Associations of Childhood and Perinatal Blood Metals with Children’s Gut Microbiomes in a Canadian Gestation Cohort

Background: The gut microbiome is important in modulating health in childhood. Metal exposures affect multiple health outcomes, but their ability to modify bacterial communities in children is poorly understood.Objectives: We assessed the associations of childhood and perinatal blood metal levels with childhood gut microbiome diversity, structure, species, gene family-inferred species, and potential pathway alterations.Methods: We assessed the gut microbiome using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing in stools collected from 6- to 7-year-old children participating in the GESTation and Environment (GESTE) cohort study. We assessed blood metal concentrations [cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), selenium (Se)] at two time points, namely, perinatal exposures at delivery (N=70) and childhood exposures at the 6- to 7-y follow-up (N=68). We used multiple covariate-adjusted statistical models to determine microbiome associations with continuous blood metal levels, including linear regression (Shannon and Pielou alpha diversity indexes), permutational multivariate analysis of variance (adonis; beta diversity distance matrices), and multivariable association model (MaAsLin2; phylum, family, species, gene family-inferred species, and pathways).Results: Children’s blood Mn and Se significantly associated with microbiome phylum [e.g., Verrucomicrobiota (coef=−0.305, q=0.031; coef=0.262, q=0.084, respectively)] and children’s blood Mn significantly associated with family [e.g., Eggerthellaceae (coef=−0.228, q=0.052)]-level differences. Higher relative abundance of potential pathogens (e.g., Flavonifractor plautii), beneficial species (e.g., Bifidobacterium longum, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii), and both potentially pathogenic and beneficial species (e.g., Bacteriodes vulgatus, Eubacterium rectale) inferred from gene families were associated with higher childhood or perinatal blood Cd, Hg, and Pb (q<0.1). We found significant negative associations between childhood blood Pb and acetylene degradation pathway abundance (q<0.1). Finally, neither perinatal nor childhood metal concentrations were associated with children’s gut microbial inter- and intrasubject diversity.Discussion: Our findings suggest both long- and short-term associations between metal exposure and the childhood gut microbiome, with stronger associations observed with more recent exposure. Future epidemiologic analyses may elucidate whether the observed changes in the microbiome relate to children’s health. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP9674     

Three-Dimensional Nanoscale Morphological Surface Analysis of Polymeric Particles Containing Allium sativum Essential Oil

Biodegradable particles were developed using poly-ε-caprolactone and gelatin carriers containing different concentrations of Allium sativum essential oil (EO) (360 µg/mL, 420 µg/mL, and 460 µg/mL). Atomic force microscopy was useful to evaluate the particles’ surface based on morphological parameters. The particles’ size varied from 150 nm to 300 nm. The diameter was related to the increase of the particles’ height as a function of the EO concentration, influencing the roughness of the surface core values (from 20 to 30 nm) and surface irregularity. The spatial parameters Str (texture aspect ratio) and Std (texture direction) revealed low spatial frequency components. The hybrid parameters Sdq (root mean square gradient) and Sdr (interfacial area ratio) also increased as a function of the EO concentration, revealing fewer flat particles. On the other hand, the functional parameters (inverse areal material ratio and peak extreme height) suggested differences in surface irregularities. Higher concentrations of EO resulted in greater microtexture asperity on the particles’ surface, as well as sharper peaks. The nanoscale morphological surface analysis allowed the determination of the most appropriate concentration of encapsulated EO, influencing statistical surface parameters.     

Lymph node metastasis in T1 adenocarcinoma of the colon and rectum

The biology of colorectal cancer differs according to location within the large intestine. To evaluate the clinical significance of tumor location as a risk factor for lymph node metastasis (LNM), we performed a detailed pathological review of T1 adenocarcinomas of the colon and rectum. T1 adenocarcinomas of the colon and rectum treated by radical resection (n = 428) were identified from prospective clinical databases at two institutions. Tumor location was assigned as right colon (cecum to transverse), left colon (splenic flexure to sigmoid), or rectum (0–18 cm from AV). Pathology slides were reviewed, extent of submucosal invasion (sm width, sm depth) was quantified using an optical micrometer, and morphologic features of the cancer and its infiltrating margin were recorded. The overall rate of LNM was 10%. On univariate analysis, LNM was significantly more common in the rectum (27/176, 15%) compared to the left colon (13/160, 8%, p = .04) or right colon (3/92, 3%, p = .003). However, on multivariate analysis, deep submucosal invasion and lymphovascular invasion were independent and significant risk factors, whereas tumor location was not. T1 colorectal cancers have a progressively higher risk of LNM as their location becomes more distal. However, the increasing rate of LNM observed in cancers of the left colon and rectum is explained by a higher prevalence of high-risk pathologic features. In early colorectal cancers, tumor morphology is the strongest clinical predictor of metastatic behavior. Presented at the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 15–19, 2004 Presented at the Forty-Fifth Annual Meeting of The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 15–19, 2004     

Reorientation of Suspended Ceramic Particles in Robocasted Green Filaments during Drying

This work considers the fabrication of ceramic parts with the help of an additive manufacturing process, robocasting, in which a paste with suspended particles is robotically extruded. Within the final part, the material properties depend on the orientation of the particles. A prediction of the particle orientation is challenging as the part usually undergoes multiple processing steps with varying contributions to the orientation. As the main contribution to the final particle orientation arises from the extrusion process, many corresponding prediction models have been suggested. Robocasting involves, however, further processing steps that are less studied as they have a smaller influence on the orientation. One of the processing steps is drying by natural convection, which follows directly after the extrusion process. A quantification of the reorientation that occurs during drying is mostly unknown and usually neglected in the models. Therefore, we studied the amount of reorientation of suspended particles in robocasted green filaments during drying in detail. For our study, we applied the discrete element method, as it meets various requirements: The exact particle geometry can be resolved precisely; particle–particle interactions can be described; the paste composition is reproduced exactly; the initial particle orientation can be set in accordance with the prediction from the analytical models for the extrusion part; macroscopic force laws exist to represent capillary forces due to the remaining fluid phase that remains during drying. From our study, we concluded that the magnitude of particle reorientation during drying is small compared to the orientation occurring during the extrusion process itself. Consequently, reorientation during drying might further be neglected within analytical orientation prediction models.     

Desnutrição e Caquexia na Insuficiência Cardíaca Descompensada e Cardiomiopatia Chagásica: Ocorrência e Associação com Desfechos Hospitalares

BackgroundNutritional disorders are common among patients with heart failure (HF) and associated with poor prognosis. Importantly, some populations of patients, like the ones with Chagas disease, are frequently excluded from most analyses.ObjectiveWe sought to study the occurrence of undernutrition and cachexia in patients with Chagas disease during episodes of decompensated HF (DHF) as compared to other etiologies, and to investigate the influence of these findings on hospital outcomes.MethodsWe performed a consecutive case series study with patients hospitalized with DHF. Patients underwent the Subjective Global Assessment of nutritional status (SGA), besides anthropometric and laboratorial measures, and were evaluated for the occurrence of cachexia, low muscle mass and strength. We studied the occurrence of death or urgent heart transplantation during hospitalization.ResultsAltogether, 131 patients were analyzed and 42 (32.1%) had Chagas disease. Patients with Chagas disease had lower Body Mass Index (BMI) (22.4 kg/m²[19.9-25.3] vs. 23.6 kg/m2 [20.8-27.3], p=0.03), higher frequency of undernutrition (76.2% vs 55.1%, p=0.015) and higher occurrence of death or transplant (83.3% vs. 41.6%, p<0.001). We found that, in patients with Chagas etiology, the occurrence of death or cardiac transplantation were associated with undernutrition (3 [42.9%] patients with hospital discharge vs 29 [82.9%] patients with death or heart transplant, p=0.043).ConclusionsTaken together, our results indicate that patients with Chagas disease hospitalized with DHF often present with nutritional disorders, especially undernutrition; importantly, this finding was associated with the occurrence of death and heart transplant during hospitalization.     

Bisphenol A Exposure Impairs Epididymal Development during the Peripubertal Period of Rats: Inflammatory Profile and Tissue Changes

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic non‐steroidal oestrogen used in the production of plastics. BPA can cause alterations in the endocrine system of human beings and animals at varied stages of development. During puberty, altered morphological, sexual behaviour and completion of the epididymal development occur. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of BPA on epididymal development during the peripubertal period of rats. Male Wistar rats were treated with BPA via gavage at doses of 20 μg/kg or 200 μg/kg per day [post‐natal day (PND] 36–66). The control group received the vehicles under the same conditions. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. On PND 67, the epididymis was removed, weighed, divided into caput/corpus and cauda sections. It was then used for sperm count determination; histopathological and stereological evaluation; inflammatory cell enzymatic profiling (myeloperoxidase activity – MPO; N‐acetylglucosaminidase – NAG); immunohistochemistry for IL‐6; and evaluation of superoxide anion levels and malondialdehyde (MDA). Exposure to BPA at 200 μg/kg caused a significant increase of MPO activity and immunoreactivity to IL‐6 (interleukin‐6) as well as remodelling of tissue components in the caput/corpus and cauda regions of the epididymis. Under these experimental conditions, it is concluded that BPA alters post‐natal epididymal development.     

Effect of photoactivation systems and resin composites on the microleakage of esthetic restorations

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of four photoactivation systems [quartz tungsten halogen (QTH), light-emitting diode (LED), argon ion laser (AL), and plasma arc curing PAC)] on cementum/dentin and enamel microleakage of Class II restorations using a microhybrid [Z250-3M ESPE] and two packable composites [(SureFil-Dentsply and Tetric Ceram HB-Ivoclair/Vivadent]. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Three hundred sixty "vertical-slot Class II cavities" were prepared at the mesial surface of bovine incisors using a 245 carbide bur in a highspeed handpiece. Specimens were divided into twelve groups (composite-photoactivation systems). Half of the specimens had the gingival margin placed in enamel (n=15) and the other half in cementum/dentin (n=15). Composites were inserted and cured in 2 mm increments according to manufacturers' recommended exposure times. After polishing, the samples were immersed in 2% methylene blue solution, sectioned, and evaluated at the gingival margins. Data were submitted to statistical analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS: No significant differences were found among the photoactivation systems and among resin composites (p>0.05). Microleakage was not significantly affected by location (enamel vs. cementum/dentin, p>0.05). These findings suggested neither the photoactivation systems nor the resin composite types might have an effect on the microleakage at gingival margins Class II cavities.