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This article focuses on the discrimination and racism experienced by Chinese migrants and their descendants during the Covid-19 pandemic. It analyses this group's increasing awareness and activism toward racial discrimination in French society. The paper is based on an empirical investigation using qualitative and quantitative research methods (online surveys and interviews) with people of Chinese origin living in France. In addition, qualitative data from news media and activists is also crucial to this study because of the important role they play in the social construction of the anti-racism movement. This study shows that the Covid-19 pandemic highlights how the discrimination and racism experienced by people of Chinese origin can take various forms. The epidemic has become a catalyst for Chinese immigration to resist racism, especially among descendants, and among more recent and highly-skilled Chinese immigrants, who have broken their silence, united, and participated in a more activist manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenic bacteria have evolved many strategies to evade surveillance and attack by complements. Streptococcus suis is an important zoonotic pathogen that infects humans and pigs. Hyaluronidase (HylA) has been reported to be a potential virulence factor of S. suis. However, in this study, it was discovered that the genomic region encoding HylA of the virulent S. suis strain SC19 and other ST1 strains was truncated into four fragments when aligned with a strain containing intact HylA and possessing hyaluronidase activity. As a result, SC19 had no hyaluronidase activity, but one truncated HylA fragment, designated as HylS,’ directly interacted with complement C3b, as confirmed by western ligand blotting, pull-down, and ELISA assays. The deposition of C3b and membrane attack complex (MAC) formation on the surface of a HylS’-deleted mutant (ΔhylS’) was significantly increased compared to wild-type SC19. In human sera and whole blood, ΔhylS’ survival was significantly reduced compared to that in SC19. The resistance of ΔhylS’ to macrophages and human polymorphonuclear neutrophil PMNs also decreased. In a mouse infection model, ΔhylS’ showed reduced lethality and lower bacterial load in the organs compared to that of SC19. We conclude that the truncated hyaluronidase HylS’ fragment contributes to complement evasion and the pathogenesis of S. suis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]