Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical Outcomes among Asymptomatic or Mildly Symptomatic COVID-19 Patients in an Isolation Facility in Chennai, India

Abstract. Globally, India has reported the third highest number of COVID-19 cases. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, witnessed a huge surge in COVID-19 cases, resulting in the establishment of isolation facilities named COVID Care Center (CCC). In our study, we describe the demographic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics; clinical progression; and outcome of 1,263 asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic COVID-19 patients isolated in one such CCC between May 4, 2020 and June 4, 2020. Around 10.5% of the patients progressed to moderate/severe illness, requiring referral for tertiary care, and three died. Nearly half (49.5%) of the patients were symptomatic at the time of admission, 2.2% of the patients developed symptoms post-testing, and 48.5% patients remained asymptomatic during the entire course of illness. Most common presenting symptoms were fever (69.9%) and cough (29.6%), followed by generalized body pain, breathlessness, and loss of smell and taste. On multivariate analysis, we identified that symptomatic patients with comorbidities and higher neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were more likely to progress to severe illness warranting referral for tertiary care. COVID Care Center ensured case isolation and monitoring of asymptomatic/mildly symptomatic patients, thereby providing hospital beds for sick patients. COVID Care Center isolation facilities are safe alternatives for medical institutions to isolate and monitor COVID-19 patients. Older symptomatic patients with comorbidities and a high NLR admitted in an isolation facility must be frequently monitored for prompt identification of clinical progression and referral to higher center for advanced medical care.
Delayed hypersensitivity to antiepileptic drugs in children

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are widely used for the treatment of epilepsy, but they can be associated with the development of mainly delayed/non‐immediate hypersensitivity reactions (HRs). Although these reactions are usually cutaneous, self‐limited, and spontaneously resolve within days after drug discontinuation, sometime HR reactions to AEDs can be severe and life‐threatening.
Efficacy and Tolerability of Eravacycline in Bacteremic Patients with Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infection: A Pooled Analysis from the IGNITE1 and IGNITE4 Studies.

Background: Eravacycline is a novel, fully synthetic fluorocycline antibiotic that was evaluated for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) in two phase 3 clinical trials. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the clinical cure and microbiologic response at the test-of-cure (TOC) visit and the safety of eravacycline in patients with cIAI and baseline bacteremia who received eravacycline versus comparators. Patients and Methods: Pooled data of patients with bacteremia from the Investigating Gram-Negative Infections Treated with Eravacycline (IGNITE) 1 and IGNITE4 studies were analyzed. All patients were randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to receive eravacycline 1 mg/kg intravenously every 12 hours, ertapenem 1 g intravensouly every 24 hours (IGNITE1), or meropenem 1 g intravenously every eight hours (IGNITE4) for four to 14 days. Blood and intra-abdominal samples were collected from all patients at baseline. Clinical outcome and microbiologic eradiation at the TOC visit (28 days after randomization) and safety in the microbiologic-intent-to-treat population (micro-ITT) were assessed. Results: Of 415 patients treated with eravacycline and 431 treated with carbapenem comparators, concurrent bacteremia was identified in 32 (7.7%) and 31 (7.2%) patients, respectively. Demographic and baseline characteristics were similar among treatment groups. In the micro-ITT population, the pooled clinical response at the TOC visit for eravacycline was 28 of 32 (87.5%) and was 24 of 31 (77.0%) for comparators among the subgroup with baseline bacteremia (treatment difference 5.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], -6.5 to 17.4). At TOC, microbiologic eradication of pathogens isolated from blood specimens occurred for 34 of 35 (97.1%) pathogens with eravacycline and 35 of 36 (97.2%) pathogens with comparators. The incidence of adverse events was comparable between treated groups and similar to that observed in the non-bacteremic population. Conclusion: Eravacycline demonstrated a similar clinical outcome and microbiologic eradication rate as comparator carbapenems in patients with cIAI and associated secondary bacteremia. Future clinical trials of cIAI should report outcomes of this important clinical cohort (cIAI with concurrent bacteremia) given their high risk for adverse outcomes.
An Unusual Case of Extra-Enteric Blastocystosis in the Uterine Cervix

Extra-enteric infections by Blastocystis spp. have rarely been documented. Here, we report a case of extra-enteric blastocystosis in a patient with minimal cervicitis symptoms. A 47-year-old Hispanic female patient was attended in a primary health centre in Michoacan state, Mexico, for her routine gynaecological medical examination. As only symptom, she referred to a slight vaginal itching. The presence of several vacuolar-stages of Blastocystis spp. were identified by Papanicolaou staining; molecular identification was attempted by culture-PCR sequencing of a region of 18S gene from cervical and faecal samples obtained 2 months after cytological examination, even when patient declared that she tried self-medicating with vaginal ovules. Blastocystis ST1 was identified only in the faecal sample. The presence of Blastocystis spp. in the cervix of a patient with scarce symptomatology, demonstrates the extraordinary flexibility of this microorganism to adapt to new environments and niches.
Comparison of AA Amyloid Fibril Morphology and Serum Amyloid A Gene Sequence in 5 Animal Species

Amyloid fibrils are characterized by a linear morphology and a cross-β structure. Polymorphic and multiple fibril morphologies can be found when amyloid fibrils are extracted from amyloid-laden tissue. In this study, we report on the purification and transmission electron microscopic analysis of amyloid fibrils from 5 different animal species (mouse, cow, goat, dog, and camel) with AA amyloidosis. The results show that amyloid fibrils had a linear morphology with a cross-structure and irregular length in vivo. Although the fibrils from these different species showed highly similar conformations, there were significant differences in fibril width and crossover distance. We analyzed the sequences of homologous amyloid proteins and serum amyloid A, an evolutionarily conserved protein and a major amyloid precursor. We found 78.23% homology between the most distant amyloid proteins. The findings suggested similar fibril width and crossover distance in different animal species that displayed high homology of amyloid protein sequences. Dog and camel, as well as goat and cow, showed high genetic homology and similar fibril morphology. These data indicate that the fibrils from different animal species have similar genetic homology and morphology, which may provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of amyloidosis.
Depression Screening Tools for Patients with Kidney Failure: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Patients with kidney failure experience depression at rates higher than the general population. Despite the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' ESRD Quality Incentive Program requirements for routine depression screening for patients with kidney failure, no clear guidance exists. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS For this systematic review, we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and other databases from inception to June 2020. Two investigators screened all abstracts and full text. We included studies assessing patients with kidney failure and compared a tool to a clinical interview or another validated tool (e.g., Beck Depression Inventory II). We abstracted data related to sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and the area under the curve. We evaluated the risk of bias using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2. RESULTS A total of 16 studies evaluated the performance characteristics of depression assessment tools for patients with kidney failure. The Beck Depression Inventory II was by far the best studied. A wide range of thresholds were reported. Shorter tools in the public domain such as the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and Geriatric Depression Scale 15 (adults over 60) performed well but were not well studied. Short tools such as the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen may be a good option for an initial screen. CONCLUSIONS There is limited research evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of most screening tools for depression in patients with kidney failure, and existing studies may not be generalizable to US populations. Studies suffer from limitations related to methodology quality and/or reporting. Future research should target widely used, free tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire 2 and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42020140227.
Breaking the Dormancy of Snake’s Head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris L.) In Vitro Bulbs—Part 2: Effect of GA3 Soaking and Chilling on Sugar Status in Sprouted Bulbs

The bulb is the main propagation organ of snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris L.), a horticulturally attractive and rare geophyte plant species. In this study, we investigated the effect of soaking bulbs in GA3 solution (1, 2, and 3 mg L−1) combined with low-temperature treatment (7 °C) on breaking the dormancy of in vitro bulbs. Sugar status (total soluble sugars, glucose, and fructose content) was analyzed in different parts of the sprouted bulbs. The results showed that the soluble sugar concentration was highest in bulbs soaked in GA3. The main sugar in fritillary bulbs was glucose, while fructose content was much lower. Glucose concentration dramatically increased after bulb chilling (7 °C), and its accumulation was predominantly detected in the lower sprout portion during the first weeks of sprouting. Sugar concentration was significantly lower in nonchilled bulbs, which indicates the importance of low temperature in bulb development and sprouting.
Evaluation of the Accurateness of the Nutritional Labels of Processed and Ultra-Processed Products Available in Supermarkets of Ecuador

Nutrition labeling is a public health tool that allows consumers to choose healthier foods and beverages. For this reason, there are protocols in place to monitor the food environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consistency of nutrition labeling on packages for processed and ultra-processed products (UPPs) found at the main supermarkets in Cuenca, Ecuador. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in which we identified label components on the packages of 1725 foods and beverages—including the nutrition table, statement on sweeteners, ingredient list, and the traffic light (TL) label—and determined the degree of consistency between the indicators reported on the traffic light label and those obtained from the information in the nutrition table. We found that 24% of products had inconsistencies in the traffic light label, and 10.9% of products had inconsistencies in the indicator for sugar specifically. The majority of inconsistencies were in the medium indicators for sugar (K = 0.68) and fat (0.75). The products with a medium indicator for sugar had a 1.98 (p < 0.05, 95% CI 1.15, 3.39) times higher chance of having inconsistencies in comparison with the low indicator. Health authorities must create new guidelines to allow for continued monitoring of the nutrition and traffic light labels on products accessible to consumers.
Prevalence, incidence, and outcomes across cardiovascular diseases in homeless individuals using national linked electronic health records

Abstract Aims The risk and burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are higher in homeless than in housed individuals but population-based analyses are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate prevalence, incidence and outcomes across a range of specific CVDs among homeless individuals. Methods and results Using linked UK primary care electronic health records (EHRs) and validated phenotypes, we identified homeless individuals aged ≥16 years between 1998 and 2019, and age- and sex-matched housed controls in a 1:5 ratio. For 12 CVDs (stable angina; unstable angina; myocardial infarction; sudden cardiac death or cardiac arrest; unheralded coronary death; heart failure; transient ischaemic attack; ischaemic stroke; subarachnoid haemorrhage; intracerebral haemorrhage; peripheral arterial disease; abdominal aortic aneurysm), we estimated prevalence, incidence, and 1-year mortality post-diagnosis, comparing homeless and housed groups. We identified 8492 homeless individuals (32 134 matched housed individuals). Comorbidities and risk factors were more prevalent in homeless people, e.g. smoking: 78.1% vs. 48.3% and atrial fibrillation: 9.9% vs. 8.6%, P < 0.001. CVD prevalence (11.6% vs. 6.5%), incidence (14.7 vs. 8.1 per 1000 person-years), and 1-year mortality risk [adjusted hazard ratio 1.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–2.08, P < 0.001] were higher, and onset was earlier (difference 4.6, 95% CI 2.8–6.3 years, P < 0.001), in homeless, compared with housed people. Homeless individuals had higher CVD incidence in all three arterial territories than housed people. Conclusion CVD in homeless individuals has high prevalence, incidence, and 1-year mortality risk post-diagnosis with earlier onset, and high burden of risk factors. Inclusion health and social care strategies should reflect this high preventable and treatable burden, which is increasingly important in the current COVID-19 context.
Differences in Predicted Warfarin Dosing Requirements Between Hmong and East Asians Using Genotype‐Based Dosing Algorithms

Warfarin’s narrow therapeutic index and high variability in dosage requirements make dosage selection critical. Genetic factors are known to impact warfarin dosage selection. The Hmong are a unique Asian subpopulation numbering over 278,000 in the United States whose participation in genetics‐based research is virtually nonexistent. The translational significance of early reports of warfarin pharmacogene differences in Hmong has not been evaluated.
Investigational Treatments for COVID‐19 may Increase Ventricular Arrhythmia Risk Through Drug Interactions

Many drugs that have been proposed for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) are reported to cause cardiac adverse events, including ventricular arrhythmias. In order to properly weigh risks against potential benefits, particularly when decisions must be made quickly, mathematical modeling of both drug disposition and drug action can be useful for predicting patient response and making informed decisions. Here, we explored the potential effects on cardiac electrophysiology of four drugs proposed to treat COVID‐19: lopinavir, ritonavir, chloroquine, and azithromycin, as well as combination therapy involving these drugs. Our study combined simulations of pharmacokinetics (PKs) with quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) modeling of ventricular myocytes to predict potential cardiac adverse events caused by these treatments. Simulation results predicted that drug combinations can lead to greater cellular action potential prolongation, analogous to QT prolongation, compared with drugs given in isolation. The combination effect can result from both PK and pharmacodynamic drug interactions. Importantly, simulations of different patient groups predicted that women with pre‐existing heart disease are especially susceptible to drug‐induced arrhythmias, compared with diseased men or healthy individuals of either sex. Statistical analysis of population simulations revealed the molecular factors that make certain women with heart failure especially susceptible to arrhythmias. Overall, the results illustrate how PK and QSP modeling may be combined to more precisely predict cardiac risks of COVID‐19 therapies.
Colon cancer-specific diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers based on genome-wide abnormal DNA methylation

Abnormal DNA methylation is a major early contributor to colon cancer (COAD) development. We conducted a cohort-based systematic investigation of genome-wide DNA methylation using 299 COAD and 38 normal tissue samples from TCGA. Through conditional screening and machine learning with a training cohort, we identified one hypomethylated and nine hypermethylated differentially methylated CpG sites as potential diagnostic biomarkers, and used them to construct a COAD-specific diagnostic model. Unlike previous models, our model precisely distinguished COAD from nine other cancer types (e.g., breast cancer and liver cancer; error rate ≤ 0.05) and from normal tissues in the training cohort (AUC = 1). The diagnostic model was verified using a validation cohort from The Cancer Genome Atlas (AUC = 1) and five independent cohorts from the Gene Expression Omnibus (AUC ≥ 0.951). Using Cox regression analyses, we established a prognostic model based on six CpG sites in the training cohort, and verified the model in the validation cohort. The prognostic model sensitively predicted patients’ survival (p ≤ 0.00011, AUC ≥ 0.792) independently of important clinicopathological characteristics of COAD (e.g., gender and age). Thus, our DNA methylation analysis provided precise biomarkers and models for the early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of COAD.
Information Recall in Pre-Operative Consultation for Glioma Surgery Using Actual Size Three-Dimensional Models

Three-dimensional (3D) technologies are being used for patient education. For glioma, a personalized 3D model can show the patient specific tumor and eloquent areas. We aim to compare the amount of information that is understood and can be recalled after a pre-operative consult using a 3D model (physically printed or in Augmented Reality (AR)) versus two-dimensional (2D) MR images. In this explorative study, healthy individuals were eligible to participate. Sixty-one participants were enrolled and assigned to either the 2D (MRI/fMRI), 3D (physical 3D model) or AR groups. After undergoing a mock pre-operative consultation for low-grade glioma surgery, participants completed two assessments (one week apart) testing information recall using a standardized questionnaire. The 3D group obtained the highest recall scores on both assessments (Cohen’s d = 1.76 and Cohen’s d = 0.94, respectively, compared to 2D), followed by AR and 2D, respectively. Thus, real-size 3D models appear to improve information recall as compared to MR images in a pre-operative consultation for glioma cases. Future clinical studies should measure the efficacy of using real-size 3D models in actual neurosurgery patients.
A Generalized Encoding System for Alpha Oscillations Through Visual Saliency Analysis

By learning how the brain reacts to external visual stimuli and examining possible triggered brain statuses, we conduct a systematic study on an encoding problem that estimates ongoing EEG dynamics from visual information. A novel generalized system is proposed to encode the alpha oscillations modulated during video viewing by employing the visual saliency involved in the presented natural video stimuli. Focusing on the parietal and occipital lobes, the encoding effects at different alpha frequency bins and brain locations are examined by a real-valued genetic algorithm (GA), and possible links between alpha features and saliency patterns are constructed. The robustness and reliability of the proposed system are demonstrated in a 10-fold cross-validation. The results show that stimuli with different saliency levels can induce significant changes in occipito-parietal alpha oscillations and that alpha at higher frequency bins responded the most in involuntary attention related to bottom-up-based visual processing. This study provides a novel approach to understand the processing of involuntary attention in the brain dynamics and would further be beneficial to the development of brain-computer interfaces and visual design.
Effects of different autophagy inhibitors on sensitizing KG‐1 and HL‐60 leukemia cells to chemotherapy

A little number of current autophagy inhibitors may have beneficial effects on the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. However, there is a strong need to figure out which settings should be activated or inhibited in autophagy pathway to prevail drug resistance and also to improve current treatment options in leukemia. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of well‐known inhibitors of autophagy (as 3‐MA, BafA1, and HCQ) in leukemia KG‐1 and HL‐60 cells exposed to arsenic trioxide (ATO) and/or all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA). Cell proliferation and cytotoxicity of cells were examined by MTT assay. Autophagy was studied by evaluating the development of acidic vesicular organelles, and the autophagosomes formation was investigated by acridine orange staining and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the gene and protein expressions levels of autophagy markers (ATGs, p62/SQSTM1, and LC‐3B) were also performed by qPCR and western blotting, respectively. The rate of apoptosis and cell cycle were evaluated using flow cytometry. We compared the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of ATO and/or ATRA in both cell lines and demonstrated that some autophagy markers upregulated in this context. Also, it was shown that autophagy blockers HCQ and/or BafA1 could potentiate the cytotoxic effects of ATO/ATRA, which were more pronounced in KG‐1 cells compared to HL‐60 cell line. This study showed the involvement of autophagy during the treatment of KG‐1 and HL‐60 cells by ATO/ATRA. This study proposed that therapy of ATO/ATRA in combination with HCQ can be considered as a more effective strategy for targeting leukemic KG‐1 cells.
Challenges of Providing Home Care for a Family Member with Serious Chronic Mental Illness: A Qualitative Enquiry

The South African Mental Health Act of 2002 advocates the de-institutionalization of treatment of patients with mental disorders, so that the mental health care users or patients are treated in their communities. Although this approach is often used to discharge patients from hospital, no feasibility assessments are conducted to ascertain adequate care for these patients. The objective of the study was to explore the experiences of family members who provide home care for patients with serious mental disorders. A qualitative explorative design was used to interview 20 primary caregivers whose family members were readmitted to a public psychiatric hospital in Pretoria. Data were analysed using NVivo version 11. The findings are that caring for patients with serious mental illness at home is difficult, sometimes unbearable, because the families have to deal with violence perpetrated by the patients, safety concerns, financial difficulties and emotional turmoil, and wish that the patients would be kept in institutions. The absence of required skills and resources to care for the mentally ill at home exposes the patients and their families to emotional, financial and social difficulties, and results in unfavourable outcomes for both the patients and their families.