Regionalization and Shaping Factors for Microbiomes and Core Resistomes in Atmospheric Particulate Matters.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) seriously threatens public health by reducing antibiotic effectiveness in curing bacterial infections. Atmospheric particulate matter (APM) is a common environmental hazard that affects human health by causing various diseases and disseminating bacterial pathogenesis, of which pathogenic bacteria and AMR are essential parts. The properties of APM microbiomes and resistomes, along with their shaping factors and mutual relationships, need further examination. To address this, we analyzed APMs collected from 13 cities within four clusters (North and South China, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet). Significant regionalization was found for both the microbiomes (P < 0.001) and core resistomes (P < 0.001) for APMs, with statistical analyses showing significant differences in different regions. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and accompanying ANOSIM analyses showed that microbiomes and core resistomes followed the same regional subclustering hierarchy patterns. This finding, together with response analysis of APM microbiomes and core resistomes to environmental parameters that showed similar response patterns, as well as Procrustes analysis (M2 = 0.963, P < 0.05) between APM microbiomes and core resistomes, strongly suggested that APM microbiomes and core resistomes are correlated. Co-occurrence network analysis further revealed key taxa and antimicrobial resistance determinants in the interactions between APM microbiomes and core resistomes. Thus, it was concluded that APM microbiome and resistome compositions were highly regional, that environmental pollutants and APM levels impacted APM microbiomes and resistomes, and that microbiomes and resistomes in APMs are significantly correlated (P < 0.05). IMPORTANCE Bacteria associated with atmospheric particulate matter (APMs) can transmit over long distances. A large portion of these bacteria can potentially threaten human health. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of pathogenic bacteria carried by APMs prevents curing from infections. Therefore, both the pathogenic bacteria in APMs and their AMR are receiving more attention. The literature suggests a knowledge gap that exists for bacterial AMR and bacterial pathogenesis in APMs, including their distribution patterns, mutual relationships, and factors influencing their compositions. This work aimed to bridge this knowledge gap by studying APM samples collected from 13 cities. The results demonstrated that both bacteria and antibiotic resistance determinants were highly regional and that their composition patterns were significantly correlated, and influenced by the same group of environmental factors. This study thus determined the relationship between the two important aspects of bacterial pathogenesis in APMs and represents significant progress in understanding bacterial pathogenesis in APMs.

Reference Values and Related Factors for Peak Expiratory Flow in Middle-Aged and Elderly Chinese.

Background: Peak expiratory flow (PEF), as an essential index used for screening and monitoring asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory mortality especially in the elderly, is recommended for low-resource settings in low- and middle-income countries. However, few studies have focused on the reference of PEF in China, especially in middle-aged and elderly people. Thus, this study aimed to determine age- and sex-specific reference values of PEF in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population. Methods: There were 8,914 participants who were included for risk factor analysis and 5,498 participants included for reference value analysis. The PEF was measured using a peak flow meter in liters per minute. The distributions of standardized PEF terciles stratified by sex and age were reported. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the associations between risk factors and PEF. Results: The PEF was higher in men than women across all age subgroups. The value of PEF decreased with age in both men and women. Height, weight, handgrip strength, and residence in rural were positively associated with PEF. Age and smoking status were negatively associated with PEF significantly in both men and women (P < 0.05). The mean PEF values were 367.10 and 253.00 L/min for men and women, respectively. Meanwhile, the prevalence of low PEF was 3.94 and 3.32% for men and women, respectively. Conclusions: Age- and sex-specific centiles of standardized PEF for the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population were estimated. The reference values for low PEF could provide reference standards for epidemiological studies and clinical practices in the future. Interventions to improve lung functions or to prevent respiratory disease should be paid more attention to factors associated with PEF.

Association of handgrip strength with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in US adults: the national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVE: Aimed to find the cut-off point of handgrip strength and it's association with MetS. RESULTS: The relative handgrip strength was negatively associated with the prevalence of MetS. Of note, the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) across tertiles of relative handgrip strength were 1 (reference), 0.45 (0.33, 0.62), and 0.13 (0.08, 0.20) in male participants after adjusting for demographic factors, calorie intake, and physical activity. Similar results were observed in female participants. The cutoff values of relative handgrip strength for male and female participants were 0.52 and 0.40, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study suggest that a strong relationship exists between handgrip strength and prevalence of MetS in US adults, regardless of sex. METHODS: A total of 5 056 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analysed in this study. Handgrip strength was measured by using a handgrip dynamometer. MetS was defined in accordance with the criteria of the scientific statement of the American Heart Association in 2009. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to explore the association between handgrip strength and MetS.

[Paternal exposure to occupational electromagnetic radiation and sex ratio of the offspring: a meta-analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between paternal exposure to occupational electromagnetic radiation and the sex ratio of the offspring. METHODS: We searched various databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, OVID, Bioscience Information Service (BIOSIS), China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals and Wanfang Database, for the literature relevant to the association of paternal exposure to occupational electromagnetic radiation with the sex ratio of the offspring. We conducted a meta-analysis on their correlation using Stata 11.0. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the sex ratio between the offspring with paternal exposure to occupational electromagnetic radiation and those without (pooled OR = 1.00 [95% CI: 0.95 -1.05], P = 0.875). Subgroup analysis of both case-control and cohort studies revealed no significant difference (pooled OR = 1.03 [95% CI: 0.99 -1.08], P = 0.104 and pooled OR = 0.98 [95% CI: 0.99 -1.08], P = 0.186, respectively). CONCLUSION: Paternal exposure to occupational electromagnetic radiation is not correlated with the sex ratio of the offspring.

Is sunlight exposure a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologists have recently investigated sunlight exposure as a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but there remains an ongoing dispute over this association due to insufficient evidence and unreliable data. OBJECTIVES: To analyse comprehensively the epidemiological literature concerning the association between AMD and sunlight exposure. METHODS: We systematically reviewed the epidemiological literature concerning the association between AMD and sunlight exposure. An electronic search was performed of PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI, which was supplemented by hand searching. The selection of studies, data abstraction and quality assessment were performed independently by three reviewers. After these steps, we performed a random-effects meta-analysis, followed by subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis, including a random-effects meta-regression for study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were identified. Twelve studies identified an increasing risk of AMD with greater sunlight exposure, six of which reported significant risks. The pooled OR was 1.379 (95% CI 1.091 to 1.745). The subgroup of non-population-based studies revealed a significant risk (OR 2.018, 1.248 to 3.265, p=0.004). We identified the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (p=0.048), but not the latitude (p=0.21), as a factor that led to heterogeneity according to the meta-regression. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological literature published to date indicates that individuals with more sunlight exposure are at a significantly increased risk of AMD. The OR significantly decreased with increasing GDP per capita.