are associated with ARGs abundance. Supporting these hypotheses, during the warm season, the abundance of ARGs in peri-urban areas was higher than in urban areas. The abundance of ARGs was also affected by the surrounding land use and plant communities: an increase in the proportion of gray infrastructure (e.g., residential area) around neighborhoods can lead to an increase in some ARGs (mecA, qnrA, ermB and mexD). Additionally, there were variations observed in the relationship between ARGs and bacterial genera in different seasons. Specifically, Stenotrophomonas and Campylobacter were positively correlated with vanA during warm seasons, whereas Pseudomonas, Bacteroides, Treponema and Stenotrophomonas positively correlated with tetX in the cold season. Interstingly, a noteworthy positive correlation was observed between the abundance of vanA and the occurrence of both rhinitis and rhinoconjunctivitis. Taken together, our study underlines the importance of urbanization and season in controlling the indoor transfer of airborne ARGs. Furthermore, we also highlight the augmentation of green–blue infrastructure in urban environments has the potential to mitigate an excess of ARGs.

Neighborhood gardens serve as sensitive sites for human microbial encounters, with phyllosphere microbes directly impacting our respiratory health. Yet, our understanding remains limited on how factors like season, garden age, and land use shape the risk of respiratory diseases (RDs) tied to these garden microbes. Here we examined the microbial communities within the phyllosphere of 72 neighborhood gardens across Shanghai, spanning different seasons (warm and cold), garden ages (old and young), and locales (urban and rural). We found a reduced microbial diversity during the cold season, except for Gammaproteobacteria which exhibited an inverse trend. While land use influenced the microbial composition, urban and rural gardens had strikingly similar microbial profiles. Alarmingly, young gardens in the cold season hosted a substantial proportion of RDs-associated species, pointing towards increased respiratory inflammation risks. In essence, while newer gardens during colder periods show a decline in microbial diversity, they have an increased presence of RDs-associated microbes, potentially escalating respiratory disease prevalence. This underscores the pivotal role the garden age plays in enhancing both urban microbial diversity and respiratory health.

IntroductionAquatic ecosystems in floodplains provide homes for a variety of active bacterial populations. However, the coexistence pattern of bacterial communities of water and sediment in these ecosystems is unclear.MethodsIn the present study, Illumina Mi-Seq sequencing were to assess bacteria's co-occurrence patterns in the water and sediment of different time dynamics and plant communities of the Yellow River floodplain ecosystem.Results and discussionThe results showed that compared to water, the α-diversity of the bacterial community was way greater in sediment. The bacterial community structure significantly differed between water and sediment, and there was a limited overlap of interactions between the bacterial community of water and sediment. In addition, bacteria in water and sediment coexisting show different temporal shifts and community assembly patterns. The water was selected for specific groups of microorganisms that assemble over time in a non-reproducible and non-random way, whereas the sediment environment was relatively stable, and the bacterial communities were gathered randomly. The depth and plant cover significantly influenced the structure of a bacterial community in the sediment. The bacterial community in sediment formed a more robust network than those in water to cope with external changes. These findings improved our comprehension of the ecological trends of water and sediment bacterium colonies coexisting enhanced the biological barrier function, and the capacity of floodplain ecosystems to provide services and offered support for doing so.

The metagenomic data presented in this article are related to the published research of “A Placebo-controlled double-blinded test of the biodiversity hypothesis of immune-mediated diseases: Environmental microbial diversity elicits changes in cytokines and increase in T regulatory cells in young children”This database contains 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) metagenomics of sandbox sand and skin and gut microbiota of children in the intervention and placebo daycares. In intervention daycares, children aged 3–5 years were exposed to playground sand enriched with microbially diverse soil. In placebo daycares, children were exposed to visually similar as in intervention daycares, but microbially poor sand colored with peat. Sand, skin and gut metagenomics were analyzed at baseline and after 14 and 28 days of intervention by high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene on the Illumina MiSeq platform. This dataset shows how skin bacterial community composition, including classes Gammaproteobacteria and Bacilli, changed, and how the relative abundance of over 30 bacterial genera shifted on the skin of children in the intervention treatment, while no shifts occurred in the placebo group.

Exercise can reduce the incidence of stress-related mental diseases, such as depression and anxiety. Control group was neither exposed to CVMS nor TRE (noCVMS/noTRE). Females were tested and levels of serum17-beta-oestradiol (E2), estrogen receptors α immunoreactive neurons (ERα-IRs), estrogen receptors β immunoreactive neurons (ERβ-IRs) and oxytocin immunoreactive neurons (OT-IRs) were measured. The results showed there’s increased anxiety-like behaviors for mice from CVMS/noTRE, CVMS/higher speed TRE (CVMS/HTRE) and noCVMS/HTRE groups when they were put in open field and elevated maze tests. They had lower serum E2 levels than mice from CVMS/low-moderate speed TRE (CVMS/LMTRE), noCVMS/LMTRE and noCVMS/noTRE groups. The three groups of CVMS/noTRE, CVMS/HTRE and noCVMS/HTRE mice had more ERα-IRs and less ERβ-IRs in the medial preoptic area (mPOA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and medial amygdala (MeA), hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON). The number of OT-IRs in PVN and SON of CVMS/noTRE, CVMS/HTRE and noCVMS/HTRE mice was also lower than that of mice from CVMS/LMTRE, noCVMS/LMTRE and noCVMS/noTRE groups. Interestingly, CVMS/LMTRE and noCVMS/LMTRE mice were similar to noCVMS/noTRE mice in that they did not show anxiety, while CVMS/HTRE and noCVMS/HTRE mice did not, which were similar to the mice in CVMS/noTRE. We propose that LMTRE instead of HTRE changes the serum concentration of E2. ERβ/ERα ratio and OT level in the brain may be responsible for the decrease in anxiety-like behavior in female mice exposed to anxiety-inducing stress conditions.

Meat and bone meal (MBM), as slaughterhouse waste, is a potential biostimulating agent, but its efficiency and reliability in composting are largely unknown. To access the MBM application to the composting process of asparagus straw rice, we followed the composting process for 60 days in 220-L composters and another 180 days in 20-L buckets in treatments applied with MBM or urea. The microbial succession was investigated by high-throughput sequencing. Compared with urea treatments, MBM addition stabilized pH and extended the thermophilic phase for 7 days. The germination index of MBM treatments was 24.76% higher than that of urea treatments. MBM also promoted higher microbial diversity and shifted community compositions. Organic matter and pH were the most significant factors that influence the bacterial and fungal community structure. At the genus level, MBM enriched relative abundances of organic matter-degrading bacteria (Alterococcus) and lignocellulose-degrading fungi (Trichoderma), as well as lignocellulolytic enzyme activities. Notably, MBM addition decreased sum abundances of plant pathogenic fungi of Phaeoacremonium, Acremonium, and Geosmithia from 17.27 to 0.11%. This study demonstrated the potential of MBM as an effective additive in asparagus straw composting, thus providing insights into the development of new industrial aerobic fermentation.

Background: According to the biodiversity hypothesis of immune-mediated diseases, lack of microbiological diversity in the everyday living environment is a core reason for dysregulation of immune tolerance and – eventually – the epidemic of immune-mediated diseases in western urban populations. Despite years of intense research, the hypothesis was never tested in a double-blinded and placebo-controlled intervention trial. Objective: We aimed to perform the first placebo-controlled double-blinded test that investigates the effect of biodiversity on immune tolerance. Methods: In the intervention group, children aged 3–5 years were exposed to playground sand enriched with microbially diverse soil, or in the placebo group, visually similar, but microbially poor sand colored with peat (13 participants per treatment group). Children played twice a day for 20 min in the sandbox for 14 days. Sand, skin and gut bacterial, and blood samples were taken at baseline and after 14 days. Bacterial changes were followed for 28 days. Sand, skin and gut metagenome was determined by high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16 S rRNA gene. Cytokines were measured from plasma and the frequency of blood regulatory T cells was defined as a percentage of total CD3 +CD4 + T cells. Results: Bacterial richness (P

Abstract Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a major global health threat with a great number of deaths worldwide. Despite abundant data on that many COVID-19 patients also displayed kidney disease, there is limited information available about the recovery of kidney disease after discharge. Methods Retrospective and prospective cohort study to patients with new-onset kidney disease during the COVID-19 hospitalization, admitted between January 28 to February 26, 2020. The median follow-up was 4 months after discharge. The follow-up patients were divided into the recovery group and non-recovery group. Descriptive statistics and between-groups comparison were used. Results In total, 143 discharged patients with new-onset kidney disease during the COVID-19 hospitalization were included. Patients had a median age was 64 (IQR, 51–70) years, and 59.4% of patients were men. During 4-months median follow-up, 91% (130 of 143) patients recovered from kidney disease, and 9% (13 of 143) patients haven’t recovered. The median age of patients in the non-recovery group was 72 years, which was significantly higher than the median age of 62 years in the recovery group. Discharge serum creatinine was significantly higher in the non-recovery group than in the recovery group. Conclusions Most of the new-onset kidney diseases during hospitalization of COVID-19 patients recovered 4 months after discharge. We recommend that COVID-19 patients with new-onset kidney disease be followed after discharge to assess kidney recovery, especially elderly patients or patients with high discharge creatinine.

Background: The relationship between marital status and CKD is rarely studied. We aimed to explore the effect of marital status on the depression and mortality of patients with CKD. Methods: The data sources came from the NHANES database during 2005–2014 and 3,865 participants were included in this study. We used logistic regression models to examine the relationship between marital status and depression of CKD patients. The Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association between marital status and mortality of CKD patients. Results: In terms of depression in CKD patients, unmarried patients had a worse situation than married patients. Meanwhile, after adjusting the covariables, unmarried patients had increased risk of depression (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.01–1.57) compared with married CKD patients, especially in males (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.02–2.06) and patients with more than college education level (OR = 12.4, 95% CI: 3.75–41.02). There was a significant relationship between marital status and mortality of general CKD patients (HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17–1.58). Moreover, marriage showed a protective effect against death among male patients, patients with school graduate or less and more than college educational level, patients with high income, and patients in different estimated glomerular filtration rate groups. Conclusions: The use of large numbers of participants has revealed the effect of marital status on CKD patients. Unmarried ones had a higher risk of depression than married ones among CKD patients. Meanwhile, the risk of death was higher in unmarried ones than married ones among CKD patients in this study.

In this study, a γ‐boehmite (γ‐AlOOH) – PEG/polyethylene (PE) lithium‐ion battery separator was fabricated using a dip‐coating method, with γ‐AlOOH nanowhiskers being synthesized directly through a hydrothermal process,and polyethylene glycol 10000 (PEG‐10000) was chosen for the first time as a dispersant for the γ‐AlOOH nanowhiskers in the PE coating slurry{Lee, 2014 #7}. Simultaneously, the membrane's performance was characterized, confirming the significant dispersion effect of PEG‐10000, resulting in a porosity as high as 64 % in the AlOOH‐PEG/PE, a substantial increase compared to the PE separator (40 %). The AlOOH‐PEG/PE separator maintains its structural integrity even after a 0.5 h test at 200 °C, showcasing outstanding stability and significantly improved safety. Besides, the LIB half cells assembled with the PE/AlOOH‐PEG separator exhibited remarkable performance, with a capacity of 73.9 % in power capability (at 5 C rate) and a 97.1 % discharge capacity retention rates in cycle performance (after 400 cycles, at 2 C rate). Furthermore, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries utilizing the AlOOH‐PEG/PE separator demonstrated significantly enhanced cycling stability and rate capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic–inorganic hybrid coating has been applied on metallic corrosion protection effectively. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets with graphene-like two-dimensional lamellar structure were an anticorrosion inorganic additive, rendering the organic coating better corrosion resistant. However, the aggregation and poor solubility are still current issues that should be addressed. Functionalization MoS2 nanosheets with surface modified by polydopamine (PDA) and silane coupling agent (KH560) were prepared in polyurethane (PU) composite coatings to obtain dense and intact multilayer network structure coatings for corrosion protection. KH560-PDA-MoS2/PU coating with crosslinked polymer network structure has a high impedance modulus, large contact angle, and strong hydrophobicity. The coating meets the national technical standards for salt spray testing and nitric acid (HNO3) titration testing, demonstrating excellent corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with improvements in treatments for heart failure (HF), the survival period of patients has been extended. However, the emergence of some patients with repeated hospitalizations due to their worsening conditions and low survival rates followed. Currently, few drugs are available for such patients. Vericiguat was first drug approved for the treatment of symptomatic patients with chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) to reduce the occurrence of worsening HF. This article provides comprehensive information about vericiguat in terms of drug design and development, structure-activity relationship (SAR), synthesis, pharmacological efficacy, and clinical practice. In addition, insights into the current vericiguat trials and treatments of HF are also discussed.

Background: In modern urban environments children have a high incidence of inflammatory disorders, including allergies, asthma, and type 1 diabetes. The underlying cause of these disorders, according to the biodiversity hypothesis, is an imbalance in immune regulation caused by a weak interaction with environmental microbes. In this 2-year study, we analyzed bacterial community shifts in the soil surface in day-care centers and commensal bacteria inhabiting the mouth, skin, and gut of children. We compared two different day-care environments: standard urban day-care centers and intervention day-care centers. Yards in the latter were amended with biodiverse forest floor vegetation and sod at the beginning of the study. Results: Intervention caused a long-standing increase in the relative abundance of nonpathogenic environmental mycobacteria in the surface soils. Treatment-specific shifts became evident in the community composition of Gammaproteobacteria, Negativicutes, and Bacilli, which jointly accounted for almost 40 and 50% of the taxa on the intervention day-care children’s skin and in saliva, respectively. In the year-one skin swabs, richness of Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria was higher, and the relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria, including Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Streptococcus sp., and Veillonella sp., was lower among children in intervention day-care centers compared with children in standard day-care centers. In the gut, the relative abundance of Clostridium sensu stricto decreased, particularly among the intervention children. Conclusions: This study shows that a 2-year biodiversity intervention shapes human commensal microbiota, including taxa that have been associated with immune regulation. Results indicate that intervention enriched commensal microbiota and suppressed the potentially pathogenic bacteria on the skin. We recommend future studies that expand intervention strategies to immune response and eventually the incidence of immune-mediated diseases.

In the field of lithium-ion batteries, the challenges posed by the low melting point and inadequate wettability of conventional polyolefin separators have increased the focus on ceramic-coated separators. This study introduces a highly efficient and stable boehmite/polydopamine/polyethylene (AlOOH-PDA-PE) separator. It is crafted by covalently attaching functionalized nanosized boehmite (γ-AlOOH) whiskers onto polyethylene (PE) surfaces. The presence of a covalent bond increases the stability at the interface, while amino groups on the surface of the separator enhance the infiltration of the electrolyte and facilitate the diffusion of lithium ions. The PE-PDA-AlOOH separator, when used in lithium-ion batteries, achieves a discharge capacity of 126 mAh g−1 at 5 C and retains 97.1% capacity after 400 cycles, indicating superior cycling stability due to its covalently bonded ceramic surface. Thus, covalent interface modification is a promising strategy to prevent delamination of ceramic coatings in separators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyvinylidene fluoride‐hexafluoropropylene (PVDF‐HFP) is a standard electrolyte membrane and binder material for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) because of the benefits of membrane formation and strong mechanical properties. Still, its use is limited due to unavoidable defects such as high crystallinity and poor electrochemical performance. In this paper, a larger specific surface area and three‐dimensional (3D) permeable lamellae carboxylated g‐C3N4 (HCN) were successfully prepared by HNO3 and introduced into the PVDF‐HFP to obtain a high‐performance composite separator. The wettability and electrolyte absorption of PVDF‐HFP separator can be improved through the carboxylated HCN. More crucially, because PVDF‐HFP has several active sites and low crystallinity, adding HCN can greatly increase the ionic conductivity of separators. The ionic conductivity of PH‐HCN at 25 °C is 0.52 S cm−1, 4.7 times higher than the initial PVDF‐HFP membrane, and the oxidation potential can reach 4.8 V. The assembled lithium‐ion batteries half‐cell has a capacity of 71 % at a 5 C rate and 94 % after 400 cycles at a 2 C rate. Therefore, the improved separator has the potential to be applied to high‐performance LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In December 2019, a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 caused a series of acute atypical respiratory diseases worldwide. However, there is still a lack of drugs with clear curative effects, and the clinical trial research of vaccines has not been completely finished. Purpose: LH capsules are approved TCM patent medicine that are widely used for the treatment of respiratory tract infectious diseases caused by colds and flu. On April 12, 2020, LH capsules and granules were officially repurposed by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) for patients with mild COVID-19 based on their safety and efficacy demonstrated through multicentre, randomized, controlled clinical trials. We hope to conduct a comprehensive review of it through modern pharmacy methods, and try to explain its possible mechanism. Methods: Using the full names of LH capsules Lianhuaqingwen, Lianhua Qingwen andSARS-COV-2, COVID-19 as the keywords of the search terms, systemically search for existing related papers in various databases such as Web of Science and PubMed. And completed the collection of clinical data in ClinicalTrials.gov and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Last but not least, we have sorted out the anti-inflammatory and antiviral mechanisms of LH capsules through literature and Selleck. Results: This review systematically sorted out the active ingredients in LH capsules. Furthermore, the related pharmacological and clinical trials of LH capsule on SARS-CoV-2, IAV and IBV were discussed in detail. Moreover, the present review provides the first summary of the potential molecular mechanism of specific substances in LH capsules involved in resistance to SARS-COV-2 infection and the inhibition of cytokine storm syndrome (CSS) caused by IL-6. Conclusion: This review summarizes the available reports and evidence that support the use of LH capsules as potential drug candidates for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. However, TCM exerts its effects through multiple targets and multiple pathways, and LH capsules are not an exception. Therefore, the relevant mechanisms need to be further improved and experimentally verified.

The brackish Baltic Sea is under diesel oil pollution risk due to heavy ship traffic. The situation is exasperated by densely distributed marinas and a vigorous although seasonal recreational boating. The seasonality and physical environmental variations hamper the monitoring of microbial communities in response to diesel oil spills. Hence, an 8-week simulation experiment was established in metal basins (containing 265 L sea water and 18 kg quartz sand or natural shore sand as the littoral sediment) to study the effect of accidental diesel oil spills on microbial communities. Our results demonstrated that microbial communities in the surface water responded to diesel oil contamination, whereas those in the littoral sediment did not, indicating that diesel oil degradation mainly happened in the water. Diesel oil decreased the abundance of bacteria and fungi, but increased bacterial diversity in the water. Time was the predominant driver of microbial succession, attributable to the adaption strategies of microbes. Bacteria were more sensitive to diesel oil contamination than fungi and archaea. Diesel oil increased relative abundances of bacterial phyla, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Flavobacteriia and Cytophagia, and fungal phylum Ascomycota in the surface water. Overall, this study improves the understanding of the immediate ecological impact of accidental diesel oil contamination, providing insights into risk management at the coastal area.

Stroke may cause severe death and disability but many clinical trials have failed in the past, partially because the lack of an effective method to regenerate new neurons after stroke. In this study, we report an in vivo neural regeneration approach through AAV NeuroD1-based gene therapy to repair damaged brains after ischemic stroke in adult non-human primates (NHPs). We demonstrate that ectopic expression of a neural transcription factor NeuroD1 in the reactive astrocytes after monkey cortical stroke can convert 90% of the infected astrocytes into neurons. Interestingly, astrocytes are not depleted in the NeuroD1-converted areas, consistent with the proliferative capability of astrocytes. Following ischemic stroke in monkey cortex, the NeuroD1-mediated astrocyte-to-neuron (AtN) conversion significantly increased local neuronal density, reduced microglia and macrophage, and surprisingly protected parvalbumin interneurons in the converted areas. Furthermore, the NeuroD1 gene therapy showed a broad time window in AtN conversion, from 10 to 30 days following ischemic stroke. The cortical astrocyte-converted neurons showed Tbr1+ cortical neuron identity, similar to our earlier findings in rodent animal models. Unexpectedly, NeuroD1 expression in converted neurons showed a significant decrease after 6 months of viral infection, indicating a downregulation of NeuroD1 after neuronal maturation in adult NHPs. These results suggest that in vivo cell conversion through NeuroD1-based gene therapy may be an effective approach to regenerate new neurons for tissue repair in adult primate brains.

Precipitation is predicted to become more intense in Southern China in the context of climate change; however, the responses of microbial communities to variations in soil moisture have not been well documented for karst areas. The climate is typically in a subtropical monsoon category with two different seasons: a dry season (December–May) and a wet season (June–November). Based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD), a water addition experiment (0, +20, +40, and +60% relative to local precipitation) was established in April 2017, with five replicates, in a degraded grass-shrub community. Sampling was performed in May and at the end of August of 2017. Macroelements (C, H, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S), microelements (Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu), and non-essential elements (Na, Al, and Si) were quantified in the soil. The total DNA of the soil samples was analyzed through 16S rRNA amplicon by Illumina Miseq. Subsequent to the addition of water during both the dry and wet seasons, the concentrations of non-metal elements (C, H, N, S, and P, except for Si) in the soil remained relatively stable; however, metal elements (K, Na, Fe, and Mg, along with Si) increased significantly, whereas Zn and Ca decreased. During the dry season, fungal and bacterial communities were significantly distinct from those during the wet season along the PC axis 1 (p < 0.001). Water addition did not alter the compositions of bacterial or fungal communities during the dry season. However, during the wet season, water addition altered the compositions of bacterial rather than fungal community based on principal component analysis. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased with water addition and had a significantly positive correlation with K+ (r2 = 0.70, p < 0.001) and Na+ (r2 = 0.36, p < 0.01) contents, whereas that of Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Verrucomicrobia decreased and showed negative correlation with soil K and Na content, and no changes were observed for the fungal phyla. This suggests that the karst bacterial communities can be influenced by the addition of water during the wet season likely linked to changes in soil K and Na contents. These findings implied that increased rainfall might alter the elemental compositions of karst soils, and bacterial communities are likely to be more sensitive to variations in soil moisture in contrast to their fungal counterparts.

Supplementation of polysaccharides is a promising gut microbiota-targeted therapeutic method for obesity and metabolic diseases. Biological activities of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharides have been well reported, but the effect of selenium (Se)-rich C. militaris polysaccharides (SeCMP) on obesity and associated metabolic disorder and gut microbiota composition has been rarely studied. This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity and gut microbiota modulatory effect of crude polysaccharides separated from Se-rich C. militaris on a high-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6J mice model. Mice were treated with a normal diet (CHOW), HFD alone, HFD plus C. militaris polysaccharides (CMP), or low/medium/high dosage of SeCMP for 8 weeks. Body weight, fat content, serum lipid, appetite hormone, lipid gene expression, inflammation cytokines, thermogenic protein, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and gut microbiota structure of the mice were determined. Compared with HFD-fed mice, the serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the SeCMP-200 group were decreased by 51.5% and 44.1%, respectively. Furthermore, serum lipopolysaccharide-binding proteins (LBP), adiponectin level, and pro-inflammation gene expression in the colon and subcutaneous fat were inhibited, whereas anti-inflammation gene expression was improved, reflecting SeCMP-200 might mitigate obese-induced inflammation. Meanwhile, SeCMP-200 promoted satiety and thermogenesis of obese mice. It also significantly decreased gut bacteria, such as Dorea, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Ruminococcus, that negatively correlated with obesity traits and increased mucosal beneficial bacteria Akkermansia. There was no significant difference between CMP and SeCMP-100 groups. Our results revealed a high dose of SeCMP could prevent HFD-induced dyslipidemia and gut microbiota dysbiosis and was potential to be used as functional foods.

Objective To investigate the effect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with task-oriented training on the recovery of upper limb motor function of stroke patients. Methods A total of 42 patients with hemiplegia after stroke were randomly divided into control group (N = 20) and treatment group (N = 22). Control group received routine rehabilitation training and task-oriented training, and treatment group received low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS over the contralesional cortex addition to routine rehabilitation and task-oriented training. Fugl-Meyer Assessment Scale for Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) were used to evaluate upper limb motor function of all patients before treatment, after 4-week treatment and 3 months after treatment. The latency and central motor conduction time (CMCT) of motor-evoked potential (MEP) in the contralesional cortex were recorded and analyzed. Results Compared with control group, FMA-UE score (P = 0.006) and WMFT score (P = 0.024) were significantly increased in treatment group. There was significant difference in FMA-AUE score (P = 0.000) and WMFT score (P = 0.000) at different time points. Compared with before treatment, FMA-UE score (P = 0.000, for all) and WMFT score (P = 0.000, for all) of patients in both groups were all significantly increased after 4-week treatment and 3 months after treatment. Besides, FMA-UE score (P = 0.000, for all) and WMFT score (P = 0.000, for all) 3 months after treatment were higher than those after 4-week treatment. There was no statistically significant difference between 2 groups on the latency (P = 0.979) and CMCT (P = 0.807) of MEP before and after treatment, and so was the difference on the latency (P = 0.085) and CMCT (P = 0.507) of MEP in the contralesional cortex at different time points (before treatment, after 4-week treatment and 3 months after treatment). Conclusions Low-frequency rTMS over the contralesional cortex combined with task-oriented training could greatly promote upper limb motor function of patients after stroke, and should be recommended to clinical application. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2017.04.004

Background/Aims: Exposure to arsenic in individuals has been found to be associated with various health-related problems including skin lesions, cancer, and cardiovascular and immunological disorders. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main and active polyphenolic catechin present in green tea, has shown potent antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and in vitro. Thus, the present study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of EGCG against arsenic-induced inflammation and immunotoxicity in mice. Methods: Serum IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α were determined by ELISA, tissue catalase (CAT), malonyldialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), nitric oxide and caspase 3 by commercial kits, mitochondrial membrane potential with Rh 123, mitochondrial ROS with 2’,7’-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA), apoptotic and necrotic cells and T-cell phenotyping with Flow cytometry analysis. Results: The results showed that arsenic treatment significantly increased oxidative stress levels (as indicated by catalase, malonyldialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, glutathione and reactive oxygen species), increased levels of inflammatory cytokines and promoted apoptosis. Arsenic exposure increased the relative frequency of the CD8+(Tc) cell subpopulation (from 2.8 to 18.9%) and decreased the frequency of CD4+(Th) cells (from 5.2 to 2.7%). Arsenic exposure also significantly decreased the frequency of T(CD3) (from 32.5% to 19.2%) and B(CD19) cells (from 55.1 to 32.5%). All of these effects induced by NaAsO2 were attenuated by EGCG. Conclusions: The present in vitro findings indicate that EGCG attenuates not only NaAsO2-induced immunosuppression but also inflammation and apoptosis.

An agricultural environment and exposure to diverse environmental microbiota has been suggested to confer protection against immune-mediated disorders. As an agricultural environment may have a protective role, it is crucial to determine whether the limiting factors in the transfer of environmental microbiota indoors are the same in the agricultural and urban environments. We explored how sampling month, garden diversity and animal ownership affected the indoor-transfer of environmental microbial community. We collected litter from standardized doormats used for 2 weeks in June and August 2015 and February 2016 and identified bacterial phylotypes using 16S rRNA Illumina MiSeq sequencing. In February, the diversity and richness of the whole bacterial community and the relative abundance of environment-associated taxa were reduced, whereas human-associated taxa and genera containing opportunistic pathogens were enriched in the doormats. In summer, the relative abundances of several taxa associated previously with beneficial health effects were higher, particularly in agricultural areas. Surprisingly, the importance of vegetation on doormat microbiota was more observable in February, which may have resulted from snow cover that prevented contact with microbes in soil. Animal ownership increased the prevalence of genera Bacteroides and Acinetobacter in rural doormats. These findings underline the roles of season, living environment and lifestyle in the temporal variations in the environmental microbial community carried indoors. As reduced contact with diverse microbiota is a potential reason for immune system dysfunction, the results may have important implications in the etiology of immune-mediated, non-communicable diseases. Keywords: Environmental microbiota, Indoor microbiota, Temporal variation, Vegetation

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are priority environmental pollutants that cause adverse health effects. PAHs belong to endocrine signaling disruptors to which children are sensitive to. Recent evidence suggests that PAH pollution alters the abundance of environmental bacteria that is associated with health outcomes. The alteration of environmental and commensal microbiota by PAH pollution has never been connected to endocrine signaling pathways.To estimate the risk of endocrine disruption in daycare children, we measured PAHs from soil and air of eleven urban daycare centres in Finland. We analyzed daycare yards' soil and children's gut and skin bacterial communities with 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding and used Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes database to categorize endocrine signaling pathways. We also assessed the PAH hazard to children's health based on the current risk assesments.We observed associations between signaling pathways in endocrine system and gaseous PAH levels in ambient air. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor and adipocytokine signaling pathway decreased with higher chrysene concentration in the air. Soil PAH contamination was associated with altered Actinobacteria, Bacteoridetes and Proteobacteria communities on children's skin and in daycare yard soil. However, adjusted genera were not the same in soil and on skin, with the exception of Mycobacterium that was associated with higher PAH concentrations both in soil and on the skin. Even though fluoranhtene levels were above the current threshold values, total PAHs were below safety threshold values and based on current risk assessments there is a minor risk for child health.Our findings indicate that PAH concentrations that are considered safe may interfere with endocrine signaling by commensal microbiota and alter both environmental and commensal bacterial communities. The imbalance in human microbiota and the decrease in signaling pathways may contribute to emerging public health problems, including inflammatory disorders, obesity and diabetes. Therefore, the optimal risk assessments of PAHs and theoretically also other contaminants shaping commensal microbiota may need to take into account the possibility of the disruption of endocrine signaling pathways.

Human activities typically lead to simplified urban diversity, which in turn reduces microbial exposure and increases the risk to urban dwellers from non-communicable diseases. To overcome this, we developed a microbial inoculant from forest and agricultural materials that resembles microbiota in organic soils. Three different sand materials (sieved, safety, and sandbox) commonly used in playgrounds and other public spaces were enriched with 5% of the inoculant. Skin microbiota on fingers (identified from bacterial 16S rDNA determined using Illumina MiSeq sequencing) was compared after touching non-enriched and microbial inoculant-enriched sands. Exposure to the non-enriched materials changed the skin bacterial community composition in distinct ways. When the inoculant was added to the materials, the overall shift in community composition was larger and the differences between different sand materials almost disappeared. Inoculant-enriched sand materials increased bacterial diversity and richness but did not affect evenness at the OTU level on skin. The Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was higher after touching inoculant-enriched compared to non-enriched sand materials. The relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens on skin was 40–50% before touching sand materials, but dropped to 14 and 4% after touching standard and inoculant-enriched sand materials, respectively. When individual genera were analyzed, Pseudomonas sp. and Sphingomonas sp. were more abundant after touching standard, non-enriched sand materials, while only the relative abundance of Chryseobacterium sp. increased after touching the inoculant-enriched materials. As Chryseobacterium is harmless for healthy persons, and as standard landscaping materials and normal skin contain genera that include severe pathogens, the inoculant-enriched materials can be considered safe. Microbial inoculants could be specifically created to increase the proportion of non-pathogenic bacterial taxa and minimize the transfer of pathogenic taxa. We recommend further study into the usability of inoculant-enriched materials and their effects on the bacterial community composition of human skin and on the immune response.

In recent decades, wild sable (Carnivora Mustelidae Martes zibellina) habitats, which are often natural forests, have been squeezed by anthropogenic disturbances such as clear-cutting, tilling and grazing. Sables tend to live in sloped areas with relatively harsh conditions. Here, we determine effects of environmental factors on wild sable gut microbial communities between high and low altitude habitats using Illumina Miseq sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Our results showed that despite wild sable gut microbial community diversity being resilient to many environmental factors, community composition was sensitive to altitude. Wild sable gut microbial communities were dominated by Firmicutes (relative abundance 38.23%), followed by Actinobacteria (30.29%), and Proteobacteria (28.15%). Altitude was negatively correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes, suggesting sable likely consume more vegetarian food in lower habitats where plant diversity, temperature and vegetation coverage were greater. In addition, our functional genes prediction and qPCR results demonstrated that energy/fat processing microorganisms and functional genes are enriched with increasing altitude, which likely enhanced metabolic functions and supported wild sables to survive in elevated habitats. Overall, our results improve the knowledge of the ecological impact of habitat change, providing insights into wild animal protection at the mountain area with hash climate conditions.