A significant public health concern with regards to increasing rates of Alzheimer’s is that it disproportionately affects minority groups in the United States.The present ecological exploratory study uses secondary a...A significant public health concern with regards to increasing rates of Alzheimer’s is that it disproportionately affects minority groups in the United States.The present ecological exploratory study uses secondary aggregate data from the fifty United States in the year of 2019.The purpose of this study was to address the disparities in Alzheimer’s in minority populations in the US and explore associated factors.The“minority”populations considered were African American and Hispanic populations,and the“majority”population was referred to as“white”.The data were extracted from the United States Census Bureau,the CDC National Center for Health Statistics,and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System(BRFSS)Dataset.The prevalence rates of Alzheimer’s disease are greatest in both older Hispanic(12.2%)and African Americans(13.8%),compared to older whites(10.3%)in the investigated time period.Our results showed that being over 65 years old(p=.009),with a below-average($62,843)median household income(p=.024),history of stroke(p=.029),and being a part of the Hispanic population(p=.036),were significantly associated with Alzheimer’s mortality rates in the United States.By identifying disparities in access to Alzheimer’s healthcare and at-risk communities,more comprehensive intervention strategies can be developed to promote change and advocate for more Alzheimer’s education and resource allocation for minority populations.展开更多
China boasts 56 nationalities who are mostly inhabited in the sparsely populated mountain regions in West China. Like many other places in the Han nationality distributed regions, minority nationality inhabited region...China boasts 56 nationalities who are mostly inhabited in the sparsely populated mountain regions in West China. Like many other places in the Han nationality distributed regions, minority nationality inhabited regions are also facing the challenge of sustainable development in terms of both natural and human factors. Taking the Tibetan inhabited regions (TIR) in Sichuan Province as a case, this paper points out some major problems in the process of economic development in perspective of sustainability and leaves some hints for development strategies. While natural conditions such as geological instability are playing a major role to the environmental degradation, human activities and improper use of resources might constitute an important agent in the environmental deterioration. In order to promote local economic development and improve people’s living standard, sustainable planning is expected to be made and people’s awareness of sustainability should be strengthened.展开更多
This brief overview highlights the global crisis of perinatal psychiatric illness(PPI).PPI is a major contributor to many adverse pregnancy,childbirth,and childhood development outcomes.It contributes to billions of d...This brief overview highlights the global crisis of perinatal psychiatric illness(PPI).PPI is a major contributor to many adverse pregnancy,childbirth,and childhood development outcomes.It contributes to billions of dollars in spending worldwide each year and has a significant impact on the individual,their family,and their community.It is also highly preventable.Current recommendations for intervention and management of PPI are limited and vary considerably from country to country.Furthermore,there are several significant challenges associated with implementation of these recommendations.These challenges are magnified in number and consequence among women of color and/or minority populations,who experience persistent and negative health disparities during pregnancy and the postpartum period.This paper aims to provide a broad overview of the current state of recommendations and implementation challenges for PPI and layout a framework for overcoming these challenges.An equityinformed model of care that provides universal intervention for pregnant women may be one solution to address the preventable consequences of PPI on child and maternal health.Uniquely,this model emphasizes the importance of managing and eliminating known barriers to traditional health care models.Culturally and contextually specific challenges must be overcome to fully realize the impact of improved management of PPI.展开更多
Background It is very important for the clinical management to test for minor HIV-1 resistance mutations accurately and sensitively. The conventional genotypic assays of HIV drug resistance detection based on sequenci...Background It is very important for the clinical management to test for minor HIV-1 resistance mutations accurately and sensitively. The conventional genotypic assays of HIV drug resistance detection based on sequencing can only discriminate the mutations which present in more than 20%-30%. The aim of this study was to evaluate allele-specific real-time PCR (ASPCR) to detect the resistance-related mutations located at positions 103, 184 and 215.Methods We developed the allele-specific PCR assay, using the most common drug resistance mutations in Chinese AIDS patients, K103N, M184V/I, T215F/Y as a model system. The standards were constructed by cloning the wild-type and mutant DNA fragments into the T-vector. We designed specific primers to discriminate mutant templates in the real-time PCR using SYBR green as a fluorescence reporter. And then we evaluated the ASPCR assay and tested 140clinical samples using this method.Results The sensitivities of ASPCR assay were 0.04% for K103N, 0.30% for M1841, 0.40% for M184V, 0.03% for T215F and 0.02% for T215Y. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 0.42. One hundred and forty plasma samples were tested by ASPCR and dynamic resistance curves of ten patients were obtained.Conclusions Drug resistance emerged half a year after the start of antiretroviral therapy. The mutation of T215Yemerged 1 to 1.5 years after starting treatment and then increased rapidly. The ASPCR assay we developed was a sensitive, accurate and rapid method to detect the minor HIV-1 variants and it can provide earlier and more drug-resistance information for HIV research and AIDS antiretroviral therapy.展开更多
文摘A significant public health concern with regards to increasing rates of Alzheimer’s is that it disproportionately affects minority groups in the United States.The present ecological exploratory study uses secondary aggregate data from the fifty United States in the year of 2019.The purpose of this study was to address the disparities in Alzheimer’s in minority populations in the US and explore associated factors.The“minority”populations considered were African American and Hispanic populations,and the“majority”population was referred to as“white”.The data were extracted from the United States Census Bureau,the CDC National Center for Health Statistics,and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System(BRFSS)Dataset.The prevalence rates of Alzheimer’s disease are greatest in both older Hispanic(12.2%)and African Americans(13.8%),compared to older whites(10.3%)in the investigated time period.Our results showed that being over 65 years old(p=.009),with a below-average($62,843)median household income(p=.024),history of stroke(p=.029),and being a part of the Hispanic population(p=.036),were significantly associated with Alzheimer’s mortality rates in the United States.By identifying disparities in access to Alzheimer’s healthcare and at-risk communities,more comprehensive intervention strategies can be developed to promote change and advocate for more Alzheimer’s education and resource allocation for minority populations.
文摘China boasts 56 nationalities who are mostly inhabited in the sparsely populated mountain regions in West China. Like many other places in the Han nationality distributed regions, minority nationality inhabited regions are also facing the challenge of sustainable development in terms of both natural and human factors. Taking the Tibetan inhabited regions (TIR) in Sichuan Province as a case, this paper points out some major problems in the process of economic development in perspective of sustainability and leaves some hints for development strategies. While natural conditions such as geological instability are playing a major role to the environmental degradation, human activities and improper use of resources might constitute an important agent in the environmental deterioration. In order to promote local economic development and improve people’s living standard, sustainable planning is expected to be made and people’s awareness of sustainability should be strengthened.
文摘This brief overview highlights the global crisis of perinatal psychiatric illness(PPI).PPI is a major contributor to many adverse pregnancy,childbirth,and childhood development outcomes.It contributes to billions of dollars in spending worldwide each year and has a significant impact on the individual,their family,and their community.It is also highly preventable.Current recommendations for intervention and management of PPI are limited and vary considerably from country to country.Furthermore,there are several significant challenges associated with implementation of these recommendations.These challenges are magnified in number and consequence among women of color and/or minority populations,who experience persistent and negative health disparities during pregnancy and the postpartum period.This paper aims to provide a broad overview of the current state of recommendations and implementation challenges for PPI and layout a framework for overcoming these challenges.An equityinformed model of care that provides universal intervention for pregnant women may be one solution to address the preventable consequences of PPI on child and maternal health.Uniquely,this model emphasizes the importance of managing and eliminating known barriers to traditional health care models.Culturally and contextually specific challenges must be overcome to fully realize the impact of improved management of PPI.
基金This work was supported-by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30830088 and No. 30800938).
文摘Background It is very important for the clinical management to test for minor HIV-1 resistance mutations accurately and sensitively. The conventional genotypic assays of HIV drug resistance detection based on sequencing can only discriminate the mutations which present in more than 20%-30%. The aim of this study was to evaluate allele-specific real-time PCR (ASPCR) to detect the resistance-related mutations located at positions 103, 184 and 215.Methods We developed the allele-specific PCR assay, using the most common drug resistance mutations in Chinese AIDS patients, K103N, M184V/I, T215F/Y as a model system. The standards were constructed by cloning the wild-type and mutant DNA fragments into the T-vector. We designed specific primers to discriminate mutant templates in the real-time PCR using SYBR green as a fluorescence reporter. And then we evaluated the ASPCR assay and tested 140clinical samples using this method.Results The sensitivities of ASPCR assay were 0.04% for K103N, 0.30% for M1841, 0.40% for M184V, 0.03% for T215F and 0.02% for T215Y. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were less than 0.42. One hundred and forty plasma samples were tested by ASPCR and dynamic resistance curves of ten patients were obtained.Conclusions Drug resistance emerged half a year after the start of antiretroviral therapy. The mutation of T215Yemerged 1 to 1.5 years after starting treatment and then increased rapidly. The ASPCR assay we developed was a sensitive, accurate and rapid method to detect the minor HIV-1 variants and it can provide earlier and more drug-resistance information for HIV research and AIDS antiretroviral therapy.