A growing body of studies have reported the health benefits of greenness. However, less is known about the potential beneficial effects of residential greenness on gut microbiota, which is essential to human health. In this study, we aim to examine the association between residential greenness and gut microbiota in a population-based cohort study. We included 1758 participants based on the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort (CMEC) study and collected their stool samples for 16S sequencing to derive gut microbiota data. Residential greenness was estimated using the satellite-based data on enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and the normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) in circular buffers of 250 m, 500 m, and 1000 m. The relationships between residential greenness levels and the composition of gut microbiota, measured by standardized α-diversity and taxonomic composition, were assessed using linear regression and Spearman correlation weighted by generalized propensity scores. Higher greenness levels were significantly positively associated with standardized α-diversity. Per interquartile range (IQR) increase of EVI and NDVI in the circular buffer of 250 m were associated with the increments of 0.995(95% confidence interval (CI): 0.212-1.778) and 0.653(95% CI: 0.160-1.146) in the standardized Shannon index. For the taxonomic composition of gut microbiota, higher greenness levels were significantly correlated with 29 types of microbial taxonomic composition. NDVI in the circular buffer of 250 m was associated with increased Firmicutes (r = 0.102, adjusted p value = 0.004), which was the dominant composition in the gut microbiota. Increased amounts of residential greenness may support healthy gut microbiota by benignly altering their composition. These findings suggested that green spaces should be designed to support diverse gut microbiota and ultimately optimize health benefits.

The prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) has brought severe challenges to the prevention and control of tuberculosis. Studies have explored the status of antituberculosis drug (ATD) resistance in different regions of China. However, few studies have focused on DR-TB in Sichuan to date. Due to the large population in Sichuan, detailed investigations of the DR-TB burden in Sichuan are needed. The objective of this study was to investigate the drug resistance characteristics of TB isolates from tuberculosis patients with and without HIV (TB-HIV patients and TBw/oHIV patients) in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Isolates from respiratory samples of TBw/oHIV patients and TB-HIV patients hospitalized between January 2014 and December 2017 were collected. Nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) were excluded. Drug sensitivity testing (DST) was performed according to the dilution method in microplates with 4 first-line ATDs and 8 second-line ATDs. TB strains were separated according to patient treatment history, patient age, calendar year and GeneXpert MTB/RIF (GeneXpert) assay results for further analysis. For the 7470 patients recruited, the multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) rate was 2.1-fold (14.6% vs. 6.8%) higher than the national baseline level. The repeatedly admitted patients were more likely to have a resistance profile than the first-time-admitted cases in both the TB-only group (P<0.05) and the TB-HIV corresponding group (P<0.05). Among the 7273 TBw/oHIV cases and 197 TB-HIV cases, the positivity rates of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the TB-HIV group were significantly lower than those in the TBw/oHIV group (P<0.05). The repeatedly admitted TB-HIV patients had lower resistance rates to INH than the repeatedly admitted TBw/oHIV patients (24.4% vs. 41.5%, P<0.05). The Rifampicin-resistant TB strains in the TBw/oHIV group were more likely to be resistant to INH in the repeatedly admitted group than those in the first-time admitted patients (P<0.05). The proportions of XDR (3.6% vs. 1.3%, P<0.05) and XDR-TB/MDR-TB (7.3% vs. 2.2%, P<0.05) in all TB-HIV patients were significantly higher than those in all TBw/oHIV patients. The ratio of XDR-TB was significantly higher in the TB-HIV group than in the TBw/oHIV group (30.4% vs. 9.0%, P<0.05) and the all TB group (9.0% vs. 10.1%, P<0.05). Regarding age, the <25-year-old TB-HIV patients (9.1% vs. 0.7%, P<0.05) and 25~44-year-old TB-HIV patients (5.2% vs. 2.4%, P2015>2016≈2017 for TBw/oHIV patients. The same trend was also observed for TB-HIV patients: 2014>2015>2016≈2017. The GeneXpert TB-positive rate in the TBw/oHIV group was higher than that in the TB-HIV group [81%(639/792) vs. 65% (13/20), P<0.05]. In TBw/oHIV cases, the agreement was 92.3% and the Kappa value was 0.75. In TB-HIV cases, the agreement was 85.0% and the Kappa value was 0.32. In Sichuan, ATD resistance has improved since 2014, but to date, it remains severe. The different resistance profiles of TBw/oHIV patients and TB-HIV patients indicates the need for personalized treatment plans. Specifically, the GeneXpert assay might be more suitable for TBw/oHIV patients than for TB-HIV patients.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim (ZBM), a traditional Chinese medicine, is traditionally used for osteoporosis treatment recorded in ancient Chinese medicine work Benjingshuzheng and reported to have the anti-bone loss activity in recent studies. However, the anti-osteoporotic activities of the seed of ZBM have not been elucidated yet. Our previous study found that Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim seed oil (ZBSO) was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which were reported to prevent bone loss. Thus, we propose a hypothesis that ZBSO could be a potential natural resource for anti-bone loss. To investigate whether ZBSO could prevent bone loss by targeting osteoclastogenesis and investigate the potential mechanisms in receptor-activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL)-induced RAW264.7 cells. RAW264.7 cells were treated with RANKL in the presence or absence of ZBSO. The effect of ZBSO on osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption activity of RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, F-actin ring staining, and bone resorption assay. Differentially expression genes (DEGs) and relevant pathways of different cell groups were obtained from RNA sequencing and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis followed by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The effect of ZBSO on the RANKL-induced cell cycle change was analyzed by flow cytometry assay, and the expression of genes and proteins related to the selected pathways was further verified by RT-qPCR and western blot analysis. The inhibitory effects of ZBSO on osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption activity in a dose-dependent manner were demonstrated by TRAP staining, F-actin ring staining, and bone resorption assay in RANKL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Osteoclast differentiation and cell cycle pathways were the most enriched pathways based on DEGs enrichment analysis among different cell groups. The reversion effect of ZBSO on the RANKL-induced RAW264.7 cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase was observed by flow cytometry assay. Western blot results showed that ZBSO markedly decreased RANKL-induced activation of ERK, as well as the phosphorylation of c-JUN and NFATc1 expression, and subsequently suppressed osteoclast-specific genes, such as Ctsk, Trap, and Dc-stamp. ZBSO exhibited an inhibitory effect on osteoclastogenesis via suppressing the ERK/c-JUN/NFATc1 pathway and regulating cell cycle arrest induced by RANKL, suggesting that ZBSO may serve as a promising agent for anti-bone loss.