Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loss of Smell and Taste in Patients With Suspected COVID-19: Analyses of Patients’ Reports on Social Media

Background The year 2020 was the year of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The severity of the situation has become so substantial that many or even most of the patients with mild to moderate symptoms had to self-isolate without specific medical treatments or even without being tested for COVID-19. Many patients joined internet membership groups to exchange information and support each other. Objective Our goal is to determine the benefits and limits of using social media to understand the symptoms of patients with suspected COVID-19 with mild to moderate symptoms and, in particular, their symptoms of anosmia (loss of the sense of smell) and ageusia (loss of the sense of taste). The voluntary reports on an internet website of a membership group will be the platform of the analyses. Methods Posts and comments of members of an internet group known as COVID-19 Smell and Taste Loss, founded on March 24, 2020, to support patients with suspected COVID-19 were collected and analyzed daily. Demographic data were collected using the software mechanism called Group Insights on the membership group website. Results Membership groups on social media have become rare sources of support for patients with suspected COVID-19 with mild to moderate symptoms. These groups provided mental support to their members and became resources for information on COVID-19 tests and medicines or supplements. However, the membership was voluntary, and often the members leave without notification. It is hard to be precise from the free voluntary reports. The number of women in the group (6995/9227, 75.38% as of October 12, 2020) was about three times more than men (2272/9227, 24.62% as of October 12, 2020), and the peak age of members was between 20-40 years in both men and women. Patients who were asymptomatic other than the senses comprised 14.93% (53/355) of the total patients. Recovery of the senses was higher in the patients who were asymptomatic besides having anosmia and ageusia. Most (112/123, 91.06%) patients experienced other symptoms first and then lost their senses, on average, 4.2 days later. Patients without other symptoms tended to recover earlier (P=.02). Patients with anosmia and ageusia occasionally reported distorted smell and taste (parosmia and dysgeusia) as well as experiencing or perceiving the smell and taste without the sources of the smell or taste (phantosmia and phantogeusia). Conclusions Our analysis of the social media database of suspected COVID-19 patients’ voices demonstrated that, although accurate diagnosis of patients is not always obtained with social media–based analyses, it may be a useful tool to collect a large amount of data on symptoms and the clinical course of worldwide rapidly growing infectious diseases.
Accelerated long‐term forgetting in individuals with subjective cognitive decline and amyloid‐β positivity

We studied a sample of cognitively unimpaired individuals, with and without subjective cognitive decline (SCD), in order to investigate accelerated long‐term forgetting (ALF) and to explore the relationships between objective and subjective cognitive performance and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers.
Single crystalline Na2Ti3O7 rods as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries

Single crystalline Na2Ti3O7 rods were prepared through sintering a precursor synthesized in a reverse micelle. Charge/discharge measurements were performed in the potential range 0.01–2.5 V versus Na/Na+ under different C-rates. The tested capacity was maintained at 103 mA h g−1, even after 20 cycles at a rate of 0.1 C. The results exhibited that the as-prepared single crystalline Na2Ti3O7 rods had a very low voltage plateau (around 0.3 V), and were suitable to use as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
Race- and Age-Related Disparities in Cervical Cancer Mortality.

BACKGROUND Although the incidence of cervical cancer among younger Black women is now equivalent to that of White women, it is unknown whether the reduced incidence has affected survival rates among younger Black women. The goal of this study was to assess differences in survival by age and race. PATIENTS AND METHODS A retrospective cohort study was performed using the National Cancer Database to analyze women with nonmetastatic cervical cancer diagnosed between 2004 and 2014. Women with unknown survival data and those who died within 3 months of diagnosis were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated interactions between age and race (Black vs non-Black) for presentation with stage I disease and receipt of optimal treatment. A multivariable Cox regression model was used to evaluate survival differences by age and race. RESULTS Of 55,659 women included, 16.4% were Black. Compared with their non-Black counterparts, fewer Black women presented with stage I disease (37.8% vs 47.8%; P<.01) and received optimal treatment (46.2% vs 58.3%; P<.01). Fewer Black women had private insurance if they were aged <65 years (39.6% vs 55.7%; P<.01), but not if they were aged ≥65 years (11.7% vs 12.4%; P=.43). According to multivariable logistic regression, Black women aged ≤39 years were less likely to present with stage I disease, with a significant interaction term between age and race (P<.01 for interaction). Disparities in overall survival by race were greatest for Black women aged ≤39 years (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.20-1.46; P<.01) but decreased with increasing age interval until no disparity was noted for women aged ≥65 years (P<.01 for interaction). CONCLUSIONS Younger Black women with cervical cancer are at risk for presenting with higher-stage disease and having worse overall survival. These findings may be related to insurance-related disparities and inadequate follow-up for abnormal Papanicolaou test results. Younger Black women with cervical cancer may be a particularly vulnerable population.
SEIR order parameters and eigenvectors of the three stages of completed COVID-19 epidemics: with an illustration for Thailand January to May 2020

By end of October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a tragic toll of 1150 000 lives and this number is expected to increase. Despite the pandemic is raging in most parts of the world, in a few countries COVID-19 epidemics subsided due to successful implementations of intervention measures. A unifying perspective of the beginnings, middle stages, and endings of such completed COVID-19 epidemics is developed based on the order parameter and eigenvalue concepts of nonlinear physics, in general, and synergetics, in particular. To this end, a standard susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) epidemiological model is used. It is shown that COVID-19 epidemic outbreaks follow a suitably defined SEIR order parameter. Intervention measures switch the eigenvalue of the order parameter from a positive to a negative value, and in doing so, stabilize the COVID-19 disease-free state. The subsiding of COVID-19 epidemics eventually follows the remnant of the order parameter of the infection dynamical system. These considerations are illustrated for the COVID-19 epidemic in Thailand from January to May 2020. The decay of effective contact rates throughout the three epidemic stages is demonstrated. Evidence for the sign-switching of the dominant eigenvalue is given and the order parameter and its stage-3 remnant are identified. The presumed impacts of interventions measures implemented in Thailand are discussed in this context.
Characterization of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and mild cognitive impairment using the Lewy body dementia module (LBD‐MOD)

The National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Research Center program added the Lewy body dementia module (LBD‐MOD) to the Uniform Data Set to facilitate LBD characterization and distinguish dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD). We tested the performance of the LBD‐MOD.
Sustained Chemosensory Dysfunction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Chemosensory dysfunction (CD) has proven valuable in prediction of COVID-19, as it is a frequent and specific symptom of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the duration of CD in patients with sudden subjective olfactory and/or gustatory loss during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The secondary aim was to identify possible prognostic factors for the duration of CD. Methods: An online baseline questionnaire was designed to assess subjective CD. Three rounds of follow-up questionnaires were sent out to any participants with persistent CD in 6-week intervals, prospectively assessing subjective chemosensory function and extending the follow-up time of this cohort significantly. Results: In total, 467 participants completed the baseline questionnaire. The most significant improvement and recovery of chemosensory function was observed within the first month after the initial loss. Rates became stagnant after about 2 months, and only little improvement and recovery was seen after 2–4 months. After a mean follow-up of 95.9 days (olfactory dysfunction) and 94.0 days (gustatory dysfunction), 86.7% of participants reported gustatory improvement and 82.6% reported olfactory improvement, while 55.0% reported full gustatory recovery and 43.8% reported full olfactory recovery. Female gender was associated with better improvement of gustatory function. High subjective severity of chemosensory loss was associated with lower rates of olfactory and gustatory recovery as well as improvement of olfactory function. Young age was not associated with a better prognosis. Discussion/Conclusion: Rates of improvement and recovery of chemosensory function decreased after 2–4 months after initial chemosensory loss, possibly indicating that prolonged and perhaps permanent chemosensory loss may be a complication of SARS-CoV-2 infections. High subjective severity of CD may worsen the prognosis for improvement and recovery of chemosensory function.
Patient-reported outcomes and function after reinsertion of the triangular fibrocartilage complex by open surgery.

AIMS Patients with a triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injury report ulnar-sided wrist pain and impaired function. The surgical procedure of TFCC reinsertion aims to improve function in patients with this injury in whom conservative treatment has failed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes of open TFCC reinsertion. METHODS The study involved 274 patients who underwent open repair of the TFCC between December 2013 and December 2018. The patients completed the Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) questionnaire, and scored pain and function using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Range of motion (ROM) was assessed by experienced hand therapists. RESULTS Clinically significant improvements were reported in pain, function, and grip strength in 220 patients (80%) three and 12 months postoperatively. CONCLUSION These data will help surgeons to make decisions about the outcomes of open repair of the TFCC and to counsel patients appropriately. Level of evidence: III Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(4):711-717.
Structural relaxation and crystallization in supercooled water from 170 to 260 K

Significance Water plays a prominent role in many areas of physical and biological sciences. Water, though commonplace, is also highly unusual in comparison to most liquids. Promising models to explain water’s anomalous properties propose that it is a heterogeneous, temperature-dependent mixture of two structural motifs. Key phenomena related to this structural heterogeneity are predicted to occur for deeply supercooled water where fast crystallization has prevented experiments. We use a pulsed laser heating technique to examine the rate of structural relaxation for supercooled water at previously inaccessible temperatures. The results suggest that the complex relaxation kinetics are governed by a distribution of energetic barriers for rearrangement within a structurally heterogeneous environment. Furthermore, the structural relaxation is always fast compared to crystallization. The origin of water’s anomalous properties has been debated for decades. Resolution of the problem is hindered by a lack of experimental data in a crucial region of temperatures, T, and pressures where supercooled water rapidly crystallizes—a region often referred to as “no man’s land. ” A recently developed technique where water is heated and cooled at rates greater than 109 K/s now enables experiments in this region. Here, it is used to investigate the structural relaxation and crystallization of deeply supercooled water for 170 K < T < 260 K. Water’s relaxation toward a new equilibrium structure depends on its initial structure with hyperquenched glassy water (HQW) typically relaxing more quickly than low-density amorphous solid water (LDA). For HQW and T > 230 K, simple exponential relaxation kinetics is observed. For HQW at lower temperatures, increasingly nonexponential relaxation is observed, which is consistent with the dynamics expected on a rough potential energy landscape. For LDA, approximately exponential relaxation is observed for T > 230 K and T < 200 K, with nonexponential relaxation only at intermediate temperatures. At all temperatures, water’s structure can be reproduced by a linear combination of two, local structural motifs, and we show that a simple model accounts for the complex kinetics within this context. The relaxation time, τrel, is always shorter than the crystallization time, τxtal. For HQW, the ratio, τxtal/τrel, goes through a minimum at ∼198 K where the ratio is about 60.
Regarding “The Clinical and Economic Burden of Norovirus Gastroenteritis in the United States”

To the Editor—Coronavirus disease 2019 is characterized by endotheliitis and vasculitis [1, 2], which has been repeatedly reported to be associated with the intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM1) K469E polymorphism, as in coronary artery disease [3], type 1 diabetes [4], and inflammatory bowel disease [5]. In their letter [6], Padhi et al report that ICAM-1 K469E polymorphism was positively correlated with a higher possibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and related mortality rate, thus concluding that ICAM-1 variants may play a role in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infections and increased chances of death. However, it is necessary to interpret this conclusion prudently. Aside from the genetic polymorphism, the uneven infection rate could be influenced by imbalances in the government management ability to deal with public health emergencies (emergency response ability of primary health institutions, information level, international cooperation, implementation of effective isolation measures) [7], the supply of SARS-CoV-2 testing reagents, the willingness of the public for screening, and the scope of vaccination. Similarly, in addition to genetic factors, the diverse mortality rates may be affected by many factors, such as unequal healthcare systems [8], different methods of calculating mortality rates (deaths directly or indirectly related to SARS-CoV-2 infection), preexisting diseases [9], virus variants, and demographic characteristics (male sex and older age are associated with higher mortality rates) [10]. Therefore, based on the considerations above, the study by Padhi et al provides only preliminary assumptions regarding the correlation among ICAM-1 K469E polymorphism, susceptibility to SARSCoV-2 infection, and related mortality rates. Thus, as the authors noted, a successful case-control study is necessary to explore the associations.
Association of Physical Activity and APOE Genotype With Longitudinal Cognitive Change in Early Parkinson Disease

Objective To determine whether greater physical activity could modify the negative association of APOE ε4 with longitudinal cognitive changes in early Parkinson disease (PD) and to uncover the disease-specific mechanism for explaining such benefits of physical activity. Methods We used data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative cohort. Because self-reported physical activity, measured by the Physical Activity Scale of the Elderly, was initiated at 2 years after enrollment, this longitudinal analysis was based on assessments performed at years 2, 3, and 4. Cognitive function was measured annually with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging was performed at years 2 and 4. We assessed the interactive associations between physical activity and the APOE ε4 allele on the longitudinal changes in MoCA scores and striatal DAT activities. Results A total of 173 patients with early PD (age 63.3 ± 10.0 years, 27% APOE ε4 carriers) were included. The APOE ε4 allele showed a steeper rate of cognitive decline than the non–APOE ε4 allele (estimate −1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] −2.12 to −0.47, p = 0.002). However, there was a significant interaction between physical activity and APOE ε4 such that higher physical activity was related to slower APOE ε4-related cognitive decline (estimate 0.007, 95% CI 0.003–0.011, p = 0.001). No significant interaction was found between physical activity and the APOE ε4 allele regarding the change in striatal DAT activities. Conclusion Increased physical activity attenuated APOE ε4-related vulnerability to early cognitive decline in patients with PD. This protective effect did not appear to be mediated by striatal dopaminergic function. Trial Registration Information ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01141023. Classification of Evidence This study provides Class II evidence that increased physical activity was associated with decreased APOE ε4-related early cognitive decline in patients with PD.
User Experience With Low-Cost Virtual Reality Cancer Surgery Simulation in an African Setting

PURPOSE Limited access to adequate cancer surgery training is one of the driving forces behind global inequities in surgical cancer care. Affordable virtual reality (VR) surgical training could enhance surgical skills in low- and middle-income settings, but most VR and augmented reality systems are too expensive and do not teach open surgical techniques commonly practiced in these contexts. New low-cost VR can offer skill development simulations relevant to these settings, but little is known about how knowledge is gained and applied by surgeons training and working in specific resource-constrained settings. This study addresses this gap, exploring gynecologic oncology trainee learning and user experience using a low-cost VR simulator to learn to perform an open radical abdominal hysterectomy in Lusaka, Zambia. METHODS Eleven surgical trainees rotating through the gynecologic oncology service were sequentially recruited from the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka to participate in a study evaluating a VR radical abdominal hysterectomy training designed to replicate the experience in a Zambian hospital. Six participated in semi-structured interviews following the training. Interviews were analyzed using open and axial coding, informed by grounded theory. RESULTS Simulator participation increased participants' perception of their surgical knowledge, confidence, and skills. Participants believed their skills transferred to other related surgical procedures. Having clear goals and motivation to improve were described as factors that influenced success. CONCLUSION For cancer surgery trainees in lower-resourced settings learning medical and surgical skills, even for those with limited VR experience, low-cost VR simulators may enhance anatomical knowledge and confidence. The VR simulator reinforced anatomical and clinical knowledge acquired through other modalities. VR-enhanced learning may be particularly valuable when mentored learning opportunities are limited.
On the determination of accurate intensities from powder diffraction data. II. Estimation of intensities of overlapping reflections

Even the best least-squares algorithm to extract intensities from a powder diagram will not be able to determine the separate intensities of completely overlapping peaks. In this paper a new method (DOREES) is presented to determine these intensities more accurately by applying relations between structure factors derived from direct methods and the Patterson function. The intensities obtained from the least-squares fit are used as a starting set for DOREES. Comparative tests on both artificially generated and real data show that DOREES improves the intensity set considerably.
Atorvastatin ameliorates early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage via inhibition of pyroptosis and neuroinflammation

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a subtype of stroke with high mortality and morbidity due to the lack of effective therapy. Atorvastatin has been reported to alleviate early brain injury (EBI) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) via reducing reactive oxygen species, antiapoptosis, regulated autophagy, and neuroinflammation. Which was the related to the pyroptosis? Pyroptosis can be defined as a highly specific inflammatory programmed cell death, distinct from classical apoptosis and necrosis. However, the precise role of pyroptosis in atorvastatin‐mediated neuroprotection following SAH has not been confirmed. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotection and potential molecular mechanisms of atorvastatin in the SAH‐induced EBI via regulating neural pyroptosis using the filament perforation model of SAH in male C57BL/6 mice, and the hemin‐induced neuron damage model in HT‐22. Atorvastatin or vehicle was administrated 2 h after SAH and hemin‐induced neuron damage. The mortality, neurological score, brain water content, and neuronal death were evaluated. The results show that the atorvastatin treatment markedly increased survival rate, neurological score, greater survival of neurons, downregulated the protein expression of NLRP1, cleaved caspase‐1, interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), and IL‐18, which indicated that atorvastatin‐inhibited pyroptosis and neuroinflammation, ameliorated neuron death in vivo/vitro subjected to SAH. Taken together, this study demonstrates that atorvastatin improved the neurological outcome in rats and reduced the neuron death by against neural pyroptosis and neuroinflammation.
A global search for novel transcription factors impacting the Neurospora crassa circadian clock

In order to identify new players modulating the circadian clock in the model Neurospora crassa, we adopted a reverse genetics strategy. Thus, we focused on transcription factors knockouts and crossed them to strains containing circadian luciferase reporters. Our screen covered close to 60% de the 302 genes encoding for such proteins in Neurospora, identifying that 23 of them appear to modulate period, while none of the tested ones (besides the classic core-clock components) are essential for daily rhythms.