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Purpose: The first purpose of this study was to investigate how children's knowledge of taught words and transfer words assessed 10 months after a morphological vocabulary intervention can be predicted by means of language measures taken before the intervention. The second purpose was to investigate whether and how immediate post-intervention measures can contribute to the prediction after pre-intervention measures are accounted for. Method: A secondary analysis of data from 87 participants in a trial of short- and long-term effects of a morphological vocabulary intervention for fifth-grade students with limited vocabulary was conducted. Students' knowledge of morphologically transparent taught words and transfer words was examined 10 months after the intervention. Pre-intervention and immediate postintervention measures of general vocabulary, knowledge of morphologically transparent words, morphological analysis of pseudowords, and metamorphological knowledge were evaluated as predictors. Results: By means of pre-intervention measures only, about 40% of the overall variance in students' knowledge of morphologically transparent words assessed at follow-up could be predicted. A good early classification of students with later relatively good or poor word knowledge could be obtained, especially for knowledge of transfer words. Furthermore, immediate post-intervention measures were found to add substantially to the prediction of overall variance in students' knowledge of morphologically transparent words at follow-up and to the correct early classification beyond the contribution from pre-intervention measures. In particular, pre- and post-intervention measures of knowledge of morphologically transparent words and morphological analysis of pseudowords in combination yielded a good classification of students with later relatively good or poor knowledge of transfer words. Conclusion: A good level of prediction of students' knowledge of morphologically transparent taught words and transfer words 10 months after a morphological vocabulary intervention can be provided by means of a combination of a few pre- and post-intervention measures of knowledge of morphologically transparent words and morphological analysis of pseudowords.

The co-creation of educational services that promote youth resilience and mental health is still scarce. UPRIGHT (Universal Preventive Resilience Intervention Globally implemented in schools to improve and promote mental Health for Teenagers) is a research and intervention program in the Basque Country (Spain), Trentino (Italy), Low Silesia (Poland), Denmark and Reykjavik (Iceland). UPRIGHT implemented a co-creation research process whose results, outcomes and policy implications are presented here. The co-creation had a mixed-methods participatory research design with nine specific objectives linked to paired strategies of inquiry for adolescents, families, teachers and school staff. The overarching objective was to generate a valid and feasible regional adaptation strategy for UPRIGHT intervention model. Participants answered surveys (n = 794) or attended 16 group sessions (n = 217). The results integrate quantitative and qualitative information to propose a regional adaptation strategy that prioritizes resilience skills, adolescents' concerns, and preferred methods for implementation across countries and in each school community. In conclusion, a whole-school resilience program must innovate, include and connect different actors, services and communities, and must incorporate new technologies and activities outside the classroom. A participatory co-creation process is an indispensable step to co-design locally relevant resilience interventions with the involvement of the whole-school community.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how well students' response to a morphological vocabulary intervention can be predicted before the start of the intervention from traditional static assessments and to determine whether a dynamic assessment with graduated prompts improves the prediction. Method: A planned secondary analysis of a randomized trial of a morphological vocabulary intervention for fifth-grade students with limited vocabulary was conducted. Response to this intervention was examined for 111 participants based on their development in definitions of morphologically transparent words from pretest to posttest. Traditional static measures of vocabulary, knowledge of morphology, and morphological analysis as well as a dynamic assessment of morphological analysis were evaluated as predictors of students' response to intervention. Results: The static pretest measures predicted more than half of the overall variance in students' response to intervention and provided a good classification of students with subsequent poor or good response to intervention. The single best static predictor was the static assessment of morphological analysis. Furthermore, the dynamic assessment added significantly to the prediction of the overall variance in students' response to intervention and to the correct early classification of students as poor or good responders. Conclusions: The results suggest that an acceptable level of prediction of students' response to morphological vocabulary intervention can be obtained by means of a couple of static morphological measures. This study also provides evidence for the added predictive value of a dynamic assessment of morphological analysis.

The present study examined the construct and predictive validity of a dynamic test of decoding. In theory, a dynamic test provides a direct measure of potential for learning. In this study, children were taught 3 novel letters and how to blend the sounds of those into new words, then they were tested on different words comprising the 3 letters. The study followed 171 children from kindergarten to the end of Grade 1. The dynamic test was found to add significantly to the longitudinal prediction of word reading difficulties at the end of Grade 1 even after controlling for a wide range of standard predictors. The dynamic test correlated strongly with concurrent measures of early reading, letter knowledge, and phoneme awareness but less strongly with vocabulary and nonverbal intelligence. It is suggested that the dynamic test taps learning of sublexical units and processing essential for initial reading development.

A few studies have indicated that dynamic measures of phonological awareness may contribute uniquely to the prediction of early reading development. However, standard control measures have been few and limited by floor effects, thus limiting their predictive value. The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive value of a dynamic test of phonological awareness while controlling for both letter knowledge and standard phonological awareness using measures with no floor effect. We administered a dynamic test of phonological awareness along with traditional tests of phonological awareness and letter knowledge to 160 children in the fall of kindergarten. Reading outcomes were studied at three test points: at the end of kindergarten, in the first half of Grade 1, and at the end of Grade 1. The results indicated that the dynamic test of phonological awareness contributed significantly to the prediction of children's reading development in kindergarten and the first half of Grade 1 after control for static phonological awareness and letter knowledge. However, the unique prediction value of the dynamic test of phonological awareness did not extend to the end of Grade 1.

The article focuses on investigating pregnancy outcomes in 230 female survivors of neuroblastoma from a Nordic register-based cohort study. Topics include the similar incidence of live births before age 30 between survivors and the general population, the decreased live birth rate by age 50 among survivors, and an increased risk of abortions among survivors compared to the general population, emphasizing the need for further research on recent cases' fertility outcomes.

A commonly held view is that cloze tests may well provide a quick measure of something reading related, but that they are not suitable for assessments of understanding of ideas beyond the sentence boundary. The present article presents challenges to this view. It is argued that word gaps can be carefully selected so that filling them in requires proper understanding of the ideas of the text. The reliability and validity of such a comprehension-focused cloze test was demonstrated in a study of 204 Danish adults attending reading courses or general education. The quick (10 min) cloze comprehension test correlated strongly ("r" = 0.84) with a standard (30 min) question-answering comprehension test. Only a small part of this correlation was accounted for by decoding ability or vocabulary. The cloze test was somewhat more sensitive to decoding ability than the question-answering comprehension test was, and it provided a better fit to the participants' self-reported reading difficulties. (Contains 5 tables.)

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether the metabolic glucose profile, based on glycaemic control and insulin requirements, was different in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) compared to women with only GDM. Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised women with GDM and ICP matched with women with only GDM was undertaken at Aarhus University hospital, Denmark, from 2012 to 2019. A total of 46 cases and 184 controls were compared in relation to glycaemic control during pregnancy. Women with GDM and ICP were further divided into subgroups according to the severity of ICP: mild ICP (fasting bile salts 10–39 μmol/L) and moderate/severe ICP (bile salts ≥40 μmol/L). Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in baseline 2‐h oral glucose tolerance test values, second and third trimester HbA1c values, or maximum insulin requirements during pregnancy between women with GDM with and without ICP. Significantly more women with ICP developed preeclampsia during pregnancy: 23.9% (11/46) versus 7.6% (14/184); p = 0.003. Conclusions: This study is the first to address the course of pregnancy in women with GDM with and without ICP in a clinical setting. Under the current treatment guidelines, ICP is not associated with clinically significant changes in glycaemic control in GDM. Significantly more women with both GDM and ICP developed preeclampsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the first wave of the COVID‐19 pandemic of Spring 2020, Denmark was one of the first countries to introduce lockdown measures, including closing of all daycare centers. Following the reopening of daycare centers, Danish Health Authorities implemented a mandatory intensive hand hygiene regimen. Objectives: To examine the occurrence and point prevalence of hand eczema as a consequence of more intensive hand hygiene among Danish children attending daycare. Methods: The heads of 1667 daycare centers in Denmark were contacted and asked to forward a link to a questionnaire to parents of the children attending the daycare center. Results: Among 6858 children, 12.1% had hand eczema before reopening of daycare centers, whereas 38.3% reported hand eczema after the children returned to daycare. Of the children who never had hand eczema, 28.6% developed hand eczema after returning to daycare. The risk of hand eczema was significantly associated with atopic dermatitis, female gender, higher age, and frequency of handwashing. Conclusion: Following the implemented hygiene regimen, a high proportion of young children rapidly developed hand eczema. Well‐established prophylactic skin care might have spared a proportion of the children from developing hand eczema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large, comprehensive studies of the risk for neurologic disorders among long‐term survivors of noncentral nervous system (CNS) childhood cancers are lacking. Thus, the aim of our study was to assess the lifetime risk of Nordic non‐CNS childhood cancer survivors for neurologic disorders. We identified 15,967 5‐year survivors of non‐CNS childhood cancer diagnosed in Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden in 1943–2008, and 151,118 matched population comparison subjects. In‐patient discharge diagnoses of neurologic disorders were used to calculate relative risks (RRs) and absolute excess risks (AERs). A neurologic disorder was diagnosed in 755 of the survivors while 370 were expected, yielding a RR of 2.0 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9–2.2). The highest risks were found among survivors of neuroblastoma (4.1; 95% CI 3.2–5.3) and leukemia (2.8; 95% CI 2.4–3.2). The AER decreased from 331 (278–383) excess neurologic disorders per 100,000 person‐years 5–9 years after diagnosis to 82 (46–118) ≥ 20 years after diagnosis. Epilepsy was the most common diagnosis (n = 229, 1.4% of all survivors), and significantly increased risks were seen among survivors of eight out of 12 types of childhood cancer. Survivors of neuroblastoma had remarkably high risks (RR ≥ 10) for hospitalization for paralytic syndromes and hydrocephalus, while survivors of leukemia had additional high risks for dementia and encephalopathy. In conclusion, survivors of non‐CNS childhood cancer are at high risk for neurologic disorders, especially within the first decade after diagnosis. Therefore, intensive follow‐up to identify those who require close management is needed. What's new? Although several studies have demonstrated increased risks for a wide range of late complications among survivors of non‐central nervous system (CNS) cancers in childhood, a comprehensive overview of neurologic disorders in this population is lacking. In a population‐based cohort study of 15,967 five‐year survivors, the authors report increased risks for several neurologic disorders, including epilepsy, paralytic syndromes, meningitis, hydrocephalus and nerve and degenerative disorders, with highest risks among survivors of neuroblastoma and leukemia. This is the first step toward identifying those survivors who will benefit from closer follow‐up to prevent severe neurologic disorders leading to hospitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few studies have indicated that dynamic measures of phonological awareness may contribute uniquely to the prediction of early reading development. However, standard control measures have been few and limited by floor effects, thus limiting their predictive value. The purpose of the present study was to examine the predictive value of a dynamic test of phonological awareness while controlling for both letter knowledge and standard phonological awareness using measures with no floor effect. We administered a dynamic test of phonological awareness along with traditional tests of phonological awareness and letter knowledge to 160 children in the fall of kindergarten. Reading outcomes were studied at three test points: at the end of kindergarten, in the first half of Grade I, and at the end of Grade I. The results indicated that the dynamic test of phonological awareness contributed significantly to the prediction of children's reading development in kindergarten and the first half of Grade I after control for static phonological awareness and letter knowledge. However, the unique prediction value of the dynamic test of phonological awareness did not extend to the end of Grade I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether immediate gains in reading fluency achieved during repeated reading of text can predict long-term reading development over and above traditional predictors of reading development. Eighty-one Grade 3 children read texts three times consecutively and were instructed either to read as quickly as possible (speed-focused repeated reading), or to retell the text afterwards (meaning-focused repeated reading). Measures of text reading fluency, sentence reading fluency, and text comprehension were administered to the children in Grades 3 and 4 to assess their reading development over time. The results indicate that children's immediate response to repeated reading can contribute to the prediction of their development of reading fluency over time. Even after controlling for individual differences in general cognitive ability, word reading fluency, rapid automatized naming, and vocabulary, the experimental measure with meaning-focused repeated reading remained a significant predictor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The diagnosis and treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may impact mental health. We investigated the long-term risk of psychiatric disorders among survivors of ALL in a population-based cohort study., Methods: We identified patients diagnosed with ALL in Denmark and Sweden before age 20 during 1982-2008. Survivors of ALL (n = 2026), their siblings (n = 3027), and population comparison subjects (n = 9713) were followed for hospital contacts for psychiatric disorders from 5 years after ALL diagnosis (or corresponding index date) until 2017., Results: By age 30, the absolute risk of psychiatric hospital contacts was 19.9% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17.9-22.1) for ALL survivors, 18.5% (95% CI: 16.9-20.2) for siblings, and 18.3% (95% CI: 17.3-19.2) for population comparison subjects. Overall, survivors were at higher risk of any psychiatric disorders than siblings (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.25; 95% CI: 1.04-1.50), and population comparison subjects (HR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.06-1.35). The subgroup of survivors (n = 332) who received a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and/or had a relapse were at highest risk of psychiatric disorders (HR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.26-3.41 compared to siblings; HR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.25-2.23 compared to population comparison subjects)., Conclusions: The overall absolute risk of psychiatric hospital contacts among ALL survivors was close to that in siblings and population comparison subjects. The modestly increased relative risk was mainly driven by the subgroup of survivors who received HSCT and/or had a relapse. Our findings are reassuring for the large subgroup of ALL survivors without HSCT or relapse, and provide novel insight on both absolute and relative risk of hospital contacts for psychiatric disorders., (© 2024 The Author(s). Pediatric Blood & Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To identify and characterize groups of pregnant women with type 2 diabetes with distinct hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) trajectories across gestation and to examine the association with adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes., Research Design and Methods: This was a retrospective Danish national cohort study including all singleton pregnancies in women with type 2 diabetes, giving birth to a liveborn infant, between 2004 and 2019. HbA1c trajectories were identified using latent class linear mixed-model analysis. Associations with adverse outcomes were examined with logistic regression models., Results: A total of 1,129 pregnancies were included. Three HbA1c trajectory groups were identified and named according to the glycemic control in early pregnancy (good, 59%; moderate, 32%; and poor, 9%). According to the model, all groups attained an estimated HbA1c <6.5% (48 mmol/mol) during pregnancy, with no differences between groups in the 3rd trimester. Women with poor glycemic control in early pregnancy had lower odds of having an infant with large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth weight (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.57, 95% CI 0.40-0.83), and higher odds of having an infant with small-for-gestational age (SGA) birth weight (aOR 2.49, 95% CI 2.00-3.10) and congenital malformation (CM) (aOR 4.60 95% CI 3.39-6.26) compared with women with good glycemic control. There was no evidence of a difference in odds of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and caesarean section between groups., Conclusions: Women with poor glycemic control in early pregnancy have lower odds of having an infant with LGA birth weight, but higher odds of having an infant with SGA birth weight and CM., (© 2024 by the American Diabetes Association.)

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is receiving increased attention for the detection of new viruses and infections occurring at the human-animal interface. The ability to actively transport and relocate this technology enables in situ virus identification, which could reduce response time and enhance disease management. In a previous study, we developed a straightforward mNGS procedure that greatly enhances the detection of RNA and DNA viruses in human clinical samples. In this study, we improved the mNGS protocol with transportable battery-driven equipment for the portable, non-targeted detection of RNA and DNA viruses in animals from a large zoological facility, to simulate a field setting for point-of-incidence virus detection. From the resulting metagenomic data, we detected 13 vertebrate viruses from four major virus groups: (+)ssRNA, (+)ssRNA-RT, dsDNA and (+)ssDNA, including avian leukosis virus in domestic chickens ( Gallus gallus ), enzootic nasal tumour virus in goats ( Capra hircus ) and several small, circular, Rep-encoding, ssDNA (CRESS DNA) viruses in several mammal species. More significantly, we demonstrate that the mNGS method is able to detect potentially lethal animal viruses, such as elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus in Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ) and the newly described human-associated gemykibivirus 2, a human-to-animal cross-species virus, in a Linnaeus two-toed sloth ( Choloepus didactylus ) and its enclosure, for the first time.

Objective: Investigate all-cause and cause-specific late mortality after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in a population-based Nordic cohort., Methods: From the cancer registries of Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, we identified 3765 five-year survivors of ALL, diagnosed before age 20 during 1971-2008. For each survivor, up to five matched comparison subjects were randomly selected from the general population (n = 18,323). Causes of death were classified as relapse related, health related, and external. Late mortality was evaluated by cumulative incidences of death from 5-year survival date. Mortality hazard ratios (HR) were evaluated with Cox proportional models., Results: Among the survivors, 315 deaths occurred during a median follow-up of 16 years from 5-year survival date (range 0-42). The majority were attributable to relapse (n = 224), followed by second neoplasm (n = 45). Cumulative incidence of all-cause late mortality at 15 years from diagnosis decreased gradually over treatment decades, from 14.4% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.6-17.2) for survivors diagnosed during 1971-1981, to 2.5% (95% CI: 1.3-3.7) for those diagnosed during 2002-2008. This was mainly attributable to a reduction in relapse-related deaths decreasing from 13.4% (95% CI: 10.7-16.1) for survivors diagnosed during 1971-1981 to 1.9% (95% CI: 0.9-2.8) for those diagnosed during 2002-2008. Health-related late mortality was low and did not change substantially across treatment decades. Compared to comparison subjects, all-cause mortality HR was 40 (95% CI: 26-61) 5-9 years from diagnosis, and 4.4 (95% CI: 3.4-5.6) ≥10 years from diagnosis., Conclusions: Survivors of ALL have higher late mortality than population comparison subjects. Among the survivors, there was a temporal reduction in risk of death from relapse, without increments in health-related death., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: A previous randomized dietary intervention in pregnant women from the 1970s, the Harlem Trial, reported retarded fetal growth and excesses of very early preterm births and neonatal deaths among those receiving high-protein supplementation. Due to ethical challenges, these findings have not been addressed in intervention settings. Exploring these findings in an observational setting requires large statistical power due to the low prevalence of these outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate if the findings on high protein intake could be replicated in an observational setting by combining data from two large birth cohorts., Methods: Individual participant data on singleton pregnancies from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) ( n = 60,141) and the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) ( n = 66,302) were merged after a thorough harmonization process. Diet was recorded in mid-pregnancy and information on birth outcomes was extracted from national birth registries., Results: The prevalence of preterm delivery, low birth weight and fetal and neonatal deaths was 4.77%, 2.93%, 0.28% and 0.17%, respectively. Mean protein intake (standard deviation) was 89 g/day (23). Overall high protein intake (>100 g/day) was neither associated with low birth weight nor fetal or neonatal death. Mean birth weight was essentially unchanged at high protein intakes. A modest increased risk of preterm delivery [odds ratio (OR): 1.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.19)] was observed for high (>100 g/day) compared to moderate protein intake (80-90 g/day). This estimate was driven by late preterm deliveries (weeks 34 to <37) and greater risk was not observed at more extreme intakes. Very low (<60 g/day) compared to moderate protein intake was associated with higher risk of having low-birth weight infants [OR: 1.59 (95%CI: 1.25, 2.03)]., Conclusions: High protein intake was weakly associated with preterm delivery. Contrary to the results from the Harlem Trial, no indications of deleterious effects on fetal growth or perinatal mortality were observed.

The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 caused by the newly discovered SARS-CoV-2 a pandemic. Due to growing demand for reagents and/or kits to extract SARS-CoV-2 RNA for subsequent RT-qPCR diagnostics, there is a worldwide risk of shortages. With a detection sensitivity of 97.4% (95% CI: 86.2-99.9%), we describe a simple, fast, alternative workflow for molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2, where samples are simply heat-processed for 5 min at 98 °C before a commonly-used RT-qPCR procedure.

The present study examined the predictive validity of a dynamic test of decoding in which participants are taught three novel letters and how to synthesize the corresponding letter sounds into new words. One version of this dynamic test was administered to 158 kindergarten children before the onset of formal reading instruction along with traditional predictors of reading. Similarly, a parallel version of the dynamic test was administered to the same children after a few months of formal reading instruction. At the end of grade 2, the children were assessed on outcome measures of reading and categorized as having disabilities with either accuracy or fluency measures. Administered before as well as after the onset of formal reading instruction, the dynamic test of decoding contributed uniquely to the prediction of difficulties with reading accuracy at the end of grade 2 after control for traditional predictors of reading. Difficulties with reading fluency were also predicted by the dynamic decoding test, but the unique prediction value was more limited. This study showed that a dynamic assessment of decoding can be a useful addition to traditional test batteries for early identification of children at risk for reading disabilities. Even when taken before formal reading instruction, a combination of the dynamic assessment and two traditional measures (letter knowledge and rapid automatized naming) yielded a very high prediction accuracy of reading difficulties at the end of grade 2.

Although it is widely agreed that veterinary students need to be introduced to ethics, there is limited empirical research investigating the reasons why veterinary ethics is being taught. This study presents the first extensive investigation into the reasons for teaching veterinary ethics and reports data collected in semi-structured interviews with educators involved in teaching undergraduate veterinary ethics at three European schools: the University of Copenhagen, the University of Nottingham, and the Technical University of Lisbon (curricular year 2010-2011). The content of the interview transcripts were analyzed using Toulmin's argumentative model. Ten objectives in teaching veterinary ethics were identified, which can be grouped into four overarching themes: ethical awareness, ethical knowledge, ethical skills, and individual and professional qualities. These objectives include recognizing values and ethical viewpoints, identifying norms and regulations, developing skills of communication and decision making, and contributing to a professional identity. Whereas many of the objectives complement each other, there is tension between the view that ethics teaching should promote knowledge of professional rules and the view that ethics teaching should emphasize critical reasoning skills. The wide range of objectives and the possible tensions between them highlight the challenges faced by educators as they attempt to prioritize among these goals of ethics teaching within a crowded veterinary curriculum.

Objective: To evaluate sexual function in women before and after tension-free vaginal tape operation for stress urinary incontinence., Design: Prospective study., Setting: Aalborg University Hospital, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics between November 2008 and June 2010., Population: Sixty-three women who had a tension-free vaginal tape operation performed., Methods: Patients completed the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire-12 (PISQ-12) and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) before undergoing surgery and 6 months postoperatively., Main Outcome Measures: Differences in PISQ-12 measures 6 months after the tension-free vaginal tape operation., Results: Twelve women were excluded because of non-completed questionnaires. Preoperatively the PISQ-12 score was 33.7 and postoperatively 36.7, giving a significant difference of 3.0 (p < 0.05). Forty women (78%) scored higher postoperatively, five (10%) scored the same and six (12%) reported lower scores postoperatively. Only PISQ-12 questions in the physical domain were significantly improved. These values were elevated close to the maximum score. Preoperatively 18 women (35%) experienced coital incontinence always, often or sometimes. Postoperatively this was only the case in two women., Conclusion: Most women experience an improvement in sexual life after a tension-free vaginal tape procedure mainly because of absence of incontinence during sexual activity or absence of fear of incontinence during sexual activity., (© 2014 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.)

The microbial community of the human gut has a crucial role in sustaining host homeostasis. High-throughput DNA sequencing has delineated the structural and functional configurations of gut metagenomes in world populations. The microbiota of the Russian population is of particular interest to researchers, because Russia encompasses a uniquely wide range of environmental conditions and ethnogeographical cohorts. Here we conduct a shotgun metagenomic analysis of gut microbiota samples from 96 healthy Russian adult subjects, which reveals novel microbial community structures. The communities from several rural regions display similarities within each region and are dominated by the bacterial taxa associated with the healthy gut. Functional analysis shows that the metabolic pathways exhibiting differential abundance in the novel types are primarily associated with the trade-off between the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla. The specific signatures of the Russian gut microbiota are likely linked to the host diet, cultural habits and socioeconomic status.