Key genes in malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells induced by hexavalent chromium based on GEO database / 环境与职业医学

Background Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] can induce malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells, but its molecular mechanism is still unclear. Objective This study aims to explore the key genes of Cr(VI)-induced malignant transformation of lung epithelial cells and the mechanism of the transformation by bioinformatics analysis. Methods High-throughput gene expression profile data related to Cr(VI)-induced toxic effect was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database, and the co-expressed genes were obtained by the intersection of differentially expressed genes in each dataset. DAVID 6.8 was used to analyze the function enrichment of gene ontology(GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathways of the selected differential expression genes. STRING, and Cytoscape 3.8.2 were applied to construct and visualize the protein-protein interaction network. The expressions of Hub genes in lung tumor were obtained by GEPIA2. Results A total of 234 differentially expressed genes were screened out from the GSE24025 and GSE36684 datasets, among which 99 genes were up-regulated while 135 genes were down-regulated. The results of GO and KEGG analyse were mainly concentrated in cell adhesion, negative regulation of cell proliferation, and transcription disorders. A rotein-protein interaction network was generated by STRING database and Cytoscape software. Four functional modules with high scores and 6 Hub genes were finally retrieved. The expression trend of FBLN1 in lung cancer subtypes was consistent with the results of transcriptome screening. Conclusion Cr(VI) exposure causes the differential expression of multiple genes in lung epithelial cells, involving cell morphology, movement, survival fate, phenotype function and signal pathway related to cancer development. FBLN1 may be the critical gene related to malignant cytopathy.

Accurately Differentiating COVID-19, Other Viral Infection, and Healthy Individuals Using Multimodal Features via Late Fusion Learning

Effectively identifying COVID-19 patients using non-PCR clinical data is critical for the optimal clinical outcomes. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of various biomedical features and appropriate technical approaches to accurately detecting COVID-19 patients. In this study, we recruited 214 confirmed COVID-19 patients in non-severe (NS) and 148 in severe (S) clinical type, 198 non-infected healthy (H) participants and 129 non-COVID viral pneumonia (V) patients. The participants clinical information (23 features), lab testing results (10 features), and thoracic CT scans upon admission were acquired as three input feature modalities. To enable late fusion of multimodality data, we developed a deep learning model to extract a 10-feature high-level representation of the CT scans. Exploratory analyses showed substantial differences of all features among the four classes. Three machine learning models (k-nearest neighbor kNN, random forest RF, and support vector machine SVM) were developed based on the 43 features combined from all three modalities to differentiate four classes (NS, S, V, and H) at once. All three models had high accuracy to differentiate the overall four classes (95.4%-97.7%) and each individual class (90.6%-99.9%). Multimodal features provided substantial performance gain from using any single feature modality. Compared to existing binary classification benchmarks often focusing on single feature modality, this study provided a novel and effective breakthrough for clinical applications. Findings and the analytical workflow can be used as clinical decision support for current COVID-19 and other clinical applications with high-dimensional multimodal biomedical features. One sentence summaryWe trained and validated late fusion deep learning-machine learning models to predict non-severe COVID-19, severe COVID-19, non-COVID viral infection, and healthy classes from clinical, lab testing, and CT scan features extracted from convolutional neural network and achieved predictive accuracy of > 96% to differentiate all four classes at once based on a large dataset of 689 participants.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Exhaled Breath from COVID-19 Patients Ready for Hospital Discharge

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an unprecedented crisis to the global health sector1. When recovering COVID-19 patients are discharged in accordance with throat or nasal swab protocols using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the potential risk of re-introducing the infection source to humans and the environment must be resolved2,3,4. Here we show that 20% of COVID-19 patients, who were ready for a hospital discharge based on current guidelines, had SARS-CoV-2 in their exhaled breath ([~]105 RNA copies/m3). They were estimated to emit about 1400 RNA copies into the air per minute. Although fewer surface swabs (1.3%, N=318) tested positive, medical equipment frequently contacted by healthcare workers and the work shift floor were contaminated by SARS-CoV-2 in four hospitals in Wuhan. All air samples (N=44) appeared negative likely due to the dilution or inactivation through natural ventilation (1.6-3.3 m/s) and applied disinfection. Despite the low risk of cross environmental contamination in the studied hospitals, there is a critical need for strengthening the hospital discharge standards in preventing re-emergence of COVID-19 spread.

An Interpretable Machine Learning Framework for Accurate Severe vs Non-severe COVID-19 Clinical Type Classification

Effectively and efficiently diagnosing COVID-19 patients with accurate clinical type is essential to achieve optimal outcomes for the patients as well as reducing the risk of overloading the healthcare system. Currently, severe and non-severe COVID-19 types are differentiated by only a few clinical features, which do not comprehensively characterize complicated pathological, physiological, and immunological responses to SARS-CoV-2 invasion in different types. In this study, we recruited 214 confirmed COVID-19 patients in non-severe and 148 in severe type, from Wuhan, China. The patients comorbidity and symptoms (26 features), and blood biochemistry (26 features) upon admission were acquired as two input modalities. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that these features differed substantially between two clinical types. Machine learning random forest (RF) models using features in each modality were developed and validated to classify COVID-19 clinical types. Using comorbidity/symptom and biochemistry as input independently, RF models achieved >90% and >95% predictive accuracy, respectively. Input features importance based on Gini impurity were further evaluated and top five features from each modality were identified (age, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, gender, diabetes; D-Dimer, hsTNI, neutrophil, IL-6, and LDH). Combining top 10 multimodal features, RF model achieved >99% predictive accuracy. These findings shed light on how the human body reacts to SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a unity and provide insights on effectively evaluating COVID-19 patients severity and developing treatment plans accordingly. We suggest that symptoms and comorbidities can be used as an initial screening tool for triaging, while biochemistry and features combined are applied when accuracy is the priority. One Sentence SummaryWe trained and validated machine learning random forest (RF) models to predict COVID-19 severity based on 26 comorbidity/symptom features and 26 biochemistry features from a cohort of 214 non-severe and 148 severe type COVID-19 patients, identified top features from both feature modalities to differentiate clinical types, and achieved predictive accuracy of >90%, >95%, and >99% when comorbidity/symptom, biochemistry, and combined top features were used as input, respectively.

Toilets dominate environmental detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a hospital

BackgroundRespiratory and faecal aerosols play a suspected role in transmitting the SARS-CoV-2 virus. We performed extensive environmental sampling in a dedicated hospital building for Covid-19 patients in both toilet and non-toilet environments, and analysed the associated environmental factors. MethodsWe collected data of the Covid-19 patients. 107 surface samples, 46 air samples, two exhaled condensate samples, and two expired air samples were collected were collected within and beyond the four three-bed isolation rooms. We reviewed the environmental design of the building and the cleaning routines. We conducted field measurement of airflow and CO2 concentrations. FindingsThe 107 surface samples comprised 37 from toilets, 34 from other surfaces in isolation rooms (ventilated at 30-60 L/s), and 36 from other surfaces outside isolation rooms in the hospital. Four of these samples were positive, namely two ward door-handles, one bathroom toilet-seat cover and one bathroom door-handle; and three were weakly positive, namely one bathroom toilet seat, one bathroom washbasin tap lever and one bathroom ceiling-exhaust louvre. One of the 46 air samples was weakly positive, and this was a corridor air sample. The two exhaled condensate samples and the two expired air samples were negative. InterpretationThe faecal-derived aerosols in patients toilets contained most of the detected SARS-CoV-2 virus in the hospital, highlighting the importance of surface and hand hygiene for intervention. FundingThe work were partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no 41977370), the Research Grants Council of Hong Kongs (no 17202719) (no C7025-16G), and Scientific Research Fund of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Health (no S21017002).

Procedures of prevention and control of COVID-19 during X-ray imaging examinations in Jiangsu province / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

X-ray imaging is an important method for the diagnosis of corona virus disease(COVID-19), but there is a risk of nosocomial infection during X-ray imaging and diagnosis. By analyzing the process of X-ray imaging & diagnosis and the possible exposure factors in hospital, Jiangsu province took the lead in issuing the guideline for the nosocomial infection prevention and control of COVID-19 during X-ray imaging and diagnosis. This guideline clarifies the basic requirements for controlling infections during X-ray imaging and diagnosis, the specific measures for staff protection, disinfection of personnel and sites, and the protection and disinfection of subjects, which is instructive for on-site work. It is worth noting that while focusing on controlling infections, the principle of optimal protection for medical exposure cannot be ignored.

Procedures of health protection and control for COVID-19 during X-ray imaging examinations in Jiangsu province / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

X-ray imaging is an important method for the diagnosis of corona virus disease(COVID-19), but there is a risk of nosocomial infection during X-ray imaging diagnosis. By analyzing the process of X-ray imaging diagnosis and the possible infection factors in hospital, Jiangsu province took the lead in issuing the Guideline for the nosocomial infection prevention and control of X-ray imaging diagnosis of COVID-19. This guideline clarifies the basic requirements for controlling infections during X-ray imaging diagnosis, the specific measures for staff protection, disinfection of personnel and places, and the protection and disinfection of subjects, which is instructive for field work. It is worth noting that while focusing on controlling infections, the principle of optimal protection for medical exposure cannot be ignored.

Different characteristics of gut microbiota before and after management of women with gestational diabetes mellitus and the association with blood glucose level / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective To investigate the gut microbial profiles of gestational mellitus diabetes (GDM) patients before and after treatment,and the relationship between gut microbiota and blood glucose level measured in 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).Methods A prospective cohort-based nested case-control study was conducted in Peking University First Hospital from October 2016 to December 2017.Forty-five pregnancies at 24-28 gestational weeks with GDM (GDM group) and 45 healthy gravidas (control group)matched for age and pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) were involved.Stool samples of all participants were collected before (24-28 gestational weeks) and after (36-40 gestational weeks) treatment.The V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced on the Illumina Hiseq 2500 platform,and the results were analyzed.QIIME software was used for bioinformatics analysis.Student's t-test,Mann-Whitney U test,and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.Results (1) Before treatment,the Alpha diversity of the GDM group was significantly reduced compared with that of the control group (Chaol index:443.9±72.9 vs 474.0± 63.3,t=2.104,P＜0.05;Shannon index:5.6±0.5 vs 6.0±0.5,t=2.002,P＜0.05),and a significant difference in Beta diversity was also observed between the two groups (R2=0.04,P＜0.05).However,a significant difference was shown in neither Alpha nor Beta diversity between the two groups after the treatment.(2) Before treatment,the relative abundances of Blautia and Faecalibacterium of the GDM group were significantly higher than those of the control group [M (P25-P75):0.016 (0.009-0.022) vs 0.011 (0.007-0.016),U=782.000;0.114 (0.076-0.14 1) vs 0.091 (0.061-0.126),U=752.000;both P＜0.05],but the relative abundances ofAkkermansia,Odoribacter and Butyricimonas were significantly lower [0.001 (0.000-0.002) vs 0.001 (0.000-0.005),U=745.000;0.001 (0.000-0.004) vs 0.004 (0.001-0.006),U=766.500;0.001 (0.000-0.003) vs 0.003 (0.001-0.005),U=710.000;all P＜0.05].(3) A negative relationship was found between the fasting glucose level of OGTT and the relative abundances of Akkermansia,Odoribacter and Butyricimonas (r=-0.325,-0.273 and-0.284;all P＜0.05),and between the one-hour-OGTT glucose level and the relative abundances of Akkermansia and Butyricimonas (r=-0.285 and -0.265,both P＜0.05).The two-hour-OGTT glucose level was positively related to the relative abundance of Faecalibacterium (r=0.278,P＜0.05),but negatively related to the relative abundance ofAkkermansia (r=-0.245,P＜0.05).The area under the OGTT time-glucose curve was negatively related to the relative abundances of Akkermansia and Butyricimonas (r=-0.321 and-0.264,both P＜0.05).Conclusions There are significant differences in gut microbial composition and structure between GDM and healthy pregnant women,which are significantly associated with OGTT blood glucose level.Euglycemia achieved after GDM management could improve gut microbiota disorder.

Variations of gut microbiome composition under different preservation solutions and periods / 生物工程学报

Gut microbiota is closely related to human health, and its composition can give us health information. The large-scale population sampling is required on gut microbiome research; however, fresh feces samples are not easy to obtain, and rapid low-temperature freezing is difficult to achieve. With the development of technology, preservation solutions are widely used for sample collection, storage, and transport under normal temperature conditions. Preservation solutions can be used in large scale sample collection, wide geographical distribution, diverse on-site sampling conditions, heavy workload, and poor transportation conditions. In this study, five healthy volunteers were recruited. After collecting their fresh stool samples, effect of 5 different commercial preservation solutions was evaluated at room temperature. Samples in different preservation solutions after placing fresh stool samples at the 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, and 30 days were collected. All samples were tested by 16S rRNA V3-V4 high-throughput sequencing to analyze the influence of microbiome composition in different preservation solutions. The results show that different preservation solutions had distinct effects on the gut microbiome composition. Compared with the control, different preservation solutions had little effect on the amount of OUTs; preservation solutions A, B and C were closer to the control in the composition of the gut microbiota, but preservation solution D significantly changed the composition by increasing Actinobacteria and Firmicutes abundance. With the time, all solutions tended to reduce the diversity of the microbiota. Preservation solution E significantly reduced the diversity of the flora; on the 30th day, all five solutions changed the composition; the individual differences in the composition of the gut microbiome were the main factors affecting the similarity of each sample, and were derived from different stools donors. The same samples, no matter which storage solution and storage time, were directly closer to each other. Different storage solutions had different effects on the content of Gram-positive bacilli, Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative bacteria. Storage solutions C and E reduced the abundance of Bifidobacterium, whereas storage solution D increased; except that preservation solution E relatively reduced the abundance of Lactobacillus, but the preservation solution A, B, C, and D were all closer to the control. Except for the greater difference in preservation solution D, preservation solution C was the closest to the control group on Streptococcus; preservation solution D reduced Ruminococcaceae UCG 003 than the control group. However, other preservation solutions were not much different from the control group; different preservation solutions increased the abundance of Escherichia-Shigella than the control group, and preservation solutions A and B increased the abundance of Klebsiella, but preservation solution C, D, and E were closer to the control group. Overall, preservation solution C performed better in stabilizing the composition of the gut microbiota. This study provides reference for standardized microbiome projects. Subsequent research can choose a targeted preservation solution and preservation time based on this study.

Expert consensus on microbiome sequencing and analysis / 生物工程学报

In the past ten years, the research and application of microbiome has continued to increase. The microbiome has gradually become the research focus in the fields of life science, environmental science, and medicine. Meanwhile, many countries and organizations around the world are launching their own microbiome projects and conducting a multi-faceted layout, striving to gain a strategic position in this promising field. In addition, whether it is scientific research or industrial applications, there has been a climax of research and a wave of investment and financing, accordingly, products and services related to the microbiome are constantly emerging. However, due to the rapid development of microbiome sequencing and analysis related technologies and methods, the research and application from various countries have not yet unified on the standards of technology, programs, and data. Domestic industry participants also have insufficient understanding of the microbiome. New methods, technologies, and theories have not yet been fully accepted and used. In addition, some of the existing standards and guidelines are too general with poor practicality. This not only causes obstacles in the integration of scientific research data and waste of resources, but also gives related companies unfair competition opportunity. More importantly, China still lacks national standards related to the microbiome, and the national microbiome project is still in the process of preparation. In this context, the experts and practitioners of the microbiome worked together and developed the consensus of experts. It can not only guide domestic scientific research and industrial institutions to regulate the production, learning and research of the microbiome, the application can also provide reference technical basis for the relevant national functional departments, protect the scale and standardized corporate company's interests, strengthen industry self-discipline, avoid unregulated enterprises from disrupting the market, and ultimately promote the benign development of microbiome-related industries.

Preface for microbiome sequencing and analysis / 生物工程学报

Microbes are the most important commensal organisms in humans, animals and plants, and are the major habitants in soil, sediment, water, air and other habitats. The analysis of microbiome in these habitats has become a basic research technique. As a fast developing technology in recent years, microbiome sequencing and analysis have been widely used in human health, environmental pollution control, food industry, agriculture and animal husbandry and other fields. In order to sort out and summarize the current status, development and application prospects of microbiome sequencing and analysis technologies, this special issue has prepared a collection of 16 papers in this field, that comprise sample preservation and processing, single microbe genome sequencing and analysis, and microbiome feature analysis in special habitats, microbiome related databases and algorithms, and microbiome sequencing and analysis expert consensus. It also introduced in detail the development trend of the microbiome sequencing and analysis, in order to promote the rapid development of the microbiome sequencing and analysis industry and scientific research in China, and provide necessary reference for the healthy development of related industries.

Application of occupational health risk assessment model in a glyphosate manufacturing enterprise / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To assess the occupational hazard risks of glyphosate in a pesticide factory by MOM and ICMM models, and to explore the suitable method.@*Methods@#A large glyphosate enterprise was selected and an industrial hygiene survey was conducted. MOM and ICMM models were applied to evaluate the occupational hazard risks, which were compared with the site testing results and verified by the national occupational hazard classification for workplaces.@*Results@#There were poor occupational health protection facilities in the plant. The concentrations of glyphosate in drying and packaging posts were beyond occupational exposure limit. And the maximum individual detection values were 5.32 mg/m3 and 49.59 mg/m3, respectively. The results of MOM and ICMM risk rating method were consistent. The main posts were low and medium risk. The quantitative method of ICMM judged that nearly all posts were unacceptable risks. There was no difference in the risk ratio between MOM and risk rating method as well as work grading criteria (F=3.960, P>0.05) , while the result calculated by quantitative method in evaluating the production process of IDA technology was obviously higher than that of the former three methods (F=4.096, P<0.05) .@*Conclusion@#Both MOM and ICMM models can appropriately predict and assess the occupational health risk of glyphosate. Besides, the judgment results may be more precise than the classification of occupational hazards. Due to the relatively simple operation, easy evaluation parameters, ICMM model maybe more convenient for glyphosate production plants.

Study on the effect of occupational exposure to glyphosate on blood routine / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the effect of glyphosate on blood routine of occupational exposure population.@*Methods@#The workers who were occupationally exposed to glyphosate were selected as exposure group, and administrative staffs who were not exposed to glyphosate were selected as control group. Occupational health examination was conducted on all the subjects, and personal monitoring was applied to detect the concentration of glyphosate in the air of workplace. Time weighted average (TWA) concentration was calculated by the result of determination. Statistical methods were employed to compare the difference of blood routine results between the contact group and the control group, as well as between different posts.@*Results@#178 glyphosate workers were included in the contact group, and 203 non-contact persons were included in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in the equilibrium test between the two groups(P>0.05). The abnormal rate of blood routine in the exposure group and the control group were 70.8% and 69.0%, respectively, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the red blood cell count and platelet distribution width difference (P<0.05) were significant difference. There was no significant difference between different positions (P>0.05).@*Conclusion@#When TWA value is below 9.40 mg/m3, glyphosate has effect on the results of platelet distribution width and red blood cell count, but has no effect on the abnormal rate of blood routine.

Analysis of qualifications of medical and health institutions and certified doctors for providing occupational disease diagnosis in Jiangsu province / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the qualifications current situations of the medical and health institutions and certified doctors for providing occupational disease diagnosis in Jiangsu Province to provide reference for occupational disease prevention and control.@*Methods@#Quantitative and qualitative analysis was carried out on 28 institutionsfor occupational disease diagnosis and 1 278 certified doctors for occupational disease diagnosis in Jiangsu Province between 2012 and 2017, announcement from Jiangsu provincial commission of health and family planning commission, SPSS16.0 was used for statistical analysis.@*Results@#By the end of 2017, there had been 28 medical and health institutions which were qualified for providing occupational disease diagnosis in Jiangsu Province, including 16 centers for disease control and prevention, accounting for 57.14%, 6 general hospitals, accounting for 21.42%, and 6 institutes or centers for occupational disease prevention and control, accounting for 21.42%; a total of 313 occupational disease diagnosis were employed in these 28 diagnostic institutions, with 9.4 certified doctors on average in each institution; In addition, 17.86% of the institutions get all the qualifications for diagnosing 10 occupational diseases, and 10.71% of the institutions get the qualification for diagnosing one tothree occupational diseases. A total of 1278 physicians obtain the qualification of certified doctors for occupational disease diagnosis, the largest number was 221 in Wuxi city, at least 16 in Zhenjiang city, including 599 centers for disease control and prevention, accounting for 46.87%, 118 institutes or centers for occupational disease prevention and control, accounting for 9.23%, 304 general hospitals, accounting for 23.79%, 257 enterprise-owned hospitals, accounting for 20.11%; The highest number of occupational poisoning diagnoses was obtained, accounting for 796 (62.28%) .@*Conclusion@#A provincial occupational disease diagnosis network has been established in Jiangsu, but it is far from covering all districts and counties, and the imbalance in regional distribution and specialty programs still exists among the qualified medical and health institutions and certified doctors. It is essential to further strengthen the training of qualified doctors and the development of qualified medical and health institutions.

Changes in mass spectrometry of proteins in patients with 1-bromopropane poisoning after treatment / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the changes in mass spectrometry of proteins in patients with 1-bromopropane (1-BP) poisoning after treatment and their biological functions.@*Methods@#From May 2016 to December 2017, 3 male patients aged 31-47 years with 1-BP poisoning in Bao'an District of Shenzhen, China were enrolled in this study. The whole blood sample (2 ml) was collected before and after treatment. Label-free mass spectrometry-based proteomics was used for protein identification and quantification. The differentially expressed proteins after treatment were analyzed. Bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the functions of the identified proteins and the biological processes they were involved in.@*Results@#Proteomic analysis showed that there were 47 proteins that were differentially expressed more than 2-fold (P<0.05) after treatment in the patients with 1-BP poisoning; of them, 27 were up-regulated and 20 were down-regulated in the serum of treated patients. The identified proteins were mainly involved in proteolysis, protein modification, immune response, complement activation, lipoprotein metabolism, signal transduction, and coagulation.@*Conclusion@#The differentially expressed proteins after treatment can help with the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis monitoring of 1-BP poisoning and provide potential therapeutic and prognostic markers for 1-BP poisoning treatment.

Analysis of electrocardiogram and blood related indicators in workers occupationally exposed to mercury in Jiangsu Province from 2016 to 2018 / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective@#To investigate the health status of occupational mercury workers and reveal the effects of mercury exposure on the cardiovascular system.@*Methods@#In June 2019, a total of 2651 mercury workers participated in the occupational health examination between 2016-2018 from a thermometer manufacturing plant and a fluorescent lamp manufacturing plant were included in this study. Then, they were divided into a high-level mercury exposure group (425 workers whose urine mercury concentration >35 μg/g creatinine) and a low-mercury mercury exposure group (2226 workers whose urinary mercury concentration <35 μg/g creatinine) . Mercury concentration in the workplace was also detected. Finally, the results of electrocardiogram (ECG) , blood routine, blood biochemistry and other physical examinations were analyzed. The measurement data of age and exposure years were analyzed by test. Urinary mercury and blood parameters were analyzed by Mann-Whitney nonparametric test. Chi-square test was used for the analyses of gender, ECG abnormality rate and other categorical data.@*Results@#The 8-hour weighted average allowable concentration (CTWA) of mercury in the workplace of high-exposure group was 0.002 2-0.152 mg/m3. The abnormal rate of ECG in the high-exposed group (29.6%) was higher than that in the low-exposure group (10.1%) in 2018 (P<0.01) . Compared with the low-exposure group, the WBC of the high-exposure group from 2016 to 2018 was increased, with statistically significance (P<0.05) ; the RBC of the high-exposure group in 2016 and 2017 was decreased, with statistically significance (P<0.01) ; the total bilirubin concentration in the high-exposure group was decreased from 2016 to 2018, with statistically significance (P<0.05) .@*Conclusion@#Long-term exposure to high concentration of mercury in the workplace may influence cardiovascular system. Therefore, engineering protection and individual protection should be implemented well.

Differences of gut microbiota between type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic population / 中华临床营养杂志

Objective To explore the difference of gut microbiota between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-diabetic population in Beijing. Methods 83 T2DM patients were selected as T2DM group and 64 non-diabetic subjects were selected as control group. Fecal samples were collected from all the subjects. The intestinal flora was detected by metagenome sequencing technology. Results 11 bacterialphyla were detec-ted in the two groups, there were significant differences in species diversity of Actinobacteria (P=0. 013), Firmicutes (P=0. 005), Fusobacteria (P=0. 001), Proteobacteria (P<0. 001) between the two groups. Actinobacteria, Fusobacteria and Proteobacteria were all enriched in the T2DM group, Firmicutes were enriched in the control group. 152 bacterial genera were detected in the two groups with 31 bacterial genera ofsignificant differences. In T2DM group, the levels of Roseburia, Eubacterium and Faecalibacterium decreased, while the levels of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Escherichia increased. Conclusion There are significant differ-ences in the composition of gut microbiota between T2DM patients and non-diabetic population. Regulation of gut microbiota in T2DM patients may be helpful to improve the condition of T2DM.

Inulin Can Alleviate Metabolism Disorders in ob/ob Mice by Partially Restoring Leptin-related Pathways Mediated by Gut Microbiota / 基因组蛋白质组与生物信息学报·英文版

Inulin has been used as a prebiotic to alleviate glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in mice and humans by modulating the gut microbiota. However, the mechanism underlying the alleviation of metabolic disorders by inulin through interactions between the gut microbiota and host cells is unclear. We use ob/ob mice as a model to study the effect of inulin on the cecal microbiota by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and its interaction with host cells by transcriptomics. The inulin-supplemented diet improved glucose and lipid metabolism disorder parameters in ob/ob mice, alleviating fat accumulation and glucose intolerance. The α diversity of gut microbial community of ob/ob mice was reduced after inulin treatment, while the β diversity tended to return to the level of wild type mice. Interestingly, Prevotellaceae UCG 001 (family Prevotellaceae) was obviously enriched after inulin treatment. A comparative analysis of the gene expression profile showed that the cecal transcriptome was changed in leptin gene deficiency mice, whereas the inulin-supplemented diet partially reversed the changes in leptin gene-related signaling pathways, especially AMPK signaling pathway, where the levels of gene expression became comparable to those in wild type mice. Further analysis indicated that Prevotellaceae UCG 001 was positively correlated with the AMPK signaling pathway, which was negatively correlated with markers of glycolipid metabolism disorders. Our results suggest that the inulin-supplemented diet alleviates glucose and lipid metabolism disorders by partially restoring leptin related pathways mediated by gut microbiota.

Detecting resorcinol in workplace air by gas chromatography with capillary column / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for detecting resorcinol in workplace air by gas chromatography with capillary column. METHODS: The resorcinol in workplace air was collected into muiti-hole absorbing tubes with distilled water and detected by capillary chromatographic column by direct injection. RESULTS: The good linear range of resorcinol was 1.7-200.0 mg/L. The correlation coefficient was 0.999 9. The detection limit was 0.5 mg/L and the lower limit of quantitation was 1.7 mg/L. The minimum detection concentration was 0.7 mg/m~3(sample volume was 7.5 L). The standard recovery rate was 98.5%-102.6%. The within-run relative standard deviation(RSD) was 0.7%-3.6% and the between-run RSD was 1.8%-5.7%. CONCLUSION: This method has high sensitivity, accuracy and can effectively remove interference, which is suitable for determination of resorcinol in workplace air.

PM2.5 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm formation in angiotensin â ¡-infused apoe-/- mice.

BACKGROUND: Particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) has proven to be associated with morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. However, whether PM2.5 could promote the formation of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is unclear. Present study aimed to explore the relationship between PM2.5 exposure and AAA development. METHODS: Ang Ⅱ-infused apoe-/- mice were treated with PM2.5 or saline by intranasal instillation. Four weeks later, histological and immunohistological analyses were used to evaluate the effect of PM2.5 on AAA formation. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were also employed to further analyze the adverse effect of PM2.5 in vitro. RESULTS: We found that PM2.5 could significantly increase the AAA incidence, the maximal abdominal aortic diameter and could promote the degradation of elastin. Additionally, the expression of senescence markers, P21 and P16 were also enhanced after PM2.5 exposure. We also found that PM2.5 significantly increased the AAA related pathological changes, MMP2 and MCP-1 expression in HASMCs. Meanwhile, PM2.5 could increase the expression of senescence markers P21, P16 and SA-ß-gal activity, also the reactive oxygen species levels in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: PM2.5 promoted the formation of AAA in an Ang Ⅱ-induced AAA model. The underlying mechanism might be cellular senescence after PM2.5 exposure.