Background: The COVID-19 outbreak poses challenges to people across the world and puts marginalized populations in an even more precarious position. Migrant workers, with their marginal socio-legal status in host countries, are especially vulnerable during the pandemic. The wellbeing of migrant workers, specifically low-wage laborers, is greatly compromised. Objectives: This study aims to systematically review the existing literature on how epidemic infectious diseases affect the wellbeing of migrant workers and what are the interventions to improve their wellbeing. Method: Following the PRISMA guideline, studies on migrant workers' wellbeing or interventions to improve wellbeing during five major epidemic infectious diseases (i.e., COVID-19, SARS, Ebola, H1N1, MERS) were searched. Eleven electronic databases were used: Cochrane Library, WHO Global Research COVID-19 database, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL Plus, ERIC, MEDLINE, Social Index, PubMed, ProQuest, Social Care Online and EPPI-Mapper. In total, 17 articles that met the criteria were included. An assessment guide was developed to examine the quality of the studies. Results: Overall, the studies consistently show that major epidemic outbreaks negatively affect the physical, financial, psychological and social wellbeing of migrant workers. Migrant workers face a wide range of challenges such as risks of contagion, job insecurity, psychological distress, and discrimination. Factors associated with migrant workers' marginal socio-economic status were attributed to these challenges. Several interventions were discussed including increased access to vaccinations, health screening at the border, promotion of hygiene strategies, and financial assistance in medical fees. Discussion: The findings highlight the need for a greater public awareness and stronger response to migrant workers' wellbeing during an epidemic outbreak. Implications to practice and research were discussed. This review calls for more open-access data to advance research on migrant workers, and evidence-based interventions with a long-term effect.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in patients with diabetes with cardiovascular disease (CVD) or at high cardiovascular risk.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Data sourcesPubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrial.gov from their inception to August 28, 2021.Review methodsRandomized control trials (RCTs) assess the effects of SGLT2i in patients with diabetes with cardiovascular disease or at high cardiovascular risk. Primary outcomes included the composite outcome of cardiovascular death (CV death) and hospitalization for heart failure (HHF), HHF, and renal composite outcomes. Secondary outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), CV death, all-cause mortality, and change from the baseline in HbA1c. Additionally, we assessed the effects of treatment in prespecified subgroups on the combined risk of primary and secondary outcomes. These subgroups were based on history of heart failure (HF), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) levels, and history of hypertension (HTN). A meta-analysis was carried out by using fixed effect models to calculate hazard ratio (HR) or mean difference (MD) between the SGLT2i administrated groups and the control groups.ResultsFour major studies (n = 42,568) were included. Primary outcomes showed that SGLT2i was associated with significantly lower risk of CV death/HHF (HR, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.84 to 0.98; P for heterogeneity = 0.01), HHF (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98; p = 0.02), and renal composite outcomes (HR, 0.83; 95%CI, 0.74 to 0.92; p = 0.0007) in patients with diabetes with CVD or at high CV risk. Secondary outcome showed that the use of SGLT2i was associated with significant reduction of the HbA1c level (MD, −0.30; 95% CI, −0.36 to −0.23; p < 0.00001). In subgroup analyses, SGLT2i significantly reduced the risk of renal composite outcomes in patients without history of HF (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.91; p = 0.003 < 0.025). No statistically significant differences were observed in other secondary outcomes and subgroup analyses.ConclusionsThe SGLT2i showed benefits on CV death/HHF, HHF, renal composite outcomes, and HbA1c reduction in patients with diabetes with CVD or at high CV risk. The benefits of improving renal composite outcomes were observed only in patients with diabetes without HF history.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42021227400

Both resveratrol and myocyte enhancer factor 2A (MEF2A) may protect vascular endothelial cell (VEC) through activating the expression of SIRT1. However, the relationship between resveratrol and MEF2A is unclear. We aimed to investigate the deeper mechanism of resveratrol in protecting vascular endothelial cells and whether MEF2A plays a key role in the protective function of resveratrol. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) was used for in vitro study, and small interfere RNA was used for silencing MEF2A. Silencing MEF2A in the vascular endothelium (VE) of ApoE−/− mice was performed by tail injection with adeno associated virus expressing si-mef2a-shRNA. The results showed that treatment of HUVEC with resveratrol significantly up-regulated MEF2A, and prevented H2O2-induced but not siRNA-induced down-regulation of MEF2A. Under various experimental conditions, the expression of SIRT1 changed with the level of MEF2A. Resveratrol could rescue from cell apoptosis, reduction of cell proliferation and viability induced by H2O2, but could not prevent against that caused by silencing MEF2A with siRNA. Silencing MEF2A in VE of apoE−/− mice decreased the expression of SIRT1, increased the plasma LDL-c, and abrogated the function of resveratrol on reducing triglyceride. Impaired integrity of VE and aggravated atherosclerotic lesion were observed in MEF2A silenced mice through immunofluorescence and oil red O staining, respectively. In conclusion, resveratrol enhances MEF2A expression, and the upregulation of MEF2A is required for the endothelial protective benefits of resveratrol in vitro via activating SIRT1. Our work has also explored the in vivo relevance of this signaling pathway in experimental models of atherosclerosis and lipid dysregulation, setting the stage for more comprehensive phenotyping in vivo and further defining the molecular mechanisms.

What is known and objective The morbidity of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children has significantly increased in recent years. The diagnosis and treatment of IBD in children are progressing rapidly. Probiotics have been extensively studied in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. However, the effectiveness of probiotics for IBD is inconsistent. This study summarized the recommendations on using probiotics from high‐quality guidelines, and the recommendations may assist clinicians in the treatment of paediatric IBD. Methods Guidelines were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, three Chinese literature databases and websites of relevant institutions. Guidelines that addressed the treatments of paediatric IBD in Chinese and English were included and evaluated with the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument to assess methodological quality. The levels of recommendation were also evaluated, and finally, the recommendations of probiotics application in IBD were summarized. Results and discussion A total of 14 guidelines that met inclusion criteria were identified and evaluated, and 12 of them were evidence‐based (EB) guidelines, and the other two guidelines were developed by consensus. The mean percentages for the AGREE II domain scores were as follows: “Scope and purpose” 97.22%, “Clarity of presentation” 93.78%, “Applicability” 55.85%, “Editorial independence” 59.92%, “Stakeholder involvement” 74.34%, and “Rigor of development” 71.58%. Three guidelines received the Grade A—“Strongly recommended,” the rest of the guidelines received a B grade—“Recommended with modifications” in the overall assessment. What is new and conclusion The overall quality of the guidelines on IBD management in children was high. Conversely, the fundamental recommendations on the application of probiotics in the treatment of IBD varied. For instance, the recommendations of probiotics on Crohn's disease (CD) were not available by any of the analysed guidelines, the recommendations of utilizing probiotics in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) were not uniform as several guidelines considered using VSL#3 or Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 for the treatment.