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The cervical microbiome is associated with cervical cancer risk, but how microbial diversity and functional profiles change in cervical cancer remains unclear. Herein, we investigated microbialcompositional and functional differences between a control group and a high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer (CIN2/3-CC) group. After retrospective collection of 92 cervical swab samples, we carried out 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing on 50 and 42 samples from the control and CIN2/3-CC groups, respectively. The EzBioCloud pipeline was applied to identify the genomic features associated with the groups using 16S rRNA data. A linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was performed to assess the enrichment in the assigned taxonomic and functional profiles. We found a lower richness in the control group relative to the CIN2/3-CC group; however, the β-diversity tended to be similar between the groups. The LEfSe analysis showed that a phylum Sacchaaribacteria_TM7, 11 genera, and 21 species were more abundant in the CIN2/3-CC group and that one uncharacterized Gardnerella species was more abundant only in the control group. Further characterization of the functional pathways using EzBioCloud showed that the 4 KEGG orthologs (Phosphotransferase system [PTS] sucrose-specific IIA, IIB, IIC components and PTS cellubiose-specific IIC component) were involved in the KEGG pathway of starch and sucrose metabolism. The two pathways of folate biosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation were more abundant in the CIN2/3-CC group. Further confirmation of these results in larger samples can help to elucidate the potential association between the cervical microbiome and cervical cancer. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is a precancerous lesion in cervical epithelial cells, and is histologically divided into different grades 1. Infection with HPV is the most important causative factor for CIN or cervical cancer. Although HPV is a major risk factor for cervical precancerous lesions or cancer, the potential role of the cervicovaginal microbiome in cervical cancer via the elevation of pH also has been reported 2. In fact, the role of the cervicovaginal microbiome in HPV infection has already been established, which fact suggests a possible role in cervical cancer through potentiation of HPV infection 3. Interestingly, the action of the microbiota is a complex process, the scientific data on which remains sparse 4,5. The impact of the microbiome and its functions on cervical pathophysiology differ among individuals 6. There is increasing evidence that the cervical microbiome plays important roles in the carcinogenesis process of the uterine cervix; thus, it is being considered as a target for development of innovative therapeutic approaches 7,8. The cervical microbiome's importance lies in its provision of the metabolic pathways and enzymatic machinery that help to process essential vitamins, remove toxic compounds, defend against pathogens, strengthen the female genital-tract epithelium, and stimulate as well a...

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The Influence of water source on the production of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) and its sanitization efficacy were investigated. Two different water sources (tap water (TW) and underground water (UGW)) were applied to produce slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) at same setting current, with similar electrolyte flow rate (EFR) and concentration. Properties of SAEW were evaluated based on pH, Available chlorine concentration (ACC) and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). Methods for the optimization of SAEW production process was examined to obtain high ACC value by implanting different types of electrolytes. Effect of ACC and pH of SAEW were evaluated in vitro towards inactivate foodborne pathogens. The results indicated that TW with hardness of 29 ppm produced effectively SAEW than through UGW (12 ppm) using electrolytes. Likewise, low water hardness could be reinforced by combining HCL with a salt (NaCl or KCL). The optimized SAEW production system was determined at 4% HCl + 2.0 M KCL with EFR of 2 mL/min and 4% HCl + 3.0 M KCL with EFR of 2 mL/min resulting in higher ACC value of 56.5 and 65.5 ppm, respectively using TW. Pathogenic vegetative cells were completely inactivated within 1 min of treatment in SAEW with 20 ppm. Viability observations using Confocal and TEM Microscopy, Flow cytometry, and antimicrobial activity were carried out to confirm the sanitizing effect and cell membrane disruption. Based on the experimental results obtained, it provides a foundation for future advancement towards commercial application of SAEW in the food and agricultural industries.