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Introduction: Recent advances have highlighted the relationships between gut dysbiosis and Parkinson's disease (PD). Microbiota transplantation from PD patients to mice can induce increased alpha‐synuclein‐mediated motor deficits. Human studies have identified differences in the gut microbiota of PD patients compared to healthy controls. We undertook a systematic review to evaluate the available evidence for the involvement of gut bacteria in the etiology of PD. Methods: The PubMed databank, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databank, and Wanfang Data were searched from inception until June 2021 to identify human case–control studies that investigated relationships between PD and microbiota quantified from feces. We evaluated the resulting studies focusing on bacterial taxa that were different between PD patients and healthy controls. Results: Twenty‐six studies were found in which 53 microbial families and 98 genera exhibited differences between patients with PD and healthy controls. The genera identified by more than two studies as increased in PD were Bifidobacterium, Alistipes, Christensenella, Enterococcus, Oscillospira, Bilophila, Desulfovibrio, Escherichia/Shigella, and Akkermansia, while Prevotella, Blautia, Faecalibacterium, Fusicatenibacter, and Haemophilus had three or more reports of being lower in PD patients. More than one report demonstrated that Bacteroides, Odoribacter, Parabacteroides, Butyricicoccus, Butyrivibrio, Clostridium, Coprococcus, Lachnospira, Lactobacillus, Megasphaera, Phascolarctobacterium, Roseburia, Ruminococcus, Streptococcus, and Klebsiella were altered in both directions. Conclusion: Our review shows that the involvement of the gut microbiome in the etiology of PD may involve alterations of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs)‐producing bacteria and an increase in putative gut pathobionts. SCFAs‐producing bacteria may vary above or below an "optimal range," causing imbalances. Considering that Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Akkermansia are beneficial for human health, increased Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the PD gut microbiome may be associated with PD medications, especially COMT inhibitors, while a high level of Akkermansia may be associated with aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth rate hypothesis (GRH) posits an increase in ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) content, and therefore cellular phosphorus (P), with increasing growth rate. There is evidence that the GRH may not apply to phytoplankton under all conditions. Here, we experimentally controlled four conditions (light, temperature, pH, and CO2) to alter the growth rate of Emiliania huxleyi, a biogeochemically important coccolithophorid, and monitored changes in RNA, protein, and carbohydrate content. We show that an increase in growth rate caused by increasing light, pH, and CO2 resulted in increased RNA per unit of organic carbon (RNA : POC), but that increasing temperature, leading to increase of growth rate, resulted in a decrease in RNA : POC. Protein per unit of organic carbon (protein : POC) increased in our increased temperature, pH, and CO2 treatments that increased growth rate, but there was little change in protein : POC in our light treatment despite it inducing the same increase in growth rate. Carbohydrate per unit of organic carbon (Carbohydrate : POC) increased with growth rate under increased light and CO2 but did not vary significantly in the temperature or pH treatments. These results indicate that physiological acclimation to specific environmental conditions can lead to contrasting patterns in RNA, protein, and carbohydrate composition and therefore contrasting changes in carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus ratios with growth rate in E. huxleyi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare the change of bone mineral density and the prevalence of osteoporosis between 10 years ago and the present among the people who participate in health examination in Nanning, Guangxi. Methods This cross-sectional survey enrolled 2524 20-80-year-old healthy adults who participated in health examination from January 2011 to June 2012 in People's Hospital of Guangxi Autonomous, and the data were compared with those of 1058 cases from the same hospital 10 years ago. Bone mass density (BMD) was detected using the same dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Results The age of peak bone mass in males and females was 30-39 years old, which was the same as 10 years ago. In the 30-39 years old group, the BMD values of the femoral neck, Ward's triangle, Troch area, and the lumbar vertebrae (L2, L3, L4) were not significantly different both in males and females over the past 10 years. The incidence of osteoporosis in total elderly population, elderly males, and elderly females (16.56% vs 17.78%, 12.30% vs 18.28%, 19.21% vs 17.31%, respectively, P > 0.05) was not statistically different in 60 - 80 age group of between 10 years ago and the present. Conclusion Although the environment factors such as life style and self-care consciousness change a lot over the past 10 years, favorable factors and unfavorable factors that can influence bone metabolism coexist. As a result, there is no significant difference in the peak bone mass and the prevalence of osteoporosis in elderly adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the association of the 482G/A polymorphism of the PGC-1alpha gene with type 2 diabetes by family-based study in the Han population in South China, and to analyze the quantitative and qualitative binding force changes between the PGC-1alpha domain mutant and MEF2C, as well as to evaluate the possibility of PGC-1alpha -MEF2C-GLUT4 pathway in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes., Methods: Blood samples were collected from 350 patients with type 2 diabetes and their first-degree relatives. Genomic DNA was extracted and polymorphic PGC-1alpha genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and direct DNA sequencing. The results were analyzed by family-based transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and haplotype relative risk (HRR). The protein-protein interaction between PGC-1alpha and MEF2C was detected by means of the site-directed mutagenesis kit and bacteriomatch two-hybrid system kit., Results: In the family-based study, HRR analyses demonstrated that the 482A allele was more often transmitted to patients than predicted by chance (chi (2)= 7.2170, P= 0.0072, HRR= 1.4496). TDT-extended test(ETDT) analyses also revealed that PGC-1alpha 482A allele was significantly deviated from 0.5 from heterozygous parents to patients than expected (219 trios, P= 0.0310; 350 trios, P= 0.0292). BacterioMatch Two-Hybrid System showed that 482A variation could lead to decreased binding force between PGC-1alpha and MEF2C (62.1+/- 8.97, P< 0.05)., Conclusion: The 482A polymorphism increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetic mellitus in the South China Han population, which might be mediated by the PGC-1alpha -MEF2C-GLUT4 pathway.