Compositional analyses reveal correlations between taxon-level gut bacterial abundance and peripheral T cell marker expression in African infants

ABSTRACT

Although exclusive breastfeeding has been linked to lower rates of postnatal HIV transmission compared to nonexclusive breastfeeding, mechanisms underlying this are unclear. Across a longitudinally sampled cohort of South African infants, we showed that exclusively breastfed (EBF) infants had altered gut bacterial communities when compared to nonexclusively breastfed (NEBF) infants, as well as reduced peripheral CD4 + T cell activation and lowered chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in the oral mucosa. We further demonstrated that the relative abundance of key taxa was correlated with peripheral CD4 + T cell activation. Here, we supplement those findings by using compositional data analyses to identify shifts in the abundance of several Bifidobacteria strains relative to select strains of Escherichia, Bacteroides, and others that are associated with the transition to NEBF. We illustrate that the abundance ratio of these taxa is tightly correlated with feeding modality and is a strong predictor of peripheral T cell activation. More broadly, we discuss our study in the context of novel developments and explore future directions for the field.     

Patterns in metabolite profile are associated with risk of more aggressive prostate cancer: A prospective study of 3,057 matched case–control sets from EPIC

Metabolomics may reveal novel insights into the etiology of prostate cancer, for which few risk factors are established. We investigated the association between patterns in baseline plasma metabolite profile and subsequent prostate cancer risk, using data from 3,057 matched case–control sets from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We measured 119 metabolite concentrations in plasma samples, collected on average 9.4 years before diagnosis, by mass spectrometry (AbsoluteIDQ p180 Kit, Biocrates Life Sciences AG). Metabolite patterns were identified using treelet transform, a statistical method for identification of groups of correlated metabolites. Associations of metabolite patterns with prostate cancer risk (OR_1SD) were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Supplementary analyses were conducted for metabolite patterns derived using principal component analysis and for individual metabolites. Men with metabolite profiles characterized by higher concentrations of either phosphatidylcholines or hydroxysphingomyelins (OR_1SD = 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.89), acylcarnitines C18:1 and C18:2, glutamate, ornithine and taurine (OR_1SD = 0.72, 0.57–0.90), or lysophosphatidylcholines (OR_1SD = 0.81, 0.69–0.95) had lower risk of advanced stage prostate cancer at diagnosis, with no evidence of heterogeneity by follow-up time. Similar associations were observed for the two former patterns with aggressive disease risk (the more aggressive subset of advanced stage), while the latter pattern was inversely related to risk of prostate cancer death (OR_1SD = 0.77, 0.61–0.96). No associations were observed for prostate cancer overall or less aggressive tumor subtypes. In conclusion, metabolite patterns may be related to lower risk of more aggressive prostate tumors and prostate cancer death, and might be relevant to etiology of advanced stage prostate cancer.     

Sensitive skin: correlation with skin surface microrelief appearance

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Sensitive skin is a condition associated with reduced tolerance to environmental factors and/or the application of topical products, such as cosmetics. Its pathophysiology has not been fully elucidated and few data are available on its prevalence. The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlation between objective sensitivity and skin surface microrelief. METHODS: During an epidemiological survey conducted for a campaign promoted by International Society of Plastic Dermatology in Italy, 243 adult healthy subjects of both sexes with no evident dermatological disorder but positive to the lactic acid stinging test, were submitted to cyanoacrylate stratum corneum stripping from the volar forearm for the determination of the irregularity of the skin surface microrelief (irregularity skin index (ISI)). RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between intensity of symptoms in stingers and ISI (r(s)=-0.47; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Sensitive skin is common in the healthy population. ISI can contribute towards the identification of subjects with sensitive skin and the development of more specific skin treatments for this prevalent condition.     

用视诱发电位和富里叶变换作视力客观估计

目的:研究用图形视觉诱发电位(PVEP)和离散富里叶变换(DFT)作视力客观估计的方法。方法:检测对象为33只正常眼。用翻转频率为10次/秒,条纹张角分别为30、20、18、12、10、6、4和2弧分的垂直方波光栅图形刺激,记录相应的稳态图形视诱发电位。用离散富里叶交换提取WEP频谱中10Hz成分的幅值。以光栅条纹张角为横坐标、相应的VEP频谱幅值为纵坐标作关系曲线,取阈值附近的近似线性部分的数据点作直线回归,用外推法求得阈值和视力。结果:比较VEP所测之视力与用国际标准视力表所测之视力,可见在本研究中70％的受检眼VEP视力估计较准确。结论:用本研究中的VEP技术客观地测量视力可靠性较高。眼科学报1997;13:59～61。     

正常闪光视网膜电图的频域分析

应用快速傅里叶转换技术对正常视网膜电图进行频域分析，发现其ａ、ｂ波的优势频及能量集中在５－７５Ｈｚ；与ＯＰＳ波的分离点为７７ＨＺ，从而提出单纯记录ａ、ｂ波及ＯＰＳ波各自的较理想的通频带。     

基于DSP的远程监护终端系统的研究

阐述一种基于DSP的远程家庭监护终端的程序设计。包括心电的采集，用小波变换完成QRS波的检测，最后将心电波形数据和检测结果通过互联网传输到医院的心电服务器上。     

噪声中EP信号的提取算法及研究进展

诱发电位的提取是脑电信号处理领域的前沿课题近年来 ,通过少次甚至单次试验提取诱发电位已经成为研究的主流。本文对近年来提取诱发电位的信号处理方法进行了简要的回顾 ,并分别从小波变换、神经网络、高阶累积量、独立分量分析等四个方面对算法进行了介绍     

Study on Singularity of Chaotic Signal Based on Wavelet Transform

INTRODUCTION The significant information of a signal is often carried by singular characteristics or irregular struc-tures of the signal, for example, the most important information of ECG(electrocardiogram) or EEG isoften presented at the transient points of a signal, such as those points near peaks. The singular charac-teristics of these transient points are more obvious than the smooth parts of signals. Therefore,to studythe singularity of a signal is a meaningful work. Those analysi…     

Virtual real-time digital processing of hemodynamic data

At present, the majority of cardiac catheterization laboratories acquire and store hemo-dynamic data in analog form. To examine the possibility of performing complex analysis of digital data during the catheterization procedure, we examined whether virtual realtime digital (fast Fourier) analysis improves the accuracy of clinical data. We compared digital filtering of fluid manometry during right heart catheterization with 10-Hz and 250-Hz analog filters. Using the simultaneously acquired micromanometry as the “gold standard,” we found that analog filtering is associated with a greater error and time delay than digital filtering. This study demonstrates that digital hemodynamic data analysis performed during cardiac catheterization can improve the quality of data obtained during right heart catheterization, with the results available within seconds. More extensive use of computers in the cardiac catheterization laboratory may be useful for both clinical and research purposes. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

肿瘤微环境对树突细胞功能状态的影响

目的：探讨肿瘤细胞分泌的可溶性细胞因子营造的微环境对树突细胞(DCs，dendritic cells)的分化发育的影响，以进一步揭示肿瘤的免疫逃逸机制。方法：用免疫磁珠从人外周血分离CD14^ 单核细胞，加入粒细胞巨噬细胞集落刺激因子(GM-CSF)、白细胞介素4(IL-4)和人白血病细胞Jurkat培养上清液体外培养DCs，以正常培养诱导的DCs作为对照，采用傅立叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)技术分析人白血病细胞培养上清液对DCs分化发育的影响。结果：正常培养DCs与肿瘤上清液培养的DCs相比，在细胞内蛋白质和核酸的相对含量和细胞内消耗葡萄糖重新合成磷脂的量方面差异无显著性，但是，在细胞的转录状态方面差异有显著性。结论：肿瘤细胞上清液培养液所营造的微环境细胞转录水平上对DCs的功能状态有明显的抑制作用。