Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on profiles of antibiotic-resistant genes and bacteria in hospital wastewater.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected healthcare worldwide and has led to the excessive use of disinfectants and antimicrobial agents. However, the impact of excessive disinfection measures and specific medication prescriptions on the development and dissemination of bacterial drug resistance during the pandemic remains unclear. This study investigated the influence of the pandemic on the composition of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and pathogenic communities in hospital wastewater using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and metagenome sequencing.

NLRP3 Inflammasome and Its Central Role in the Cardiovascular Diseases.

Materials: The NLRP3 inflammasome controls the activation of the proteolytic enzyme caspase-1. Caspase-1 in turn regulates the maturation of the proinflammasome cytokines IL-1 and IL-18, which leads to an inflammatory response. We made a mini-review on the association of regulatory mechanisms of NLRP3 inflammasome with the development of cardiovascular diseases systematically based on the recent research studies.

Association of functional genetic variants in PPARδ encoding peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta with ischemic stroke in Chinese Uyghur population.

PPARδ belongs to a receptor family of ligand-activated transcription factors involved in the regulation of inflammation, cellular glucose uptake, protection against atherosclerosis and endothelial cell function. Through these effects, they might be involved with the ischemic stroke (IS). We recruited 200 subjects (100 IS patients diagnosed by CTs or/and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 100 normal healthy controls from Chinese Uyghur population) to assess the nature of the functional polymorphisms of PPARδ +294T/C and any links with IS in this unique population.

Association between two key SNPs on chromosome 12p13 and ischemic stroke in Chinese Han population.

Objective: Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association studies recently identified two SNPs (rs11833579 and rs12425791) on chromosome 12p13 that are associated with ischemic stroke (IS) in Caucasian or Black persons from America and the Netherlands. Our aim was to determine whether these SNPs were associated with IS in Chinese Han population.

Methods: We used a case-control study involving 648 IS patients and 648 age-matched, sex-matched, and ethnicity-matched non-IS controls from two ethnic populations and determined the genotypes of two polymorphisms by TaqMan SNP genotyping assays to assess any links with IS.

The role of functional polymorphisms of the TNF-alpha gene promoter in the risk of ischemic stroke in Chinese Han and Uyghur populations: Two case-control studies.

Background: Increasing evidences for the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the occurrence of ischemic stroke (IS) have shown that it belongs to pro-inflammatory cytokines and carries functional polymorphisms (TNF-alpha -238G/A and TNF-alpha -308G/A) in its promoter region, which affect their transcription rate and plasma cytokine level. We determined the association between these polymorphisms and the occurrence of IS in the Chinese Han and Uyghur populations.

Methods: The TNF-alpha -238G/A and TNF-alpha -308G/A polymorphisms were determined by TaqMan SNP Genotyping assays in cases (n=748) and controls (n=748).

Health care utilisation amongst Shenzhen migrant workers: does being insured make a difference?

Background: As one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the Pearl River Delta of South China, Shenzhen attracts millions of migrant workers annually. The objectives of this study were to compare health needs, self-reported health and healthcare utilisation of insured and uninsured migrant workers in Shenzhen, China, where a new health insurance scheme targeting at migrant workers was initiated.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using multi-staged sampling was conducted to collect data from migrant factory workers.