Rapid draft sequencing and real-time nanopore sequencing in a hospital outbreak of Salmonella.

Background: Foodborne outbreaks of Salmonella remain a pressing public health concern. We recently detected a large outbreak of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis phage type 14b affecting more than 30 patients in our hospital. This outbreak was linked to community, national and European-wide cases.

Plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme in Alzheimer's disease.

The insertion allele in the gene encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and ACE is one of several peptidases that have the ability to degrade the neurotoxic amyloid-beta peptide. ACE is a membrane-bound peptidase that is also present in a soluble form in plasma as a result of a zinc metalloprotease-mediated shedding event. Here we aimed to determine whether there is a difference in ACE in the plasma of late-onset clinically diagnosed AD patients (n = 94) as compared to age-matched non-demented control subjects (n = 188).

Elevated C-reactive protein and long-term mortality after ischaemic stroke: relationship with markers of endothelial cell and platelet activation.

Background And Purpose: Inflammatory biomarkers predict development of atherothrombotic events. In the present study we examined the relationships between C-reactive protein (CRP), complement C3, and long-term mortality after acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: CRP and C3 were analyzed by in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 394 subjects with acute ischemic stroke who survived for >30 days, followed-up for a median of 7.

Complement C3 and C-reactive protein are elevated in South Asians independent of a family history of stroke.

Background And Purpose: Complement components are emerging risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In this study, we examined the relation among C3, C-reactive protein (CRP), factor B, and features of the insulin resistance (IR) syndrome in 143 first-degree relatives of South Asian subjects with ischemic stroke, 141 South Asian controls, and 121 white controls.

Methods: C3, CRP (high-sensitivity assay), and factor B levels were measured by ELISAs, and their relation to features of the IR syndrome were assessed.

Proteolytic mechanisms in amyloid-beta metabolism: therapeutic implications for Alzheimer's disease.

The accumulation of the amyloid-beta peptide, the main constituent of the "amyloid plaque", is widely considered to be the key pathological event in Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid-beta is produced from the amyloid precursor protein through the action of the proteases beta-secretase and gamma-secretase. Alternative cleavage of amyloid precursor protein by the enzyme alpha-secretase precludes amyloid-beta production.

Coagulation factor VII activity, Arg/Gln353 polymorphism and features of insulin resistance in first-degree-relatives of South Asian patients with stroke.

The aim of the study was to determine associations of factor VII:C levels in 140 South Asian stroke subjects and 143 first-degree relatives versus age-sex matched 146 control subjects without a personal or a family history of stroke subjects living in UK. There were no significant differences in Factor VII:C levels or FVII Msp I gene polymorphism (Arg-Gln 353) R353Q genotype frequency between the groups. R353Q genotype determined Factor VII:C levels in all the three groups.

Clustering of thrombotic factors with insulin resistance in South Asian patients with ischaemic stroke.

We aimed to investigate significant correlations of insulin resistance with thrombotic factors in South Asians with stroke. Correlations of Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA)(as a surrogate of insulin resistance) were analysed with 6 thrombotic factors in 140 South Asian patients with a history of confirmed (by computerised tomography) ischaemic stroke. Age and sex adjusted HOMA was correlated to waist-hip ratio (r = 0.

Atherothrombotic risk factors in subjects with a family history of stroke.

Background: Subjects with stroke in a first-degree relative are at increased risk of atherothrombotic vascular disease. We aimed to examine atherothrombotic risk factors in such a population.

Methods: 145 subjects with a first-degree relative with stroke and 143 controls were recruited.

Determinants of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in South Asians with ischaemic stroke.

To investigate the relationship of circulating plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels with features of insulin resistance and genotype at a single nucleotide insertion/deletion (4G/5G) polymorphism in the promoter region of the PAI-1 gene in 101 South Asian ischaemic stroke patients and 102 symptom-free reference subjects. The allele frequencies were 4G-0.51, 5G-0.

Factor XIII A-subunit concentration predicts outcome in stroke subjects and vascular outcome in healthy, middle-aged men.

There is growing evidence for a role of factor XIII (FXIII) in vascular disease. FXIII measures were determined in (i) a nested case-control study from the Second Northwick Park Heart Study of 63 men with myocardial infarction (MI) and 124 age-matched controls and (ii) in a case-control study of 475 subjects with acute stroke and 461 controls followed up for 54 months for mortality. In both studies, measures of FXIII A- and B-subunit antigen, FXIII activity and prothrombin fragments (F1 + 2) were made.

Increased fibrinogen levels among South Asians versus Whites in the United Kingdom are not explained by common polymorphisms.

Determinants of fibrinogen level among South Asians are not established. In 1997-1999, plasma fibrinogen levels and prevalences of the fibrinogen polymorphisms A alpha Thr312Ala, beta-445G/A, and B beta Arg448Lys and correlates were compared among 100 apparently healthy United Kingdom South Asians and 100 age- and sex-matched Whites. Mean fibrinogen levels were higher in South Asians (3.

Increased fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor and tissue plasminogen activator levels in insulin resistant South Asian patients with ischaemic stroke.

The aim of this study was to determine differences in atherothrombotic risk factors in South Asian subjects with a history of ischaemic stroke and South Asian subjects free from personal and family history of clinically detectable stroke. Eighty South Asian patients with ischaemic stroke (confirmed on cranial computerised scan) and 80 South Asian controls with similar age and gender distributions were recruited at random. The frequency of hypertension (P=<0.