Association between inflammation, lipopolysaccharide binding protein, and gut microbiota composition in a New Hampshire Bhutanese refugee population with a high burden of type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: South Asian refugees experience a high risk of obesity and diabetes yet are often underrepresented in studies on chronic diseases and their risk factors. The gut microbiota and gut permeability, as assessed through circulating lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), may underlie the link between chronic inflammation and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The composition of the gut microbiota varies according to multiple factors including demographics, migration, and dietary patterns, particularly fiber intake. However, there is no evidence on the composition of the gut microbiota and its relationship with metabolic health in refugee populations, including those migrating to the United States from Bhutan. The objective of this study was to examine glycemic status in relation to LBP, systemic inflammation fiber intake, and gut microbiota composition in Bhutanese refugee adults residing in New Hampshire (n = 50). Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of Bhutanese refugee adults (N = 50) in NH. Established bioinformatics pipelines for metagenomic analysis were used to determine relative genus abundance, species richness, and alpha diversity measures from shallow shotgun sequences. The relationships between inflammatory markers, gut microbiota composition, dietary fiber, and glycemic status were analyzed. Results: We identified a substantial chronic disease burden in this study population, and observed a correlation between glycemic status, LBP, and inflammation, and a correlation between glycemic status and gut microbiome alpha diversity. Further, we identified a significant correlation between proinflammatory taxa and inflammatory cytokines. SCFA-producing taxa were found to be inversely correlated with age. Conclusion: To date, this is the most comprehensive examination of metabolic health and the gut microbiome in a Bhutanese refugee population in NH. The findings highlight areas for future investigations of inflammation and glycemic impairment, in addition to informing potential interventions targeting this vulnerable population.

Evaluation of novel ECG signal processing on quantification of transient ischemia and baseline wander suppression.

The performance assessment of a novel ECG signal processing technology in Fidelity 100 (test) and four modern ECG systems (controls) was conducted. A quantitative evaluation for one control and a test system was done by simultaneous recordings on 54 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and on a biological reference signal from an ECG simulator. A qualitative performance of baseline wander suppression was done on all five systems. The results showed that the Fidelity 100 system provided excellent detection and quantification of transient ischemia and baseline wander suppression.