Social determinants of health analysis makes causal inference and requires analytic epidemiology methods.

The growing emphasis on reducing health disparities and addressing social determinants of health (SDH) has prompted many national and local health agencies to report population health data by SDH measures. However, many agencies rely on descriptive epidemiology methods for such reports and are susceptible to biased findings due to inadequate confounding control. In this brief analytic essay, using the data presented in an HIV Surveillance Report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we demonstrated an example of how reporting health outcomes by SDH with descriptive methods could bias the results and conclusions. SDH are causes of health disparities and SDH analysis requires analytic epidemiology methods to ensure valid research results and effective interventions.

Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of blood lipidome on gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have revealed associations between maternal lipid metabolites and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, whether these associations are causal remain uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the causal relationship between lipid metabolites and GDM. METHODS: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed based on summary statistics. Sensitivity analyses, validation analyses and reverse MR analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the MR results. Additionally, a phenome-wide MR (Phe-MR) analysis was performed to evaluate potential side effects of the targeted lipid metabolites. RESULTS: A total of 295 lipid metabolites were included in this study, 29 of them had three or more instrumental variables (IVs) suitable for sensitivity analyses. The ratio of triglycerides to phosphoglycerides (TG_by_PG) was identified as a potential causal biomarker for GDM (inverse variance weighted (IVW) estimate: odds ratio (OR) = 2.147, 95% confidential interval (95% CI) 1.415-3.257, P = 3.26e-4), which was confirmed by validation and reverse MR results. Two other lipid metabolites, palmitoyl sphingomyelin (d18:1/16:0) (PSM(d18:1/16:0)) (IVW estimate: OR = 0.747, 95% CI 0.583-0.956, P = 0.021) and triglycerides in very small very low-density lipoprotein (XS_VLDL_TG) (IVW estimate: OR = 2.948, 95% CI 1.197-5.215, P = 0.015), were identified as suggestive potential biomarkers for GDM using a conventional cut-off P-value of 0.05. Phe-MR results indicated that lowering TG_by_PG had detrimental effects on two diseases but advantageous effects on the other 13 diseases. CONCLUSION: Genetically predicted elevated TG_by_PG are causally associated with an increased risk of GDM. Side-effect profiles indicate that TG_by_PG might be a target for GDM prevention, though caution is advised due to potential adverse effects on other conditions.

Epidemiological and Molecular Characteristics of Hypermucoviscous and Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates in Community Patients in Shanghai, China.

Background: The occurrence and dissemination of hypermucoviscous and hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hm-hvKp) isolates in clinical settings are a critical public health problem in the world. However, the data on these isolates in community populations are limited. This study aims to understand the prevalence and molecular characteristics of hm-hvKp isolates in community patients in Shanghai, China. Methods: In 2018, an active surveillance system focused on hm-hvKp in community diarrhoeal cases was implemented in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China, involving 12 sentinel hospitals. The antimicrobial susceptibility of hm-hvKp isolates from fecal samples was tested, and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed to predict the serotypes and sequence types and to identify antimicrobial resistance determinants, virulence determinants, and phylogenetic clusters. Results: The overall prevalence of hm K. pneumoniae isolates was 2.48% (31/1252), with the proportions of 1.76% (22/1252) for hm-hvKp and 0.72% (9/1252) for hm not hv K. pneumoniae. The prevalence of hm-hvKp isolates among different age groups and different months was statistically significant. All the 22 hm-hvKp isolates were susceptible to 20 antimicrobial agents and only carried bla SHV gene, and KL1 and KL2 accounted for eight (36.36%) cases and seven (31.82%) cases, respectively. The eight ST23/KL1 isolates belonged to the predominant CG23-I clade, which typically possessed the virulence determinants profile of rmpA/rmpA2-iro-iuc-ybt-irp-clb. The five ST86/KL2 isolates were assigned to the global clusters ST86/KL2-1 (n=2), ST86/KL2-2 (n=2), ST86/KL2-3 (n=1), all lack of the clb gene. Shanghai ST23/KL1 and ST86/KL2 isolates were closely related to the global isolates from liver abscesses, blood, and urine. Conclusion: Hm-hvKp is carried by the community population of Shanghai, with ST23/KL1 and ST86/KL2 isolates predominant. Hm-hvKp isolates of different continents, different sources, and different virulence levels were closely related. Ongoing surveillance of hm-hvKp isolates in the community population is warranted.

Association Between Nasal Colonization of Staphylococcus aureus and Eczema of Multiple Body Sites.

PURPOSE: Staphylococcus aureus is the critical pathogenic bacterium of eczema. The relationship between nasal colonization by S. aureus and eczema has not been well studied. We aimed to evaluate the associations between nasal colonization by S. aureus and eczema of multiple body sites, including persistent and ever-reported eczema. We further examined the associations between eczema and different subtypes of S. aureus, that is, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). METHODS: The real-world data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used. The associations were calculated using survey-weighted multinomial logistic regression models and further calculated in subgroups stratified by demographic factors. RESULTS: In total, 2,941 adults were included. The prevalence rate of S. aureus nasal carriage was significantly higher in adults with persistent hand eczema (51.0%) than in those with ever-reported hand eczema (23.3%) and never eczema (26.9%). S. aureus nasal colonization was associated with an approximately two-fold increased risk of persistent hand eczema (odds ratios ranges in different models: 2.86-3.06) without significant heterogeneity in the association by demographic factors. No significant associations between S. aureus nasal colonization and persistent eczema of other body sites or ever-reported eczema of multiple body sites (including hands) were observed. Furthermore, similar significant association between nasal colonization of MSSA and persistent hand eczema was seen; the association was much stronger (odds ratios ranges in different models: 4.64-6.54) for MRSA, although with borderline significant. CONCLUSIONS: Nasal colonization of S. aureus was associated with increased risk of persistent hand eczema. Our findings imply that preventive measures targeting S. aureus for the anterior nares should be considered in preventing and treating eczema.

Novel genetic variants linked to prelabor rupture of membranes among Chinese pregnant women.

INTRODUCTION: The etiology of prelabor rupture of membranes (PROM), either preterm or term PROM (PPROM or TPROM), remains largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the association between maternal genetic variants (GVs) and PROM and further establish a GV-based prediction model for PROM. METHODS: In this case-cohort study (n = 1166), Chinese pregnant women with PPROM (n = 51), TPROM (n = 283) and controls (n = 832) were enrolled. A weighted Cox model was applied to identify the GVs (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs], insertions/deletions, and copy number variants) associated with either PPROM or TPROM. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was to explore the mechanisms. The suggestively significant GVs were applied to establish a random forest (RF) model. RESULTS: PTPRT variants (rs117950601, P = 4.37 × 10-9; rs147178603, P = 8.98 × 10-9) and SNRNP40 variant (rs117573344, P = 2.13 × 10-8) were associated with PPROM. STXBP5L variant (rs10511405, P = 4.66 × 10-8) was associated with TPROM. GSEA results showed that genes associated with PPROM were enriched in cell adhesion, and TPROM in ascorbate and glucuronidation metabolism. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of SNP-based RF model for PPROM was 0.961, with a sensitivity of 100.0% and specificity of 83.3%. DISCUSSION: Maternal GVs in PTPRT and SNRNP40 were associated with PPROM, and GV in STXBP5L was associated with TPROM. Cell adhesion participated in PPROM, while ascorbate and glucuronidation metabolism contributed in TPROM. The PPROM might be well predicted using the SNP-based RF model.

Integrated ATAC-Seq and RNA-Seq Data Analysis to Reveal OsbZIP14 Function in Rice in Response to Heat Stress.

Transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in mediating the plant response to various abiotic stresses, particularly heat stress. Plants respond to elevated temperatures by modulating the expression of genes involved in diverse metabolic pathways, a regulatory process primarily governed by multiple TFs in a networked configuration. Many TFs, such as WRKY, MYB, NAC, bZIP, zinc finger protein, AP2/ERF, DREB, ERF, bHLH, and brassinosteroids, are associated with heat shock factor (Hsf) families, and are involved in heat stress tolerance. These TFs hold the potential to control multiple genes, which makes them ideal targets for enhancing the heat stress tolerance of crop plants. Despite their immense importance, only a small number of heat-stress-responsive TFs have been identified in rice. The molecular mechanisms underpinning the role of TFs in rice adaptation to heat stress still need to be researched. This study identified three TF genes, including OsbZIP14, OsMYB2, and OsHSF7, by integrating transcriptomic and epigenetic sequencing data analysis of rice in response to heat stress. Through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we demonstrated that OsbZIP14, one of the key heat-responsive TF genes, contained a basic-leucine zipper domain and primarily functioned as a nuclear TF with transcriptional activation capability. By knocking out the OsbZIP14 gene in the rice cultivar Zhonghua 11, we observed that the knockout mutant OsbZIP14 exhibited dwarfism with reduced tiller during the grain-filling stage. Under high-temperature treatment, it was also demonstrated that in the OsbZIP14 mutant, the expression of the OsbZIP58 gene, a key regulator of rice seed storage protein (SSP) accumulation, was upregulated. Furthermore, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiments uncovered a direct interaction between OsbZIP14 and OsbZIP58. Our results suggested that OsbZIP14 acts as a key TF gene through the concerted action of OsbZIP58 and OsbZIP14 during rice filling under heat stress. These findings provide good candidate genes for genetic improvement of rice but also offer valuable scientific insights into the mechanism of heat tolerance stress in rice.

Preterm Prelabor Rupture of Membranes Linked to Vaginal Bacteriome of Pregnant Females in the Early Second Trimester: a Case-Cohort Design.

Preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) is a major cause of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), one of the greatest challenges facing obstetrics with complicated pathogenesis. This case-cohort study investigated the association between vaginal bacteriome of singleton pregnant females in the early second trimester and PPROM. The study included 35,255 and 180 pregnant females with PPROM as cases and term-birth without prelabor rupture of membranes (TWPROM) and term prelabor rupture of membranes (TPROM) pregnant females as controls, respectively. Using 16S rRNA sequencing, the vaginal microbiome traits were analyzed. Females with PPROM had higher alpha and beta diversity (P < 0.05) than TWPROM and TPROM. The presence of L. mulieris was associated with a decreased risk of PPROM (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.17-0.72) compared with TWPROM. Meanwhile, the presence of Megasphaera genus (aOR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.09-4.70), Faecalibacterium genus (aOR = 3.29; 95% CI: 1.52-7.13), Bifidobacterium genus (aOR = 3.26; 95% CI: 1.47-7.24), Xanthomonadales genus (aOR = 2.76; 95% CI: 1.27-6.01), Gammaproteobacteria class (aOR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.09-5.14), and Alphaproteobacteria class (aOR = 2.45; 95% CI: 1.14-5.26) was associated with an increased risk of PPROM compared with TWPROM. Our results indicated that the risk of PPROM can decrease with vaginal L. mulieris but increase with high alpha or beta diversity, and several vaginal bacteria in pregnant females may be involved in the occurrence of PPROM.

Lipolysis and gestational diabetes mellitus onset: a case-cohort genome-wide association study in Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Genetic knowledge of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese women is quite limited. This study aimed to identify the risk factors and mechanism of GDM at the genetic level in a Chinese population. METHODS: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array genotyping (ASA-CHIA Bead chip, Illumina) and a case-cohort study design. Variants including SNPs, copy number variants (CNVs), and insertions-deletions (InDels) were called from genotyping data. A total of 2232 pregnant women were enrolled in their first/second trimester between February 2018 and December 2020 from Anqing Municipal Hospital in Anhui Province, China. The GWAS included 193 GDM patients and 819 subjects without a diabetes diagnosis, and risk ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by a regression-based method conditional on the population structure. The calling and quality control of genotyping data were performed following published guidelines. CNVs were merged into CNV regions (CNVR) to simplify analyses. To interpret the GWAS results, gene mapping and overexpression analyses (ORAs) were further performed to prioritize the candidate genes and related biological mechanisms. RESULTS: We identified 14 CNVRs (false discovery rate corrected P values < 0.05) and two suggestively significant SNPs (P value < 0.00001) associated with GDM, and a total of 19 candidate genes were mapped. Ten genes were significantly enriched in gene sets related to lipase (triglyceride lipase and lipoprotein lipase) activity (LIPF, LIPK, LIPN, and LIPJ genes), oxidoreductase activity (TPH1 and TPH2 genes), and cellular components beta-catenin destruction complex (APC and GSK3B genes), Wnt signalosome (APC and GSK3B genes), and lateral element in the Gene Ontology resource (BRCA1 and SYCP2 genes) by two ORA methods (adjusted P values < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Genes related to lipolysis, redox reaction, and proliferation of islet ß-cells are associated with GDM in Chinese women. Energy metabolism, particularly lipolysis, may play an important role in GDM aetiology and pathology, which needs further molecular studies to verify.

Differential Effect of Vaginal Microbiota on Spontaneous Preterm Birth among Chinese Pregnant Women.

Objective: The effect of vaginal microbiota on spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) has not been fully addressed, and few studies have explored the associations between vaginal taxa and sPTB in the gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and non-GDM groups, respectively. Study Design. To minimize external interference, a total of 41 pregnant women with sPTB and 308 controls (pregnant women without sPTB) from same regain were enrolled in this case-cohort study. Controls were randomly selected at baseline. With the exception of GDM, other characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Vaginal swabs were collected at early second trimester. Using 16S amplicon sequencing, the main bioinformatics analysis was performed on the platform of QIIME 2. Vaginal microbiota traits of the sPTB group were compared with controls. Finally, the effects of binary taxa on sPTB in the GDM group and the non-GDM group were analyzed, respectively. Results: The proportion of GDM in the sPTB (19.51%) was higher than the controls (7.47%, P = 0.018). The vaginal microbiota of pregnant women with sPTB exhibited higher alpha diversity metrics (observed features, P = 0.001; Faith's phylogenetic diversity, P = 0.013) and different beta diversity metrics (unweighted UniFrac, P = 0.006; Jaccard's distance, P = 0.004), compared with controls. The presence of Lactobacillus paragasseri/gasseri (aOR: 3.12, 95% CI: 1.24-7.84), Streptococcus (aOR: 3.58, 95% CI: 1.68-7.65), or Proteobacteria (aOR: 3.39, 95% CI: 1.55-7.39) was associated with an increased risk of sPTB in the non-GDM group (P < 0.05). However, the relative abundance of novel L. mulieris (a new species of the L. delbrueckii group) was associated with a decreased risk of sPTB (false discovery rate, 0.10) in all pregnant women. Conclusion: GDM may modify the association of vaginal taxa with sPTB, suggesting that maternal GDM should be considered when using vaginal taxa to identify pregnant women at high risk of sPTB.

Corrigendum: Accelerating Decreases in the Incidences of Hepatocellular Carcinoma at a Younger Age in Shanghai Are Associated With Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.855945.].

Identification of Heat-Tolerant Genes in Non-Reference Sequences in Rice by Integrating Pan-Genome, Transcriptomics, and QTLs.

The availability of large-scale genomic data resources makes it very convenient to mine and analyze genes that are related to important agricultural traits in rice. Pan-genomes have been constructed to provide insight into the genome diversity and functionality of different plants, which can be used in genome-assisted crop improvement. Thus, a pan-genome comprising all genetic elements is crucial for comprehensive variation study among the heat-resistant and -susceptible rice varieties. In this study, a rice pan-genome was firstly constructed by using 45 heat-tolerant and 15 heat-sensitive rice varieties. A total of 38,998 pan-genome genes were identified, including 37,859 genes in the reference and 1141 in the non-reference contigs. Genomic variation analysis demonstrated that a total of 76,435 SNPs were detected and identified as the heat-tolerance-related SNPs, which were specifically present in the highly heat-resistant rice cultivars and located in the genic regions or within 2 kbp upstream and downstream of the genes. Meanwhile, 3214 upregulated and 2212 downregulated genes with heat stress tolerance-related SNPs were detected in one or multiple RNA-seq datasets of rice under heat stress, among which 24 were located in the non-reference contigs of the rice pan-genome. We then mapped the DEGs with heat stress tolerance-related SNPs to the heat stress-resistant QTL regions. A total of 1677 DEGs, including 990 upregulated and 687 downregulated genes, were mapped to the 46 heat stress-resistant QTL regions, in which 2 upregulated genes with heat stress tolerance-related SNPs were identified in the non-reference sequences. This pan-genome resource is an important step towards the effective and efficient genetic improvement of heat stress resistance in rice to help meet the rapidly growing needs for improved rice productivity under different environmental stresses. These findings provide further insight into the functional validation of a number of non-reference genes and, especially, the two genes identified in the heat stress-resistant QTLs in rice.

Design of Distributed Drive Control Strategy for Wheel Side Rear Drive Electric Bus Based on Neural Network Algorithm.

The electric bus driven by the wheel-side motor has a natural advantage for the driving stability control of the vehicle because the torque of each driving wheel is independently controllable. Based on the advantages of the artificial neural network control algorithm, this paper designs a direct yaw torque control strategy based on neural network PID control, and combines the steering characteristics of the vehicle to distribute the driving torque. The co-simulation results of Matlab/Simulink and TruckSim show that the designed control strategy can effectively reduce the vehicle's center of mass slip angle and lateral acceleration under medium and high speed conditions, and ensure the stable driving of the bus.

Accelerating Decreases in the Incidences of Hepatocellular Carcinoma at a Younger Age in Shanghai Are Associated With Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination.

Background: Routine vaccination of infants for protecting against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and its serious consequences, including hepatocellular cancer (HCC), has been carried out in Shanghai, China, since 1986. We therefore have examined the trend of HBV infection and HCC incidences before and after HBV vaccination over decades to assess the potential influences of the Shanghai HBV vaccination program. Methods: Data on incidences of HBV infection and HCC were collected from the Shanghai Cancer Registry and the Shanghai HBV vaccination follow-up study. Joint-point regression and the Bayesian age-period-cohort statistical analysis methods were used. Results: The incidences of HBV infection dramatically declined from 23.09 and 1.13 per 100,000 for males and females in 2000 to 3.24 (-85.97%) and 0.22 (-80.53%) per 100,000 in 2014, respectively. Sero-epidemiological data from the sampling surveys during 20 years of follow-up showed that less than 1% of people undergoing HBV vaccination have a positive serum HBsAg. Consistently, the annual adjusted standardization rates (ASR) of HCC steadily fell from 33.38 and 11.65 per 100,000 for males and females in 1973 to 17.34 (-49.2%) and 5.60 (-51.9%) per 100,000 in 2014, respectively. The annual percentage change in overall HCC incidences is about -2%. HCC incidences in males at younger age groups (age <50 years old), particularly in those with age <34 groups, showed an accelerating decrease over time, whereas HCC incidences significantly declined in the female population across all age groups except for those under 19 years of age. The results supported that the universal HBV vaccination in newborns is easy to implement with high coverages and is effective for preventing both HBV infection and HCC in populations.

Improving the repair mechanism and miRNA expression profile of tibial defect in rats based on silent information regulator 7 protein analysis of mesenchymal stem cells.

The aim of this study was to verify the role of Silent Information Regulator 7 (SIRT7) in improving the repair mechanism of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and the expression of microribonucleic acid (miRNA). Human BMMSCs were extracted from patients with femoral fractures, and the proliferation activity of human BMMSCs before and after knockout SIRT7 and the expression levels of bone-related genes and proteins were compared. Thirty-two 8-week-old male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a blank group, a chitosan scaffold group, a control group, and a silence information regulator knockout group 7 (n = 8). In addition to the blank group, the chitosan scaffold, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) transfected stem cell composite chitosan scaffold, and the SIRT7 knockout stem cell composite chitosan scaffold were implanted in the other three groups, respectively. The X-rays and small animal in vivo three-dimensional tomography (Micro-CT) were adopted to quantitatively analyze the volume fraction, the number of trabeculae, and the connection density. Compared with the other three groups, the bone defect was formed more in the medullary mesenchymal stem cell knockout group, and the bone volume fraction, number of trabeculae and connection density were significantly increased (P < 0.05). MiR-98-5p can significantly promote the formation of bone molecules and bone structure in rats (P < 0.05). Human BMMSCs combined with chitosan scaffold can accelerate the repair of tibial defects. MiR-98-5p targeting and regulating bone formation gene (CKIP-1) could significantly improve the process of osteogenesis in rats.

Alterations of oral microbiota in Chinese children with viral encephalitis and/or viral meningitis.

The role of oral microbiota in viral encephalitis and/or viral meningitis (VEVM) remains unclear. In this hospital-based, frequency-matched study, children with clinically diagnosed VEVM (n = 68) and those with other diseases (controls, n = 68) were recruited. Their oral swab samples were collected and the oral microbiota was profiled using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The oral microbiota of children with VEVM exhibited different beta diversity metrics (unweighted UniFrac distance: P < 0.001, R2 = 0.025, Bray-curtis dissimilarity: P = 0.045, R2 = 0.011, and Jaccard dissimilarity: P < 0.001, R2 = 0.017) and higher relative abundances of taxa identified by Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) with effect size (Enterococcus, Pedobacter, Massilia, Prevotella_9, Psychrobacter, Butyricimonas, Bradyrhizobium, etc., LDA scores > 2.0) when compared with the control group. The higher pathway abundance of steroid hormone biosynthesis predicted by oral microbiota was suggested to be linked to VEVM (q = 0.020). Further, a model based on oral microbial traits showed good predictive performance for VEVM with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.920 (95% confidence interval: 0.834-1.000). Similar results were also obtained between children with etiologically diagnosed VEVM (n = 43) and controls (n = 68). Our preliminary study identified VEVM-specific oral microbial traits among children, which can be effective in the diagnosis of VEVM.

Asian Pacific association for the study of liver (APASL) guidelines: hepatitis B virus in pregnancy.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection still remains a major public health issue in the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the burden of HBV-related disease results from infections acquired in infancy through perinatal or early childhood exposure to HBV in Asia-Pacific. Hepatitis B during pregnancy presents unique management issues for both the mother and fetus. These APASL guidelines provide a comprehensive review and recommendations based on available evidence in the literature, for the management of females with HBV infection through every stage of pregnancy and postpartum. These also address the concerns, management challenges, and required follow-up of children born to hepatitis B-positive mothers.

Effect of treatments on skin microbiota in patients with atopic dermatitis: a protocol for systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease and skin microbiota dysbiosis shows an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. Effects of treatment on skin microbiota for patients with AD have been evaluated in recent years; however, the results remained controversial across studies. This systematic review will summarise studies evaluating the effect of treatments on skin microbiota among patients with AD. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry in November 2021; other data sources will also be considered, including searching specific authors and screening references cited in the enrolled articles. Interventional studies, which enrolled patients with AD receiving treatments and reported treatment-related skin microbiota changes, will be included. Our primary outcomes include skin microbiota diversity and treatment-related differential microbes; the secondary outcomes include microbiota functions and microbial interactions. Risk of bias assessment will be performed using Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomised trials, risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions and methodological index for non-randomised studies. Two researchers will independently perform study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment, with disagreements resolved by group discussions. Subgroup analyses will be performed according to different types of treatment for AD. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is not required for this systematic review. Findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publication or conference proceedings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021246566.

Distribution and Transformation of Mercury in Subtropical Wild-Caught Seafood from the Southern Taiwan Strait.

Wild-caught seafood contains significant amounts of mercury. Investigating the mercury accumulation levels in wild-caught seafood and analyzing its migration and transformation are of great value for assessing the health risks of mercury intake and for the tracking of mercury sources. We determined the concentrations and stable mercury isotopic compositions (δ202Hg, Δ199Hg, Δ200Hg, and Δ201Hg) of 104 muscle samples collected from 38 species of seafood typically harvested from the Taiwan Shallow Fishing Ground (TSFG), Southern Taiwan Strait. Overall, the concentrations of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) ranged from 11 to 479 ng/g (dry weight, dw) and 10 to 363 ng/g (dw), respectively, and were below the threshold value established by the USEPA and the Chinese government. Demersal and near-benthic species accumulated more mercury than pelagic or mesopelagic species. The characteristics of mercury isotopes in wild-caught marine species differed in terms of vertical and horizontal distribution. Considering the known peripheral land sources of mercury (Δ199Hg ≈ 0), the mercury in seafood from the TSFG (Δ199Hg > 0) did not originate from anthropogenic emissions. The ratio of Δ199Hg and Δ201Hg (1.18 ± 0.03) suggested that the photoreduction of Hg (II) and the photo-degradation of MeHg equally contributed to mass-independent fractionation. Based on the values of Δ199Hg/δ202Hg (1.18 ± 0.03), about 67% of the mercury in seawater had undergone microbial demethylation prior to methylation and entering the seafood. Additionally, the vertical distribution of Δ200Hg in seafood from different water depths implies that mercury input was in part caused by atmospheric deposition. Our results provide detailed information on the sources of mercury and its transfer in the food web in offshore fishing grounds.

Association between Human Genetic Variants and the Vaginal Bacteriome of Pregnant Women.

The influence of human genetic variants on the vaginal bacterial traits (VBTs) of pregnant women is still unknown. Using a genome-wide association approach based on the 16S rRNA bacteriome analysis, a total of 72 host genetic variant (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs], indels, or copy number variations [CNVs])-VBT associations were found that reached the genome-wide significance level (P < 5 × 10-8) with an acceptable genomic inflation factor λ of <1.1. The majority of these SNPs that reached the genome-wide significance level had a relatively low minor allele frequency (MAF), and only seven of them had MAFs greater than 0.05. rs303212, located at the IFIT1 gene on chromosome 10, was the most eye-catching variant, which had a genome-wide association with the relative abundance (RAB) of Actinobacteria and Bifidobacteriaceae and also had a suggestive association with the RAB of a few common vaginal bacteria including Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, Lactobacillus, and Gardnerella vaginalis and the beta diversity weighted UniFrac (P < 1 × 10-5). The findings of the study suggest that the vaginal bacteriome may be influenced by a number of genetic variants across the human genome and that interferon signaling may have an important influence on vaginal bacterial communities during pregnancy. IMPORTANCE Knowledge about the influence of host genetics on the vaginal bacteriome in pregnancy is still limited. Although a number of environmental and behavioral factors may exert influences on the structure of vaginal bacterial communities, the vaginal bacteriome often undergoes a relatively fixed transition to a more stable and less diverse state as the menstrual cycle stops, which raises questions on the effects of human genetics. We utilized a genome-wide approach to identify the associations between genetic variants and multiple VBTs and performed enrichment analyses. The human genetics during pregnancy may be involved in multiple pathways. The results may disclose innate functional factors involved in shaping the vaginal bacteriome during pregnancy and provide insight into the establishment of specific strategies for prevention and clinical treatment of pregnancy complications.