Glufosinate-ammonium increased nitrogen and phosphorus content in water and shaped microbial community in epiphytic biofilm of Hydrilla verticillata.

Glufosinate-ammonium (GLAM) can be released into adjacent water bodies with rainfall runoff and return water from farmland irrigation. However, impacts of GLAM on aquatic organisms remain unclear. In this study, changes in water quality, plant physiological parameters and epiphytic microbial community were investigated in wetlands with Hydrilla verticillata exposed to GLAM for 24 days. We found GLAM addition damaged cell and reduced chlorophyll a content in Hydrilla verticillata leaves, and increased ammonium and phosphorus in water (p < 0.001). The α-diversity increased in bacterial community but decreased in eukaryotic community with GLAM exposure. Neutral community models explained 62.3 % and 55.0 % of the variance in bacterial and eukaryotic communities, respectively. Many GLAM micro-biomarkers were obtained, including some clades from Proteobacteria, Bacteroidete, Actinobacteriota, Phragmoplastophyta, Annelida and Arthropoda. Redundancy analysis revealed that GLAM concentration was positively correlated to Flavobacterium, Gomphonema and Closterium but negatively to Methyloglobulus and Methylocystis. Network analysis revealed that 15 mg/L GLAM disturbed the interactions among phytoplankton, protozoa, metazoan and bacteria and reduced the stability of the microbial communities compared to 8 mg/L GLAM. GLAM shaped the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle related bacterial genes. This study highlights that herbicides are non-neglectable factors affecting the efficiency of aquatic ecological restoration in agricultural areas to control agricultural non-point source pollution.

Reed restoration decreased nutrients in wetlands with dredged sediments: Microbial community assembly and function in rhizosphere.

Using dredged sediments as substrate for aquatic plants is a low-cost and ecological friendly way for in situ aquatic ecological restoration. However, the limited information available about how aquatic plant restoration affects the microbial ecology and nutrients in dredged sediments. In this study, nutrient contents, enzyme activities, and bacterial and archaeal communities in vertical sediment layers were determined in bulk and reed zones of wetlands constructed with dredged sediments in west Lake Taihu for three years. Reed restoration significantly decreased total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and organic carbon contents and increased alkaline phosphatase, urease, and sucrase activities compared to bulk area. Bacterial communities in vertical sediment layers had higher similarity in reed zone in comparison to bulk zone, and many bacterial and archaeal genera were only detected in reed rhizosphere zones. Compared with the bulk zone, the reed restoration area has a higher abundance of phylum Actinobacteriota, Hydrothermarchaeota, and class α-proteobacteria. The assembly process of the bacterial and archaeal communities was primarily shaped by dispersal limitation (67.03% and 32.97%, respectively), and stochastic processes were enhanced in the reed recovery area. Network analysis show that there were more complicated interactions among bacteria and archaea and low-abundance taxa were crucial in maintaining the microbial community stability in rhizosphere of reed zone. PICRUST2 analysis demonstrate that reed restoration promotes metabolic pathways related to C and N cycle in dredged sediments. These data highlight that using dredged sediments as substrates for aquatic plants can transform waste material into a valuable resource, enhancing the benefits to the environment.

Coupling of submerged macrophytes and epiphytic biofilms reduced methane emissions from wetlands: Evidenced by an antibiotic inhibition experiment.

Wetlands are the largest natural methane source, but how submerged macrophytes affect methane emission remains controversial. In this study, the impacts of submerged macrophytes on methane fluxes, water purification, and epiphytic microbial community dynamics were investigated in simulated wetlands (with and without Hydrilla verticillata) treated with norfloxacin (NOR) for 24 days. Mean methane fluxes were significantly lower in treatments with Hydrilla verticillata (56.84-90.94 mg/m2/h) than bulks (65.96-113.21 mg/m2/h) (p < 0.05) during the experiment regardless of NOR. The relative conductivity (REC) values, H2O2, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased in plant leaves, while water nutrients removal rates decreased with increasing NOR concentration at the same sampling time. The partial least squares path model analysis revealed that plant physiological indices and water nutrients positively affected methane fluxes (0.72 and 0.49, p < 0.001). According to illumina sequencing results of 16S rRNA and pmoA genes, α-proteobacteria (type II) and γ-proteobacteria (type I) were the dominant methanotroph classes in all epiphytic biofilms. The ratio of type I/type II methanotrophs and pmoA gene abundance in epiphytic biofilm was considerably lower in treatment with 16 mg/L NOR than without it (p < 0.05). pmoA gene abundance was negatively correlated with methane fluxes (p < 0.05). Additionally, the assembly of epiphytic bacterial community was mainly governed by deterministic processes, while stochastic dispersal limitation was the primary assembly process in the epiphytic methanotrophic community under NOR stress. The deterministic process gained more importance with time both in bacterial and methanotrophic community assembly. Network analysis revealed that relationships among bacteria in epiphytic biofilms weakened with time but associations among methanotrophic members were enhanced under NOR stress over time. It could be concluded that submerged macrophytes-epiphytic biofilms symbiotic system exhibited potential prospects to reduce methane emissions from wetlands under reasonable management.

Temporal trends and projections of gynecological cancers in China, 2007-2030.

BACKGROUND: Gynecological cancer will become a more important public health problem in future years but limited evidence on gynecological cancer burden in China. METHODS: We extracted age-specific rate of cancer cases and deaths during 2007-2016 from the Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report, and estimated age-specific population size using the data released by National Bureau of Statistics of China. Cancer burden were calculated by multiplying the rates with the population size. Temporal trends of the cancer cases, incidence, deaths, and mortality during 2007-2016 were calculated by JoinPoint Regression Program, and from 2017 to 2030 were projected by grey prediction model GM (1,1). RESULTS: In China, total gynecological cancer cases increased from 177,839 to 241,800, with the average annual percentage change of 3.5% (95% CI: 2.7-4.3%) during 2007-2016. Cervical, uterine, ovarian, vulva, and other gynecological cancer cases increased by 4.1% (95% CI: 3.3-4.9%), 3.3% (95% CI: 2.6-4.1%), 2.4% (95% CI: 1.4-3.5%), 4.4% (95% CI: 2.5-6.4%), and 3.6% (95% CI: 1.4-5.9%) respectively. From 2017 to 2030, projected gynecological cancer cases are changing from 246,581 to 408,314. Cervical, vulva and vaginal cancers showed evident upward trend, while uterine and ovarian cancer cases are slightly increasing. The increases for age-standardized incidence rates were similar with that of cancer cases. Temporal trends of cancer deaths and mortality were similar with that of cancer cases and incidence during 2007-2030, except that uterine cancer deaths and mortality were declined. CONCLUSIONS: With the aging of population and other increased risk factors, the burden of gynecological cancers in China is likely to be grew rapidly in the future, comprehensive gynecological cancer control should be concerned.

Temporal Trends and Projection of Cancer Attributable to Human Papillomavirus Infection in China, 2007-2030.

BACKGROUND: Information on temporal trends of cancer attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV) in China is limited. METHODS: Cancer incidence and mortality during 2007 to 2015 were extracted from the Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report and the national population from the National Bureau of Statistics. HPV-attributable cancer burden and the average annual percentage change during 2007 to 2015 were estimated and cancer burden during 2016 to 2030 was projected. RESULTS: HPV-attributable cancer cases have increased by 3.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.9%-4.8%] annually from 85,125 to 113,558 and age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) rose by 3.0% (95% CI, 2.5%-3.5%) from 4.67 to 5.83 per 100,000 persons during 2007 to 2015. Cervical, female anal, and vulva cancer cases have increased by 3.8% (95% CI, 2.8%-4.7%), 6.5% (95% CI, 1.2%-12.2%), and 3.7% (95% CI, 1.6%-5.8%) per year. Male anal and oropharyngeal cancer cases have elevated by 7.5% (95% CI, 2.8%-12.5%) and 4.4% (95% CI, 2.4%-6.3%) annually. The increases of cervical and anal cancer were most rapid among those aged 50 and older. HPV-attributable cancer deaths and mortality rate have risen by 4.7% (95% CI, 2.9%-6.7%) and 3.3% (95% CI, 0.9%-5.8%) respectively. HPV-attributable cancer cases and ASIR are projected to reach 214,077 and 9.35 of 100,000 persons by 2030 respectively, with 87.7% being cervical cancer, and anal cancer cases are expected to triple. CONCLUSIONS: HPV-attributable cancer burden has largely increased in the past and will keep rising for the next decade. Cervical cancer control should be the priority and anal cancer prevention should be addressed. IMPACT: This study supplies fundamental evidence for policy-making on HPV-attributable cancer control.

Prevalence and risk factors for anogenital HPV infection and neoplasia among women living with HIV in China.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the prevalence and risk factors of anogenital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and neoplasia among women living with HIV (WLHIV) in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2019 to 2020, 409 WLHIV aged 18 years and older were recruited from an HIV treatment clinic in Yunnan, China. Cervical and anal samples were collected for HPV testing of 15 HPV genotypes and cytological interpretation. Women positive for cervical HPV or cytological abnormalities were recalled for colposcopy examination and biopsy when necessary. Prevalence of anogenital HPV infection and neoplasia were compared by logistic regression. RESULTS: HPV prevalence was 34.2% (140/409) for cervical and 34.7% (142/409) for anal (high-risk HPV being 30.6% (125/409) and 30.3% (124/409), respectively). The most frequent genotypes were HPV-52, HPV-16 and HPV-58 in the cervix, HPV-52, HPV-53 and HPV-39 in the anus, with strong correlation between cervical and anal positivity, both overall and at a type-specific level. Cervical HPV was most associated with short duration of combination antiretroviral therapies (cART) (≤2 vs >2 years, adjusted OR (aOR)=2.25, 95% CI: 1.22 to 4.12) and high initial HIV viral load (≥1000 vs <1000 copies/mL, aOR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.10 to 3.58). Anal HPV was most associated with low nadir CD4 count (<200 vs ≥200 cells/µL, aOR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.01 to 3.22) and low current CD4 count (<350 vs ≥500 cells/µL, aOR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.00 to 4.36). CIN2+ prevalence was 4.6% and associated with low nadir CD4 count (aOR=4.63, 95% CI: 1.24 to 17.25). CONCLUSIONS: Cervical and anal HPV were strongly correlated and, together with associated neoplasia, were highly prevalent among WLHIV in China. Early initiation of cART to avoid severe immunodeficiency should decrease anogenital HPV prevalence and related cancer burden among WLHIV. Incorporating anogenital cancer prevention services into HIV/AIDS care is warranted.

Role of Epstein-Barr Virus and Human Papillomavirus Coinfection in Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia in Chinese Women Living With HIV.

Given that only a small percentage of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive women develop cancer, HPV is necessary but insufficient for carcinogenesis. Mucosally transmitted viral cofactors appear to contribute to HPV-related cervical cancer, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), but previous studies have shown inconsistent outcomes. The exact role of EBV in cervical cancer remains unclear, and more studies are needed to determine its involvement. In this study, we describe the prevalence of EBV and HPV coinfection in HIV-positive women and explore how abnormal host immune status induced by viral coinfections modulates epithelial gene expression. We found a significant correlation between EBV-HPV coinfection and the incidence of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+). RNA sequencing indicated that CIN tissues coinfected with EBV and HPV led to significant changes in the gene expression of epithelial differentiation and development compared to normal tissues with HPV infection alone. In particular, several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are closely associated with cancer, such as CACNG4, which was confirmed to be upregulated at both the mRNA and protein levels. Therefore, these findings provide some evidence that EBV may act as a cofactor or mediator in HPV-related cervical cancer. Specific genes or proteins, such as CACNG4, may serve as biomarkers that can risk stratify patients based on pathological changes in the cervix.

Performance of cervical cancer screening and triage strategies among women living with HIV in China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical performance of liquid-based cytology (LBC), HPV tests and visual inspections with acetic acid or Lugol's iodine (VIA/VILI) as primary screening and triage strategies among Chinese women living with HIV (WLHIV). METHODS: WLHIV aged 18 years and older were recruited from HIV/AIDS treatment clinic in Yunnan, China from 2019 to 2020. Women were screened with self- and physician-sampling for HPV tests, LBC, and VIA/VILI. Women positive for any HPV or with cytological abnormalities were recalled for colposcopy examination and biopsy when necessary. Clinical performance of primary and triage strategies for detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) was evaluated. RESULTS: For primary screening, sensitivity of physician-HPV tests was 100%, 89.5%, and 100% for hybrid capture 2 (HC2), cobas, and Sansure HPV, and specificity was 80.4%, 85.1%, and 72.0%, respectively. Self-HPV test achieved considerable performance with physician-HPV. Sensitivity and specificity were 61.1% and 96.3% for LBC (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or worse [ASCUS+]), 40.0% and 77.3% for VIA/VILI. For triaging HPV-positive women, LBC (ASCUS+), HPV-16/18 genotyping, and VIA/VILI-elevated specificity with sensitivity declined 30%-50% compared with HPV screening alone. Restricted HPV genotyping triage (HPV-16/18/31/33/45/52/58) demonstrated the optimal accuracy (89.5% sensitivity, 81.9% specificity), and was similar to HPV-16/18 with reflex LBC (ASCUS+). Combination antiretroviral therapies (cARTs) <2 years were associated with decreased specificity of HC2 (aOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.22-3.91) and Sansure HPV (2.48, 1.43-4.29). CONCLUSIONS: Self-HPV with restricted genotyping triage is highly recommended for cervical cancer screening for WLHIV in China. Feasible triage to increase HPV specificity among women with short duration of cART is needed.

Cancer burden attributable to human papillomavirus infection by sex, cancer site, age, and geographical area in China.

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) attributable cancer burden is currently unknown in China, which is essential to evaluate the potential benefit of existing HPV vaccines and to inform cancer control policy. METHODS: We extracted data of cancer incidence and mortality in 2014 from Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report, and data of national population from National Bureau of Statistics. HPV-attributable cancer burden was estimated by incorporating cancer rates and population forecasts by sex, cancer site, age and geographical area, and then combined to corresponding population attributable fractions. RESULTS: We estimated that there were 110 894 HPV-attributable new cancer cases in China in 2014, including 99 253 cervical cancers, 4449 noncervical cancers in females and 7192 cancers in males. The age-standardized incidence of HPV-attributable cancers in China was 5.69 per 100 000 persons, being slightly higher in rural than urban areas. Specifically, 51.1% of HPV-attributable cervical cancers were diagnosed in women aged 40-54 years, while 75.8% of noncervical cancers were diagnosed at 45-79 years of age. Among males, 53.4% of cancers were diagnosed at 55-74 years of age. Thirty five thousand six hundred and eighty three HPV-attributable cancer deaths were estimated, including 29 683 due to cervical cancer, and 2307 and 3693 due to noncervical cancer in females and males, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The cancer burden attributable to HPV in China is substantial. HPV vaccination and cervical screening should be prioritized.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes in young children born to HIV-positive mothers in rural Yunnan, China.

BACKGROUND: Children born to HIV-infected mothers are at risk for neurodevelopmental delay. Little is known about the neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants and toddlers born to HIV-positive mothers but who were not themselves infected by HIV, especially in poor rural areas. This study was conducted to compare developmental outcomes between young children who were HIV exposed but uninfected (HEU), and their HIV unexposed and uninfected (HUU) peers in rural Yunnan, China. METHODS: A total of 250 HEU children aged 6-36 months and 250 HUU children matched for age, gender and residency were recruited from rural Yunnan, China. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were measured using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley III). Multivariate analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounding effects of caregiver demographic data, maternal health status, birth outcome and children's health status. RESULTS: HIV exposed but uninfected children had significantly lower composite scores in Bayley III assessment than HUU children (in the cognitive domain: 90.34 vs 92.75, P<0.05; in the adaptive behavior domain: 77.04 vs 80.80, P< 0.05). On stepwise logistic regression analysis, HIV exposure (OR, 1.45; 95%CI: 1.04-1.98) and child malnutrition (OR, 1.67; 95%CI: 1.09-2.23) were risk factors for below-average cognition development. Mother's low education and child anemia were significant risk factors for below-average motor and adaptive behavior development. CONCLUSION: Perinatal HIV infection may have a negative impact on neurodevelopment in young children. Other factors such as mother's education and child nutrition status may play important roles in child neurodevelopment, especially in resource-poor areas. Further studies are needed to examine the long-term effect of perinatal HIV infection on later childhood neurodevelopment.