Shotgun metagenomic analysis of microbial communities in the surface waters of the Eastern South China Sea

Aims: The South China Sea (SCS) harbours a rich biodiversity. However, few studies have been published on its diverse communities, particularly its microbial counterparts. As key players behind many of the vital processes carried out in the ocean, microbes are the focus of this study, placing particular emphasis on community composition, structure, and function. Methodology and results: By employing next generation shotgun sequencing technologies (Illumina HiSeq2000), we assessed the taxonomic structure and functional diversity of the prokaryotic communities in surface waters collected from 3 representative sites in the Eastern SCS: Sarawak (Kuching), Sabah (Kota Kinabalu), and Philippines (Manila). Comparisons were undertaken to similar studies from coastal and open ocean environments. All 3 locations were dominated by members of the Proteobacteria (Alpha- and Gamma-) and Cyanobacteria (Synechococcus sp. and Prochlorococcus sp.). The highest proportion of Gammaproteobacteria was found in Sarawak, representing an approximate 20% of total sequences. Archaeal assemblages were made up largely of Euryarchaeota and unclassified sequences, while Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota were present in much smaller proportions, except in the Philippines where Thaumarchaeota made up almost 40% of the entire taxa. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The majority of the microbial communities adhered to a core set of functional genes across the different locations. However, differences existed particularly in Sarawak waters which are hypothesized to be due to local environmental parameters such as riverine influence. The results obtained from this study provide the first comparison of prokaryotic communities in the surface waters of the eastern SCS and will serve as a good platform for prospective studies in the field of environmental science.

A study on the health status of residents affected by flood disasters / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the immediate and long-term effects of disasters caused by floods on residents health status.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Stratified sampling by ranks of flood disaster occurred in 1996 and 1998, flood disaster areas and control areas were carried out. A retrospective study was also carried out to study all diseases involved during 1996 - 1999.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The incident rates of acute infectious disease in flooding areas in 1996 and 1998 were both higher than those of non-flooding areas (863.181/100 000 and 736.591/100 000, respectively). But there was no different between the incident rate of the first years in flooding areas and that of non-flooding areas. The prevalence rates of 8 kinds of chronic diseases related to circulatory system, nervous system, digestive system, injury and poisonous diseases in flooding areas were also higher than that in the non-flooding areas. The highest incidence rates of most diseases were in the mountainous flooding areas, followed by areas collapsed by flooding, and the lowest were seen in soakedareas by floods. The incidence rates of intestinal infectious diseases and respiratory infectious diseases were lower in areas where prevention and control measures were weak.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Flood could lead to the increase of incidence rates both on acute infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases. Interventions on non-infectious diseases should also be enforced to stop the epidemics when preventing and controlling acute infectious disease.</p>

Study on hospitalization expenses of flood disaster areas' residents of Dongting Lake in Hunan province in 1998 / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the expenses of hospitalization among the population in the flood disaster areas of Dongting Lake in Hunan province in 1998.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Descriptive epidemiologic study were conducted to analyze hospitalization expenses of the residents of 55 villages in flood disaster areas in 1998; single factors analysis and logarithmic linear regression analysis were carried out to explore influencing factors about hospitalization expenses of the residents.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The hospitalization rate was 4.59% with an average hospitalization expenses of 667.42 Yuan in the flood disaster areas' residents of Dongting Lake in 1998. Compared with populations without suffering from flood, hospitalization rate and the average hospitalization expenses of flood disaster Areas' residents of Dongting Lake in 1998 were higher and had significant difference. The average hospitalization expenses in 1998 was affected by flood types, family income, gender, age, literacy, occupation, outcome after leaving the hospital and hospital ranks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These results implied that the flood disease aggravated inhabitants' burden of disease in Dongting Lake areas; the factors influencing the average hospitalization expenses were multiple, and synthetic measures should be taken in the prevention and control of flood disaster.</p>