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Increasing evidence has suggested that physical activity may modulate gut microbiome composition. We investigated associations of long-term regular exercise with gut microbiota among middle-aged and older urban Chinese individuals. Gut microbiota was assessed using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene sequencing of stool samples from 2,151 participants from the Shanghai Women's Health Study and Shanghai Men's Health Study. Participants were free of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases at the time of stool sample collection. Physical activity was assessed in repeat surveys between 1996 and 2015 using validated questionnaires. Regular exercise was defined as any type of leisure-time physical activity with a standard metabolic equivalent score >3.0. Stool samples were collected using the 95% ethanol method between 2015 and 2018 with an average of 3.0 years (SD = 0.9) after the latest exposure assessment. General linear regression and permutational multivariate analysis of variance were carried out to evaluate associations of microbial α- and β-diversity with regular exercise participation. Logistic regression and linear regression models were used to evaluate the prevalence and relative abundance of individual taxa in association with regular exercise. Regular exercise was significantly associated with β-diversity (Bray–Curtis and Jaccard dissimilarities, both false discovery rates = 0.03%, 0.12% and 0.09% variance explained, respectively) but not with α-diversity. Relative abundance of genus Ruminococcus was significantly lower among regular exercisers compared with nonexercisers (median relative abundance: 0.64% vs. 0.81%, false discovery rate <0.10). Further studies are needed to validate the findings from this study and evaluate health benefits of regular exercise on gut microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although tobacco smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, interest in the relationship of diet quality on risk has been growing. Methods: We examined the association between Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-10) at enrollment and lung cancer incidence among 70,802 participants in a predominantly African American and low-income prospective cohort in the southern United States. Outcomes were ascertained through linkages with state cancer registries and the National Death Index (NDI). Hazard ratios by HEI-10 quartiles were assessed using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for potential confounders. Results: During ≤16 years of follow-up, 1454 incident lung cancers were identified. The lowest HEI-10 quartile compared to the highest was adversely associated with lung cancer risk (HR: 1.89, 95% CI 1.16–3.07) among male former smokers and female never smokers (HR: 2.58, 95% CI 1.06–6.28). Conclusions: Low-quality diet was associated with increased lung cancer risk among male former smokers and female never smokers but cautious interpretation of the findings should be taken due to the small number of lung cancers among never smokers and the possibility of residual confounding by smoking in ever smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the time course of mortality reduction following smoking cessation in Asians who have smoking behaviours distinct from their Western counterparts. We evaluated the level of reduction in all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and lung cancer mortality by years since quitting smoking, in Asia.Methods: Using Cox regression, we analysed individual participant data (n = 709 151) from 16 prospective cohorts conducted in China, Japan, Korea/Singapore, and India/Bangladesh, separately by cohorts. Cohort-specific hazard ratios (HRs) were combined using a random-effects meta-analysis.Results: During a mean follow-up of 12.0 years, 108 287 deaths were ascertained-35 658 from CVD and 7546 from lung cancer. Among Asian men, a dose-response relationship of risk reduction in deaths from all causes, CVD and lung cancer was observed with an increase in years after smoking cessation. Compared with never smokers, however, all-cause and CVD mortality among former smokers remained elevated 10-14 years after quitting [multivariable-adjusted HR (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.25 (1.13-1.37) and 1.20 (1.02-1.41), respectively]. Lung cancer mortality stayed almost 2-fold higher than among never smokers 15-19 years after smoking cessation [1.97 (1.41-2.73)], particularly among former heavy smokers [2.62 (1.71-4.00)]. Women who quitted for ≥5 years retained a significantly elevated mortality from all causes, CVD and lung cancer. Overall patterns of the cessation-mortality associations were similar across countries.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that adverse effects of tobacco smoking persist for an extended time period, even for more than two decades, which is beyond the time windows defined in current clinical guidelines for risk assessment of lung cancer and CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Diet is known to affect human gut microbiome composition; yet, how diet affects gut microbiome functionality remains unclear. Objective We compared the diversity and abundance/presence of fecal microbiome metabolic pathways among individuals according to their long-term diet quality. Methods In 2 longitudinal cohorts, we assessed participants' usual diets via repeated surveys during 1996–2011 and collected a stool sample in 2015–2018. Participants who maintained a healthy or unhealthy diet (i.e. stayed in the highest or lowest quintile of a healthy diet score throughout follow-up) were selected. Participants were excluded if they reported a history of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hypertension; had diarrhea or constipation in the last 7 d; or used antibiotics in the last 6 mo before stool collection. Functional profiling of shotgun metagenomics was performed using HUMAnN2. Associations of dietary variables and 420 microbial metabolic pathways were evaluated via multivariable-adjusted linear or logistic regression models. Results We included 144 adults (mean age = 64 y; 55% female); 66 had an unhealthy diet and 78 maintained a healthy diet. The healthy diet group had higher Shannon α-diversity indexes of microbial gene families and metabolic pathways (both P  < 0.02), whereas β-diversity, as evaluated by Bray-Curtis distance, did not differ between groups (both P  > 0.50). At P  < 0.01 [false discovery rate (FDR) <0.15], the healthy diet group showed enriched pathways for vitamin and carrier biosynthesis (e.g. tetrahydrofolate, acetyl-CoA, and l -methionine) and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and increased degradation (or reduced biosynthesis) of certain sugars [e.g. cytidine monophosphate (CMP)-legionaminate, deoxythymidine diphosphate (dTDP)- l -rhamnose, and sucrose], nucleotides, 4-aminobutanoate, methylglyoxal, sulfate, and aromatic compounds (e.g. catechol and toluene). Meanwhile, several food groups were associated with the CMP-legionaminate biosynthesis pathway at FDR <0.05. Conclusions In a small longitudinal study of generally healthy, older Chinese adults, we found long-term healthy eating was associated with increased α-diversity of microbial gene families and metabolic pathways and altered symbiotic functions relevant to human nutrition and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ru(bpy)3@SiO2-COOH and Ru(bpy)3@SiO2@CD47-peptide nanoparticles (NPs) with fluorescent and mass spectrometric properties were designed and synthesized as the models of drug-nanocarriers. Their phagocytic internalization could be quantitatively measured using more sensitive inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) (102Ru) versus traditional laser confocal scanning microscope (λex/em = 458/600 nm) for the first time. Modification of a self-signal trigging CD47-peptide on the NPs' surface decreased internalization by 10 times, (2.79 ± 0.21) × 104 Ru(bpy)3@SiO2-COOH and (0.28 ± 0.04) × 104 Ru(bpy)3@SiO2@CD47-peptide NPs per RAW264.7 macrophage (n = 5). The alkynyl-linked CD47-peptide allowed us to quantify the number (2412 ± 250) of CD47-peptide modified on the NP and the total content (5.14 ± 0.25 amol) of signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) on the macrophage by measuring the clickable tagged Eu using ICPMS. Furthermore, the interaction between CD47-peptide and SIRPα as well as the changes of the remaining free SIRPα during the internalization process of Ru(bpy)3@SiO2@CD47-peptide NPs were quantitatively evaluated, providing direct experimental evidence of the longspeculated crucial CD47-SIRPα interaction for drug-nanocarriers to escape internalization by phagocytic cells. Remarkable difference in the internalization ratio of 12.3 ± 4.8 of Ru(bpy)3@SiO2-COOH NPs and 4.3 ± 0.5 Ru(bpy)3@SiO2@CD47-peptide NPs with and without the protein corona indicated that CD47-peptide still worked when the protein corona formed. Not limited to the evaluation of the NPs studied here, such a fluorescent and mass spectrometric approach is very much expected to apply to the assessment of other drug-nanocarriers designed by chemists and before their medical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The obesity-lung cancer association remains controversial. Concerns over confounding by smoking and reverse causation persist. The influence of obesity type and effect modifications by race/ethnicity and tumor histology are largely unexplored.Methods: We examined associations of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-hip ratio (WHR) with lung cancer risk among 1.6 million Americans, Europeans, and Asians. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with adjustment for potential confounders. Analyses for WC/WHR were further adjusted for BMI. The joint effect of BMI and WC/WHR was also evaluated.Results: During an average 12-year follow-up, 23 732 incident lung cancer cases were identified. While BMI was generally associated with a decreased risk, WC and WHR were associated with increased risk after controlling for BMI. These associations were seen 10 years before diagnosis in smokers and never smokers, were strongest among blacks, and varied by histological type. After excluding the first five years of follow-up, hazard ratios per 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI were 0.95 (95% CI = 0.90 to 1.00), 0.92 (95% CI = 0.89 to 0.95), and 0.89 (95% CI = 0.86 to 0.91) in never, former, and current smokers, and 0.86 (95% CI = 0.84 to 0.89), 0.94 (95% CI = 0.90 to 0.99), and 1.09 (95% CI = 1.03 to 1.15) for adenocarcinoma, squamous cell, and small cell carcinoma, respectively. Hazard ratios per 10 cm increase in WC were 1.09 (95% CI = 1.00 to 1.18), 1.12 (95% CI = 1.07 to 1.17), and 1.11 (95% CI = 1.07 to 1.16) in never, former, and current smokers, and 1.06 (95% CI = 1.01 to 1.12), 1.20 (95% CI = 1.12 to 1.29), and 1.13 (95% CI = 1.04 to 1.23) for adenocarcinoma, squamous cell, and small cell carcinoma, respectively. Participants with BMIs of less than 25 kg/m2 but high WC had a 40% higher risk (HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.26 to 1.56) than those with BMIs of 25 kg/m2 or greater but normal/moderate WC.Conclusions: The inverse BMI-lung cancer association is not entirely due to smoking and reverse causation. Central obesity, particularly concurrent with low BMI, may help identify high-risk populations for lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A healthy diet, as defined by the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), has been associated with lower morbidity and mortality from major chronic diseases in studies conducted in predominantly non-Hispanic white individuals. It is unknown whether this association can be extrapolated to African-Americans and low-income populations. Methods and Findings: We examined the associations of adherence to the DGA with total and cause-specific mortality in the Southern Community Cohort Study, a prospective study that recruited 84,735 American adults, aged 40–79 y, from 12 southeastern US states during 2002–2009, mostly through community health centers that serve low-income populations. The present analysis included 50,434 African-Americans, 24,054 white individuals, and 3,084 individuals of other racial/ethnic groups, among whom 42,759 participants had an annual household income less than US$15,000. Usual dietary intakes were assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Adherence to the DGA was measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), 2010 and 2005 editions (HEI-2010 and HEI-2005, respectively). During a mean follow-up of 6.2 y, 6,906 deaths were identified, including 2,244 from cardiovascular disease, 1,794 from cancer, and 2,550 from other diseases. A higher HEI-2010 score was associated with lower risks of disease death, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.73–0.86) for all-disease mortality, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.70–0.94) for cardiovascular disease mortality, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.69–0.95) for cancer mortality, and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.67–0.88) for other disease mortality, when comparing the highest quintile with the lowest (all p-values for trend < 0.05). Similar inverse associations between HEI-2010 score and mortality were observed regardless of sex, race, and income (all p-values for interaction > 0.50). Several component scores in the HEI-2010, including whole grains, dairy, seafood and plant proteins, and ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, showed significant inverse associations with total mortality. HEI-2005 score was also associated with lower disease mortality, with a HR of 0.86 (95% CI, 0.79–0.93) when comparing extreme quintiles. Given the observational study design, however, residual confounding cannot be completely ruled out. In addition, future studies are needed to evaluate the generalizability of these findings to African-Americans of other socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Our results showed, to our knowledge for the first time, that adherence to the DGA was associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in a low-income population, including a large proportion of African-Americans, living in the southeastern US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential long-term association between carbohydrate intake and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) remains unclear, especially among populations who habitually have high-carbohydrate diets. We prospectively examined intakes of carbohydrates and staple grains as well as glycemic index and glycemic load in relation to CHD among 117,366 Chinese women and men (40–74 years of age) without history of diabetes, CHD, stroke, or cancer at baseline in Shanghai, China. Diet was assessed using validated food frequency questionnaires. Incident CHD cases were ascertained during follow-ups (in women, the mean was 9.8 years and in men, the mean was 5.4 years) and confirmed by medical records. Carbohydrate intake accounted for 67.5% of the total energy intake in women and 68.5% in men. Seventy percent of total carbohydrates came from white rice and 17% were from refined wheat products. Positive associations between carbohydrate intakess and CHD were found in both sexes (all P for heterogeneity > 0.35). The combined multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios for the lowest to highest quartiles of carbohydrate intake, respectively, were 1.00, 1.38, 2.03, and 2.88 (95% confidence interval: 1.44, 5.78; P for trend = 0.001). The combined hazard ratios comparing the highest quartile with the lowest were 1.80 (95% confidence interval: 1.01, 3.17) for refined grains and 1.87 (95% confidence interval: 1.00, 3.53) for glycemic load (both P for trend = 0.03). High carbohydrate intake, mainly from refined grains, is associated with increased CHD risk in Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Little is known regarding the associations between high-molecular-weight (HMW-) adiponectin, leptin and soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Chinese. Also few studies elucidate the effects of inflammation and body fat mass on the relations. Methods: Plasma HMW-adiponectin, leptin and sOB-R were measured among 1055 Chinese men and women (35,54 yrs). Whole body and trunk fat mass were determined by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. MetS was defined by the updated NCEP/ATPIII criterion for Asian-Americans. Results: HMW-adiponectin was inversely associated with MetS in multivariate model including fat mass index (FMI), inflammatory markers, leptin and sOB-R (OR in the highest quartile = 0.30, 95%CI 0.18∼0.50, P<.0001). Plasma sOB-R was also inversely associated with MetS independent of body fatness and inflammatory markers, whereas the association was somewhat attenuated after adjusting HMW-adiponectin (OR for the highest quartile = 0.78, 95%CI 0.47∼1.32, P = 0.15). In contrast, leptin was associated with increased odds of MetS independent of inflammatory markers, HMW-adiponectin, and sOB-R (OR for the highest quartile = 2.64, 95%CI 1.35∼5.18, P = 0.006), although further adjustment for FMI abolished this association. Conclusions: HMW-adiponectin exhibited strong inverse associations with MetS independent of body composition, inflammation, leptin and sOB-R; while the associations of leptin and sOB-R were largely explained by fat mass or HMW-adiponectin, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore whether probiotic supplementation could attenuate serum trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) level and impact the intestinal microbiome composition. Design: Forty healthy males (20–25 years old) were randomized into the probiotic group (1.32 × 1011 CFU live bacteria including strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium animalis, and Bifidobacterium longum daily) or the control group for 4 weeks. All participants underwent a phosphatidylcholine challenge test (PCCT) before and after the intervention. Serum TMAO and its precursors (TMA, choline and betaine) were measured by UPLC-MS/MS. The faecal microbiome was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Results: Serum TMAO and its precursors were markedly increased after the PCCT. No statistical differences were observed in the probiotic and the control group in area under the curve (AUC) (14.79 ± 0.97 μmol/L 8 h vs. 19.17 ± 2.55 μmol/L 8 h, P = 0.106) and the pre- to post-intervention AUC alterations (∆AUC) (− 6.33 ± 2.00 μmol/L 8 h vs. − 0.73 ± 3.04 μmol/L 8 h, P = 0.131) of TMAO; however, higher proportion of participants in probiotic group showed their TMAO decrease after the intervention (78.9% vs. 45.0%, P = 0.029). The abundance of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (P = 0.043) and Prevotella (P = 0.001) in the probiotic group was significantly increased after the intervention but without obvious differences in α- and β-diversity. Conclusions: The current probiotic supplementation resulted in detectable change of intestinal microbiome composition but failed to attenuate the serum TMAO elevation after PCCT. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03292978. Clinicaltrials.gov website: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03292978. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the association between diet and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is essential to curbing the epidemic of this cancer. This study prospectively evaluated adherence to the Chinese Food Pagoda (CHFP), and two American Dietary Guidelines: the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) in association with CRC risk among Chinese adults living in urban Shanghai, China.Methods: Participants included 60 161 men and 72 445 women aged 40-74, from two ongoing population-based prospective cohort studies. Associations between dietary guideline compliance scores and CRC risk were evaluated by Cox proportional hazard regression analyses, with age as time metric, and potential confounders were adjusted.Results: We identified 1670 CRC incidence cases (691 males and 979 females) during an average 8.1 years of follow-up for men and 13.4 years for women. CHFP score was inversely associated with risk of CRC, with hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals) of 0.88 (0.77, 1.00), 0.86 (0.75, 0.98) and 0.84 (0.73, 0.96) for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quartiles versus 1st quartile, respectively (Ptrend= 0.01). The inverse association appeared stronger for rectal cancer, individuals at younger age (< 50 years), with a lower BMI (<25 kg/m2) or without any metabolic conditions at baseline, although no multiplicative interactions were noted. No consistent association pattern was observed for the modified DASH score and the modified AHEI-2010.Conclusions: Compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese was associated with reduced risk of CRC among Chinese adults. To maximize health impacts, dietary recommendations need to be tailored for specific populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolomic studies have identified several metabolites associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in populations of European ancestry. East Asians, a population of particular susceptibility to T2D, were generally not included in previous studies. We examined the associations of plasma metabolites with risk and prevalence of T2D in 976 Chinese men and women (40–74 years of age) who were participants of two prospective cohort studies and had no cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline. Sixty-eight prevalent and 73 incident T2D cases were included. Non-targeted metabolomics was conducted that detected 689 metabolites with known identities and 690 unknown metabolites. Multivariable logistic and Cox regressions were used to evaluate the associations of standardized metabolites with diabetes risk and prevalence. We identified 36 known metabolites and 10 unknown metabolites associated with prevalent and/or incident T2D at false discovery rate <0.05. The known metabolites are involved in metabolic pathways of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, branched-chain amino acids, other amino acids, fatty acids, glycerophospholipids, androgen, and bradykinin. Six metabolites showed independent associations with incident T2D: 1,5-anhydroglucitol, mannose, valine, 3-methoxytyrosine, docosapentaenoate (22:5n3), and bradykinin-hydroxy-pro(3). Each standard deviation increase in these metabolites was associated with a 40–150 % change in risk of developing diabetes (30–80 % after further adjustment for glucose). Risk prediction was significantly improved by adding these metabolites in addition to known T2D risk factors, including central obesity and glucose. These findings suggest that hexoses, branched-chain amino acids, and yet to be validated novel plasma metabolites may improve risk prediction and mechanistic understanding of T2D in Chinese populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superfine CaLaAl 1-x Cr x O 4 (x = 0.02, 0.05, 0.08, 0.10) red ceramic pigments have been prepared by solution combustion reaction and subsequent high-temperature calcination. All of the pigments were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV–Vis spectrophotometry, Laser particle size analyzer and CIE L*a*b* spectrophotometry. Moreover, the effects of the doping amount of Cr3+ ion, calcination temperature, salt assistance and synthetic routes on chromatic performance and particle size distributions of the pigments were also investigated. The results showed that CaLaAl 1-x Cr x O 4 pigment particles prepared via solution combustion reaction and subsequent calcination were well-dispersed and uniform in size. With the increase of doping amount of Cr3+ ion, the brightness value L* of CaLaAl 1-x Cr x O 4 pigments decreased obviously and the redness value a* increased gradually. When x = 0.08, it showed the best chromatic performance (L* = 39.37, a* = 21.33, b* = 13.99). In addition, the synthetic pigments possess excellent high temperature stability which is conducive to the application of ceramic pigments. Most importantly, the synthetic method of CaLaAl 1-x Cr x O 4 red ceramic pigments is not only cheap in raw materials, but also easy to industrialize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Current evidence on tea consumption and hypertension is inconclusive, and prospective studies among habitual tea drinkers remain limited.Objective: We investigated the associations of habitual tea consumption with hypertension risk and longitudinal blood pressure changes in 2 large cohorts.Methods: This study included participants aged 40-75 y from the Shanghai Women's Health Study (n = 31,351) and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (n = 28,342), without hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at baseline. Information on tea consumption was assessed during in-person interviews at enrollment and follow-up visits. Incident hypertension was identified by self-reported diagnosis, medication use, or blood pressure measurements.Results: Current tea drinkers had a 7% higher risk than the non-current tea drinker group [HRs (95% CIs): women, 1.07 (1.01, 1.14); men, 1.07 (1.02, 1.12)]. The amount of tea drinking showed significant dose-response associations with hypertension: compared with the non-current group, HRs (95% CIs) for women and men were 1.01 (0.90, 1.14) and 1.02 (0.96, 1.08) for low (women/men: <100/200 g/mo), 1.07 (1.01, 1.15) and 1.05 (0.99, 1.12) for medium (women/men: 100-250/200-250 g/mo), and 1.18 (1.01, 1.39) and 1.10 (1.03, 1.17) for the high-amount group (women/men: >250 g/mo). Among participants without hypertension, compared with non-current tea drinkers, least-squares means of 3-y changes in blood pressure were 0.3-0.4 mm Hg higher for women and men as current drinkers and 0.7-0.9 mm Hg higher for men in the high-consumption group. Compared with those who never drank tea, women who drank tea consistently had 0.5 (0.2, 0.7) mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure (DBP), whereas men had 0.5 (0.04, 0.9) mm Hg higher systolic blood pressure and 0.3 (0.04, 0.6) mm Hg higher DBP, respectively.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that habitual tea drinking is associated with a slightly higher risk of hypertension and a minor increase in blood pressure among middle-aged and older Chinese adults, which warrants confirmation by long-term intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Legumes, important components of a healthy diet, may exert their health benefits through the influence of the gut microbiome. However, this hypothesis has not been well investigated.Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between long-term legume consumption and the gut microbiome among elderly Chinese.Methods: The gut microbiome was profiled by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing in 2302 Chinese adults enrolled in 2 large cohort studies, the Shanghai Women's Health Study and Shanghai Men's Health Study. Legume consumption, including peanuts, soy foods, and other beans, was assessed by food-frequency questionnaires prior to the stool collection. The associations of legume consumption with microbiome diversity and taxa abundance were evaluated by linear or negative binomial hurdle models, adjusting for sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, and BMI. False discovery rate (FDR)-corrected P values (PFDR) < 0.1 were considered significant.Results: Respectively, 52% and 48% of study participants were male and female. The mean age at stool collection was 68.03 y for females and 70.28 y for males. Total legume consumption was not associated with gut microbiome ɑ-diversity; however, male peanut consumers had a higher Chao1 index (β = 22.52, P = 0.01), whereas peanut consumption was associated with decreased Shannon (β = -0.03, P = 0.02) and Simpson (β = -0.002, P = 0.04) indexes among females. In female and male combined analyses, total legume consumption was associated with increased Enterobacteriales (β = 0.30, PFDR = 0.06). Within this order, an unclassified genus in the family Enterobacteriaceae was positively associated with total legume (β = 0.46, PFDR = 0.03) and peanut (β = 0.59, PFDR = 0.01) consumption. Stratified analyses showed significant associations were primarily confined to females and participants without metabolic conditions.Conclusions: Legume consumption was associated with gut microbiome diversity and abundance of some bacteria in elderly Chinese. Associations were significant only among 1 sex group. Further research, including large-scale prospective studies and feeding trials, is needed to fully understand the role of the gut microbiome in legume-health associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: American adults gain on average 1-2 lb/year. Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors have been shown to influence body weight. This influence has not yet been well characterized among blacks and low-income Americans, who are at high risk for obesity and related diseases. Methods: Included in the study were 12,261 blacks and 6,307 whites, 40-69 years old, who participate in the Southern Community Cohort Study, had no history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer, and reported ≥2 body weight measures, one at baseline and another during follow-up. Mixed model was used to evaluate 5-year weight change in relation to baseline factors and changes in factors during follow-up. Analyses were conducted among all subjects and stratified by sex and race and baseline obesity status. Differences in 5-year weight change>1 lb with FDR-p<0.10 were considered significant. Results: During follow-up (median: 6 years; range: 0.5-15 years), participants gained 2.5 lb/year. After mutual adjustments, greater 5-year weight gain was seen among men (+1.61 lb) than women and associated with getting married (+1.67 lb), quitting smoking (+4.72 lb), and transition to menopause (+1.98 lb). The association for marital status change was most evident among white men (+5.80 lb) and the association for quitting smoking was most evident among subjects with baseline BMI>35 (+8.95 lb). Diet and other lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity) overall contributed modestly to 5-year weight change in this population, although associations were observed for per serving increase in greens and beans among white women (-4.61 lb) and dairy among white men (+3.30 lb) and Healthy Eating Index among subjects with BMI>35 (-2.02 lb per 10 points increase). Conclusion: Changes in smoking, marriage, and menopause status contribute to body weight change among low-income Americans. Certain dietary factors are also related to weight change, but the association may vary by sex, race, and obesity status. Disclosure: J. Yang: None. X. Shu: None. D. Yu: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Amphetamines in hair was determined with only 0.3 mg sample required. • Flash evaporation-GC/MS method combined with micro-reaction device was developed. • Acetylation of amphetamines was performed in a sealed capillary glass capsule. • The proposed method has significant potential to determine AMPs in human hair. A sensitive and novel method for the determination of methamphetamine (MAMP), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and their metabolites amphetamine (AMP), 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in human hair was established by the employment of flash evaporation-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (FE-GC/MS) combined with micro-reaction device. 0.30 mg human hair after cutting was put into a sealed glass capillary and heated at 270 °C in a pyrolyzer for 0.5 min. MAMP, AMP, MDMA and MDA evaporated from the hair were converted into their corresponding trifluoroacetylation product in a 60 °C water bath for 30 min with the acetylation by 2 μL trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAH). Thus, amphetamines (AMPs) in human hair were separated and detected by GC/MS in SIM mode. The obtained calibration curves showed good linearity with the concentrations of MAMP, MDMA and MDA at 1–100 ng/mg, and AMP at 2–100 ng/mg. The linear correlation coefficients (r) were all larger than 0.996. Limits of detection for MAMP, AMP, MDMA and MDA were 0.67, 0.07, 0.17 and 0.07 ng/mg respectively. Limits of quantification for MAMP, AMP, MDMA and MDA were 2.00, 0.20, 0.50 and 0.20 ng/mg respectively. The precision over a range of 0.63–9.98 % were obtained with the recoveries of 92.7–115.2 % for AMPs. Five positive hair samples, three suspicious hair samples and two negative hair samples were successfully analyzed. The results of FE-GC/MS with micro-reaction device were comparable with those found by the referenced method. It was demonstrated that the developed method had potential applications for the analysis of AMPs in hair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The reported study, to the best of our knowledge, is by far the largest and longest follow-up study that prospectively investigated the influence of lifestyle factors on age-related functional impairments among older adults. • Healthy lifestyle, including healthy dietary habits, no smoking, limited drinking, exercise, and normal body mass index (BMI), is associated with a decreased likelihood of aging-related functional impairments in walking, hearing/vision, memory, and decision-making at a median follow-up of 14.4 years. • The lifestyle-aging related functional impairment associations are similar between participants with and without cardiometabolic diseases at the baseline survey. To examine the associations between lifestyle habits and functional impairments among older adults. The study includes 20,545 women and 14,374 men aged 70 years or older at the time of the function assessment. Participants were from two prospective cohort studies: the Shanghai Women's Health Study (SWHS, enrollment from 1996 to 2000) and the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS, enrollment from 2002 to 2006). Lifestyle information was collected at study enrollment and a healthy lifestyle score (HLS) was derived. Functional impairment information was collected at the follow-up survey conducted in 2012-2017. Logistic regression analyses were applied to estimate the associations of HLS with functional impairments. The average age at lifestyle and functional impairment assessment was 62.3 (range: 49.9-70.9) and 77.7 (range: 70.0-89.4) for women and 67.5 (range: 55.1-74.9) and 77.4 (range: 70.0-88.6) for men. After a median follow-up of 14.4 years, we found that the HLS was inversely associated with overall severe functional impairment: odds ratio (95% confidence interval), 0.78(0.71-0.86) and individual severe functional impairment: 0.67(0.62-0.73) for independent walking, 0.85(0.77-0.94) for hearing/vision, 0.79(0.70-0.88) for memory, and 0.74(0.67-0.82) for decision-making impairment, comparing the highest with the lowest HLS categories. Such associations were similar among individuals with/without cardiometabolic diseases at baseline. The associations between each lifestyle factor and functional impairments differed. A healthy lifestyle was associated with reduced odds of physical and mental impairment among older Chinese adults, emphasizing the importance of promoting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to prevent or postpone age-related functional impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: African Americans and low-income whites have higher mortality than the U.S. general population. This study prospectively investigated the combined influence of major lifestyle factors and poverty on mortality in this vulnerable population.Methods: Data were collected in 2002-2009 from 79,101 Southern Community Cohort Study participants, of which 67% were African American and 55% had household incomes <$15,000. Mortality outcomes were identified from the National Death Index though December 31, 2011 (data analyzed in 2014-2015). Healthy behavior scores were created based on tobacco smoking, alcohol intake, diet, physical activity, and sedentary time. The primary analysis was performed based on the score created by counting each participant as having met/not met public health guidelines for each behavior.Results: Healthy behavior scores were associated with reduced cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. Associations were stronger for whites than African Americans: hazard ratios for all-cause mortality comparing participants meeting four or five guidelines versus participants meeting zero were 0.41 (95% CI=0.30, 0.55) for African American men; 0.36 (95% CI=0.24, 0.55) for white men; 0.46 (95% CI=0.36, 0.59) for African American women; and 0.27 (95% CI=0.18, 0.43) for white women. The association between healthy lifestyle and all-cause mortality was weaker among those with incomes <$15,000 than those with higher income, particularly in men (p<0.05 for interaction).Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of health behaviors on mortality among all groups, but highlights the need for additional research to identify factors contributing to high risk of mortality among low-income and African American populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel yellow-green Al-doped Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 nano-pigments are effectively synthesized via solution combustion method. • The Y 3 Fe 4 AlO 12 nano-pigments demonstrate the high NIR reflectance of 87.66% and great acid/alkali resistance. • Compared with the similar commercial pigment, 7.6 °C can be reduced by Y 3 Fe 4 AlO 12 pigment. • The synthetic pigments have potential to be used in cool coatings and to mitigate the urban heat island effect. The pigments with high near-infrared (NIR) reflectance hold great promise toward both fundamental types of researches and applications for the realization of comfortable indoor-temperature by mitigating urban heat island effect. However, the facile yet simple method for the NIR reflective pigments with bright color and non-toxic feature remains a huge challenge, limiting their practical application. Herein, we proposed a mild and universal method of solution combustion for constructing the non-toxic and NIR reflective yellow-green pigments of Al-doped Y 3 Fe 5 O 12. The Y 3 Fe 4 AlO 12 pigment presented a high NIR reflectance of 87.66%, and an outstanding acid/alkali resistance. Moreover, the pigment had an impressive color performance (L* = 78.72, a* = − 4.05, b* = 40.04). Besides, the practical near-infrared reflection performance revealed that the transient surface temperature of the Y 3 Fe 4 AlO 12 pigment was 7.6 °C lower than that of the pigment with similar color on the market. This research supplied high NIR reflecting pigments of Y 3 Fe 5−x Al x O 12 as promising coatings for roofs and exterior walls of buildings, acting as a favorable solution for urban heat island effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to investigate how lean body mass is related to circulating Interleukin 18 (IL-18) and its association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) among apparently healthy Chinese. Methods: A population-based sample of 1059 Chinese men and women aged 35-54 years was used to measure plasma IL- 18, glucose, insulin, lipid profile, inflammatory markers and high-molecular-weight (HMW)-adiponectin. Fat mass index (FMI) and lean mass index (LMI) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. MetS was defined by the updated National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria for Asian-Americans. Results: Circulating IL-18 was positively correlated with LMI after adjustment for FMI (correlation coefficient = 0.11, P,0.001). The association with the MetS (odds ratio 3.43, 95% confidence interval 2.01-5.85) was substantially higher in the highest than the lowest quartile of IL-18 after multiple adjustments including body mass index. In the stratified multivariable regression analyses, the positive association between IL-18 and MetS was independent of tertiles of FMI, inflammatory markers and HMW-adiponectin, but significantly interacted with tertile of LMI (P for interaction = 0.010). Conclusion: Elevated plasma IL-18 was associated with higher MetS prevalence in apparently healthy Chinese, independent of traditional risk factors, FMI, inflammatory markers and HMW-adiponectin. More studies are needed to clarify the role of lean mass in IL-18 secretion and its associated cardio-metabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms linking overall/central obesity with type 2 diabetes are not fully understood. In a nested case-control study of 1039 incident cases and 1039 matched controls from two prospective cohorts of Chinese adults, we measured 142 plasma metabolites using LCMS platforms. We identified and validated 28 metabolites associated with body mass index (BMI) and 34 metabolites with waist circumference (WC) in multivariable-adjusted linear models at false discovery rate<0.05. Using LASSO regression, we selected 15 and 21 metabolites, respectively, to create BMI- and WC-related metabolite composite scores (MCSs), including glutamate, branched-chain amino acids, tyrosine, uric acid, dimethylguanidino valeric acid, C5-carnitine, cis-aconitic acid, and homogentisic acid (positive associations) and 1,5-anhydrosorbitol, pyruvic acid, serine, glycine, and asparagine (inverse associations). Both MCSs showed strong linear associations with diabetes risk: OR (95% CI) in the highest vs. lowest quartiles was 3.92 (1.88, 8.15) for BMI-related MCS and 7.87 (3.53, 17.53) for WC-related MCS after adjusting for diabetes risk factors including plasma glucose (both P-trend<0.001). Strikingly, the MCSs showed even stronger associations with diabetes among participants with normal BMI or WC: OR (95% CI) across quartiles was 6.99 (3.97, 12.3) and 9.98 (6.11, 16.3), respectively. The MCSs mediated 50-70% of the BMI/WC-diabetes association. MCSs alone achieved similar prediction performance as traditional risk factors, including age, sex, lifestyles, diet, family history, and BMI/WC (all C-statistics~0.75). Adding MCSs to traditional risk factors and plasma glucose improved the C-statistics from 0.79 to 0.83 (P<0.001). In conclusion, we identified multiple obesity-related circulating metabolites strongly associated with diabetes risk, even among individuals with normal BMI or WC. Those metabolites could explain up to 70% of obesity-related diabetes risk and further improve diabetes risk prediction. Disclosure: X. Pan: None. Z. Chen: None. T. Wang: None. W. Zheng: None. R. E. Gerszten: None. X. Shu: None. D. Yu: None. Funding: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK108159 to T.W., X-O.S., R.E.G.), (R01DK126721 to D.Y.); National Cancer Institute (UM1CA173640 to X-O.S.), (UM1CA182910 to W.Z.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]