Association between Plasma Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Level and Alzheimer's Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: High brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentrations have been found to be associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in observational studies, but the causality for this association remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the association between genetically determined plasma BDNF levels and AD using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method.

Methods: Twenty single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with plasma BDNF concentrations were identified as genetic instruments based on a genome-wide association study with 3301 European individuals.

Genotypic and spatial analysis of transmission dynamics of tuberculosis in Shanghai, China: a 10-year prospective population-based surveillance study.

Background: With improved tuberculosis (TB) control programs, the incidence of TB in China declined dramatically over the past few decades, but recently the rate of decrease has slowed, especially in large cities such as Shanghai. To help formulate strategies to further reduce TB incidence, we performed a 10-year study in Songjiang, a district of Shanghai, to delineate the characteristics, transmission patterns, and dynamic changes of the local TB burden.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study of culture-positive pulmonary TB patients diagnosed in Songjiang during 2011-2020.

Contact investigation of tuberculosis in Shanghai, China: A 13-year cohort.

Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) contact investigation is an effective strategy for TB control. We established a close-contact cohort to evaluate the effect of contact investigation in Shanghai, China.

Methods: Close contacts of bacteria-positive TB cases diagnosed from 2009 to 2018 in the Songjiang District of Shanghai were screened and followed up until 2021 through symptom examination or other alternatives, and the incidence and risk factors for developing active TB among close contacts were assessed by survival analysis and WGS.

Downregulation of CPT1A exerts a protective effect in dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis partially by inhibiting PPARα signaling pathway.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that may progress to colorectal cancer in severe cases. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1A (CPT1A) has been reported to be upregulated in colorectal cancer. This paper aims to explore the role of CPT1A in UC and its pathogenesis.

Mining the potential prognostic value of synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25) in colon cancer based on stromal-immune score.

Background: Colon cancer is one of the deadliest tumors worldwide. Stromal cells and immune cells play important roles in cancer biology and microenvironment across different types of cancer. This study aimed to identify the prognostic value of stromal/immune cell-associated genes for colon cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database using bioinformatic technology.

Prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in gynecological outpatients, Taizhou, China.

Objectives: Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) are highly prevalent worldwide and may lead to some genital diseases. The objective of this large-scale study was to estimate the prevalence characteristics of UU, CT, and NG among women in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Methods: A total of 13 303 women who visited the gynecologic outpatient service of Taizhou First People's Hospital in Taizhou from 2013 to 2018 were analyzed.