Although networks of microbial species have been widely used in the analysis of 16S rRNA sequencing data of a microbiome, the construction and analysis of a complete microbial gene network are in general problematic because of the large number of microbial genes in metagenomics studies. To overcome this limitation, we propose to map microbial genes to functional units, includ-ing KEGG orthologous groups and the evolutionary genealogy of genes:Non-supervised Ortholo-gous Groups (eggNOG) orthologous groups, to enable the construction and analysis of a microbial functional network. We devised two statistical methods to infer pairwise relationships between microbial functional units based on a deep sequencing dataset of gut microbiome from type 2 dia-betes (T2D) patients as well as healthy controls. Networks containing such functional units and their significant interactions were constructed subsequently. We conducted a variety of analyses of global properties, local properties, and functional modules in the resulting functional networks. Our data indicate that besides the observations consistent with the current knowledge, this study provides novel biological insights into the gut microbiome associated with T2D.

Objective:To investigate the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART) on thyroid function in adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS).Methods:A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted on 1 276 AIDS patients hospitalized in the Department of Infection, Guangzhou Eighth People′s Hospital from June 2017 to May 2020. General data, the first laboratory examination on admission, thyroid function, and related antibodies were collected and analyzed. A total of 176 patients were included in the study and divided into HAART group( n=83) and no-HAART group( n=93) according to whether they received HAART treatment. Results:Among 176 AIDS patients, the rate of thyroid dysfunction was 53.98%. It was significantly lower in the HAART group, compared with no-HAART group(40.96% vs 65.59%), with a statistically significant difference ( P=0.001). The course of AIDS, body mass index, CD4 + T lymphocyte count, free triiodothyronine, and serum creatinine in HAART group were significantly higher than those in no-HAART group, and aspartate aminotransferase was significantly lower than those in no-HAART group, with statistical significance(all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in age, sex, smoking history, free thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroid peroxidase antibody, thyroglobulin antibodies, and alanine aminotransferase between HAART group and no-HAART group(all P>0.05). The prevalence of low T 3 syndrome in HAART group was significantly lower than that in no-HAART group(14.46% vs 39.78%), and the difference was statistically significant( P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and isolated low T 4 between HAART group and No-HAART group(all P>0.05). Multivariate logistics regression analysis showed that HAART was an independent protective factor for thyroid dysfunction and isolated low T 4 in AIDS patients. Conclusions:Thyroid dysfunction is a common endocrine disorder in AIDS patients that requires attention from infectious disease specialists. HAART therapy serves as a protective factor against thyroid dysfunction. Thyroid dysfunction mainly manifests as low T3 syndrome and requires continuous monitoring of thyroid function changes.

Objective:To explore the mediating role of aging attitude and anxiety in the relationship between self-worth and depression among the elderly.Methods:From July to August 2022, a total of 536 elderly people in Shijiazhuang University for the Elderly were surveyed by the elderly self-worth scale, generalized anxiety disorder-7(GAD-7), attitudes to aging questionnaire(AAQ) and patient health questionnaire(PHQ-9). SPSS 26.0 software was used for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.AMOS 24.0 was used to construct an intermediation model, and Bootstrap method was used for mediating effect testing.Results:(1)The score of self-worth was 101.00 (92.00, 112.00), the score of aging attitude was 92.00 (83.00, 101.75), the score of anxiety was 2.00(0, 6.00), and the score of depression was 2.00 (0, 5.00). (2)Self-worth was positively correlated with aging attitude ( r=0.67, P<0.01), while negatively correlated with anxiety ( r=-0.45, P<0.01) and depression ( r=-0.48, P<0.01). The aging attitude was negatively correlated with anxiety ( r=-0.41, P<0.01) and depression ( r=-0.41, P<0.01). Anxiety was positively correlated with depression ( r=0.71, P<0.01). (3)The indirect effect of aging attitude between self-worth and depression in the elderly was -0.016, accounting for 19.75% (-0.016/-0.081)of the total indirect effect.The indirect effect of anxiety between self-worth and depression in the elderly was -0.045, accounting for 55.56%(-0.045/-0.081) of the total indirect effect.The chain mediating effect of aging attitude and anxiety between self-worth and depression in the elderly was -0.020, accounting for 24.69%(-0.020/-0.081) of the total indirect effect. Conclusion:Aging attitude and anxiety play a chain mediating role between self-worth and depression in the elderly.