bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Applications of the Guarded-Needle External Drainage Technique in Vitreoretinal Surgery
Authors: Felfeli Tina , Grewal Parampal S. , Mandelcorn Efrem D.
Published: May 2022

Purpose:

To describe the surgical technique using the guarded-needle external drainage for a wide variety of applications in vitreoretinal surgery.

Methods:

A step-by-step procedure and a surgical video using the guarded-needle external drainage technique are presented. In addition, a series of representative cases with wide-ranging diagnoses who underwent the technique is reviewed.

Description and Technique:

The guarded-needle using a 27-gauge thin-walled TSK needle (TSK Laboratory International) and a trimmed 70 buckle sleeve are connected to the active extrusion tubing of the vitrectomy machine. External drainage is performed by actively aspirating subretinal fluid using low active vacuum. The guarded-needle external drainage technique is used in cases with bullous detachments, and small and anterior breaks, when performing scleral buckle, for prevention of underfill when using oil tamponade in cases with choroidal effusion, addressing subretinal gas/air, lysing a subretinal band, draining a suprachoroidal hemorrhage, for diabetic tractional retinal detachments, detachments with no definitive break, and subretinal biopsy in exudative detachments.

Conclusion:

The guarded-needle external drainage has a wide range of applications in vitreoretinal surgery.
Peripheral Neurectomy With Customized Nerve Reconstruction for Periorbital Neuropathic Pain: Initial Experience and Clinical Outcomes
Authors: Kim Jane S. , Tian James , Gross Andrew , Aggarwal Sahil , May Lauren , Leyngold Ilya M.
Published: May 2022

Purpose:

To describe a novel, minimally invasive surgical technique to treat severe, intractable periorbital neuropathic pain.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis of patients with severe, treatment-refractory periorbital pain who underwent transection of affected sensory trigeminal branches with nerve repair was performed. Collected data included etiology and duration of neuropathic pain, comorbidities, prior treatment history, surgical technique including site of transected sensory nerves and type of nerve repair, preoperative and postoperative pain scores as well as follow-up duration. Differences between preoperative and postoperative values were analyzed by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Results:

A total of 5 patients with severe periorbital neuropathic pain underwent transection of affected supraorbital, supratrochlear, infratrochlear, infraorbital, zygomaticotemporal, and zygomaticofacial nerves with customized nerve reconstruction. All 5 had improvement of periorbital pain after surgery, with 3 (60%) noting complete resolution of pain and 2 (40%) experiencing partial pain relief over a median follow-up period of 9 months (interquartile range [IQR], 6–19 months). Of the 3 patients who had complete resolution of pain, all reported continued pain relief. Median McGill pain scores significantly decreased from 8.4 (IQR, 8.2–10.0) preoperatively to 0.0 (IQR, 0.0–4.8; p < 0.001) postoperatively. All patients reported satisfaction with the surgical procedure and stated that they would undergo the procedure again if given the option. One patient with history of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) had reactivation of herpes zoster at postoperative month 3, which was self-limited, without worsening of her neuropathic pain. Another patient with PHN required a staged procedure to achieve complete pain relief.

Conclusion:

Peripheral neurectomy with customized reconstruction of involved sensory nerves can successfully reduce and even eradicate periorbital neuropathic pain that was previously recalcitrant to combination pharmacotherapy and prior neurolysis procedures.
Orbital and Sinonasal Complications of Hydrogel Scleral Buckle: A Case Report
Authors: Tong Jessica Y. , Smith Murray , Gout Taras , Tumuluri Krishna , Taylor Simon
Published: May 2022

The hydrogel scleral buckle is a hydrophilic implant that is characterized by progressive expansion and can present with secondary orbital changes. The authors present a unique case of hydrogel-induced erosion of the orbital roof into the frontal sinus, with formation of a sino-orbital communication that resulted in frontal sinusitis and adjacent cerebritis. The hydrogel material is radiologically characterized as a fluid-filled hypertense T2 mass with rim enhancement and peripheral calcification. Awareness of late orbital complications from the hydrogel material is important to distinguish this entity from other mimicking orbital pathologies.
Severe Diesel Injection Injury to the Face, Neck and Orbit: Surgical Management and Critical Care Considerations
Authors: Dawson Valerie J. , Lacey Echalier E. , Vu Brian , Liao Sophie , Goddard Julie , Hink Eric
Published: May 2022

The purpose of this report is to discuss high-pressure injection injuries involving the face and orbit and discuss factors affecting prognosis and management as these injuries are rare and uniquely challenging to manage given the complex anatomy and extensive damage that may occur. In this case, we present severe injury to the left orbit, maxillofacial region, and neck of a 29-year-old male who suffered a high-pressure diesel injection injury requiring several surgical debridements, intensive care unit (ICU) level care, and ultimately sub-total exenteration. Initial management involved systemic antibiotics, steroids, and surgical debridement; however, our patient experienced subsequent rapid deterioration resulting in admission for more aggressive subspecialty intervention. Decision-making was guided by serial CT of the face and orbits, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in addition to the physical examination. His course was complicated by progressive extensive soft tissue necrosis requiring 8 surgical debridements and optic nerve tenting despite orbital decompression resulting in loss of the OS. Ultimately, definitive treatment required sub-total exenteration and negative wound pressure therapy over the orbit followed by eyelid reconstruction as an outpatient. We conclude that without prompt recognition and meticulous debridement, the resultant injury from high-pressure injection injuries can be devastating and lead to permanent vision loss, loss of an eye, loss of facial function, and airway compromise depending on the location of the injury. A multi-disciplinary team involving oculoplastics, otolaryngology, infectious disease, and ICU should be assembled based on the complexity of this injury and its sequela. CRP can be useful to monitor patient recovery and the need for further surgical intervention. When debridement results in complex wounds over the orbit and face, negative pressure wound therapy should be considered.
Efficacy and safety of Chinese herbal medicine for vascular dementia
Authors: Tan Aihua , Hu Yan , Zhang Zheng , Yan Han , Song Ziyu , Ran Simiao
Published: May 2022

Introduction:

As a common type of clinical dementia, the prevalence rate of vascular dementia (VaD) increased rapidly in recent years, damaging both patients’ health and social-economic prospect. There is currently no effective treatment for VaD, though western medicines can slightly improve patients’ cognitive function, but not brought a significant improvement in daily life ability. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been widely employed to treat dementia for more than 2000years in China. Despite the proliferation of relevant literature, there is still a lack of evidence to prove the effectiveness and safety of such therapy. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis protocol is aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of CHM for VaD.

Methods and analysis:

Six English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Springer, CENTRAL and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) and 4 Chinese databases (Wan fang Database, Chinese Scientific Journals Database , China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database  and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database ) will be searched from the inception to July 1st, 2020. Randomized controlled trials, which participants with VaD receiving various CHM therapy versus control group, will be included in this study. Two researchers will independently obtain data, screen eligible trials, and evaluate the quality of literature. Any disagreement will be settled by a discussion with the third investigator. A comprehensive meta-analysis will be conducted using the Cochrane collaboration software (Review Manager 5.3).

Ethics and dissemination:

Since this article is a protocol that does not involve patients and personal information collection, ethical approval is therefore not required. This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at conferences, and will be shared on social media platforms. The review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal or conference presentation.

INPLASY registration number:

INPLASY 202210098.
Classifying Pulmonary and Urinary High-grade Neuroendocrine Carcinoma by CK7 Immunohistochemistry
Authors: Fan Jiaming , Li Henry , Zhou Chen , Xiong Wei , Villamil Carlos , Ionescu Diana , Oo Htoo Z. , Contreras-Sanz Alberto , Black Peter C. , Wang Gang
Published: May 2022

High-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma (HGNEC) is subclassified into small cell carcinoma (SmCC) and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC). Although both are clinically aggressive, the SmCC and LCNEC need to have different treatment strategies, and accurate pathologic diagnosis is challenging. We studied a large retrospective cohort (186 cases) of HGNEC of bladder and lung to investigate the abundance of cytokeratin (CK) 7 expression and staining pattern in SmCC and LCNEC. Overall, the pulmonary and urinary HGNEC exhibited several different CK7 staining patterns, including negative staining (n=28), dot-like staining (n=73), partial membranous staining (n=26), and complete membranous staining (n=60). Overall, 88.9% (44/49) of pulmonary SmCC and 88.0% (44/50) of urinary SmCC showed negative or dot-like patterns for CK7, while 90.8% (59/65) of pulmonary LCNEC and 72.7% (16/22) of urinary LCNEC showed partial or complete membranous patterns for CK7 (χ2=105.05, P<0.0001). The distinct staining patterns were also present in those mixed SmCC and LCNEC. In addition, the specimen types or fixation did not affect CK7 staining patterns. In conclusion, CK7 has a high differential value for SmCC and LCNEC and could help guide personalized treatment for patients.
Sentinel Node Biopsy Imaging in Breast Cancer
Authors: Cañete-Sánchez Francisco M. , Boulvard-Chollet Xavier L. E. , Chamorro Xabier , Marrodán, MArch Pablo Javier , Garrastachu Zumarán Puy , Ramírez Lasanta Rafael , Colletti Patrick M. , Giammarile Francesco , Delgado Bolton Roberto C.
Published: May 2022

Background

Point of injection scatter (SPI) confounds breast cancer sentinel lymph node detection. Round flat lead shields (FLSs) incompletely reduce SPI, requiring repositioning. We designed lead shields that reduce SPI and acquisition time.

Methods

Two concave lead shields, a semioval lead shield (OLS) and a semispherical lead alloy shield (SLS), were created with a SICNOVA JCR 1000 3D printer to cover the point of injection (patent no. ES1219895U). Twenty breast cancer patients had anterior and anterior oblique imaging, 5 minutes and 2 hours after a single 111 MBq nanocolloid in 0.2 mL intratumoral or periareolar injection. Each acquisition was 2 minutes. Absolute and normalized background corrected scatter counts (CSCs) and scatter reduction percentage (%SR) related to the FLS were calculated. Repositionings were recorded. Differences between means of %SR (t test) and between means of CSC (analysis of variance) with Holm multiple comparison tests were determined.

Results

Mean %SR was 91.8% with OLS and 92% using SLS in early images (P = 0.91) and 87.2%SR in OLS and 88.5% in late images (P = 0.66). There were significant differences between CSC using FLS and OLS (P < 0.001) and between FLS and SLS (P < 0.001), but not between OLS and SLS (P = 0.17) in early images, with the same results observed in delayed studies (P < 0.001 in relation to FLS and P = 0.1 between both curved lead shields). Repositioning was required 14/20 times with FLS, 4/20 times with OLS, and 2/20 times with SLS.

Conclusions

We designed 2 concave lead shields that significantly reduce the SPI and repositioning with sentinel lymph node lymphoscintigraphy.
Increased 68Ga-FAPI Uptake in Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans
Authors: Yang Xiao , Chen Hui , Li Mengyu , Chen Yue , Liu Huipan
Published: May 2022

A 47-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of palpable masses in the right hip. The patient was subsequently enrolled in our clinical trial of 68Ga-FAPI PET/CT study on tumors. Intense 68Ga-FAPI activities were noted in the right hip lesions, suggestive of malignancies. Pathological examination using tissue obtained on surgical resection rendered a diagnosis of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.
FDG PET/CT in Eosinophilic Solid and Cystic Renal Cell Carcinoma With Lung Metastases
Authors: Zhang Jun , Dong Aisheng , Wang Yang
Published: May 2022

Eosinophilic solid and cystic renal cell carcinoma is a recently described emerging renal tumor. Usefulness of FDG PET/CT in the management of eosinophilic solid and cystic renal cell carcinoma has been rarely reported. We describe FDG PET/CT findings in a case of eosinophilic solid and cystic renal cell carcinoma with lung metastases. The primary renal tumor and its metastases showed intense FDG uptake with SUVmax of 29.3 for the primary tumor and 21 for the lung metastases.
From the origin of life to pandemics: emergent phenomena in complex systems
Authors: Artime Oriol , De Domenico Manlio
Published: May 2022

When a large number of similar entities interact among each other and with their environment at a low scale, unexpected outcomes at higher spatio-temporal scales might spontaneously arise. This non-trivial phenomenon, known as emergence, characterizes a broad range of distinct complex systems—from physical to biological and social—and is often related to collective behaviour. It is ubiquitous, from non-living entities such as oscillators that under specific conditions synchronize, to living ones, such as birds flocking or fish schooling. Despite the ample phenomenological evidence of the existence of systems’ emergent properties, central theoretical questions to the study of emergence remain unanswered, such as the lack of a widely accepted, rigorous definition of the phenomenon or the identification of the essential physical conditions that favour emergence. We offer here a general overview of the phenomenon of emergence and sketch current and future challenges on the topic. Our short review also serves as an introduction to the theme issueEmergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies, where we provide a synthesis of the contents tackled in the issue and outline how they relate to these challenges, spanning from current advances in our understanding on the origin of life to the large-scale propagation of infectious diseases.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies’.
Emergent entanglement structures and self-similarity in quantum spin chains
Authors: Sokolov Boris , Rossi Matteo A. C. , García-Pérez Guillermo , Maniscalco Sabrina
Published: May 2022

We introduce an experimentally accessible network representation for many-body quantum states based on entanglement between all pairs of its constituents. We illustrate the power of this representation by applying it to a paradigmatic spin chain model, the XX model, and showing that it brings to light new phenomena. The analysis of these entanglement networks reveals that the gradual establishment of quasi-long range order is accompanied by a symmetry regarding single-spin concurrence distributions, as well as by instabilities in the network topology. Moreover, we identify the existence of emergent entanglement structures, spatially localized communities enforced by the global symmetry of the system that can be revealed by model-agnostic community detection algorithms. The network representation further unveils the existence of structural classes and a cyclic self-similarity in the state, which we conjecture to be intimately linked to the community structure. Our results demonstrate that the use of tools and concepts from complex network theory enables the discovery, understanding and description of new physical phenomena even in models studied for decades.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies’.
The simple emergence of complex molecular function
Authors: Manrubia Susanna
Published: May 2022

At odds with a traditional view of molecular evolution that seeks a descent-with-modification relationship between functional sequences, new functions can emerge
de novo
with relative ease. At early times of molecular evolution, random polymers could have sufficed for the appearance of incipient chemical activity, while the cellular environment harbours a myriad of proto-functional molecules. The emergence of function is facilitated by several mechanisms intrinsic to molecular organization, such as redundant mapping of sequences into structures, phenotypic plasticity, modularity or cooperative associations between genomic sequences. It is the availability of niches in the molecular ecology that filters new potentially functional proposals. New phenotypes and subsequent levels of molecular complexity could be attained through combinatorial explorations of currently available molecular variants. Natural selection does the rest.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies’.
The ergodicity solution of the cooperation puzzle
Authors: Peters Ole , Adamou Alexander
Published: May 2022

When two entities cooperate by sharing resources, one relinquishes something of value to the other. This apparent altruism is frequently observed in nature. Why? Classical treatments assume circumstances where combining resources creates an immediate benefit, e.g. through complementarity or thresholds. Here we ask whether cooperation is predictable without such circumstances. We study a model in which resources self-multiply with fluctuations, a null model of a range of phenomena from viral spread to financial investment. Two fundamental growth rates exist: the ensemble-average growth rate, achieved by the average resources of a large population; and the time-average growth rate, achieved by individual resources over a long time. As a consequence of non-ergodicity, the latter is lower than the former by a term which depends on fluctuation size. Repeated pooling and sharing of resources reduces the effective size of fluctuations and increases the time-average growth rate, which approaches the ensemble-average growth rate in the many-cooperator limit. Therefore, cooperation is advantageous in our model for the simple reason that those who do it grow faster than those who do not. We offer this as a candidate explanation for observed cooperation in rudimentary environments, and as a behavioural baseline for cooperation more generally.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies’.
Hybrid social learning in human-algorithm cultural transmission
Authors: Brinkmann L. , Gezerli D. , Kleist K. V. , Müller T. F. , Rahwan I. , Pescetelli N.
Published: May 2022

Humans are impressive social learners. Researchers of cultural evolution have studied the many biases shaping cultural transmission by selecting who we copy from and what we copy. One hypothesis is that with the advent of superhuman algorithms a hybrid type of cultural transmission, namely from algorithms to humans, may have long-lasting effects on human culture. We suggest that algorithms might show (either by learning or by design) different behaviours, biases and problem-solving abilities than their human counterparts. In turn, algorithmic-human hybrid problem solving could foster better decisions in environments where diversity in problem-solving strategies is beneficial. This study asks whether algorithms with complementary biases to humans can boost performance in a carefully controlled planning task, and whether humans further transmit algorithmic behaviours to other humans. We conducted a large behavioural study and an agent-based simulation to test the performance of transmission chains with human and algorithmic players. We show that the algorithm boosts the performance of immediately following participants but this gain is quickly lost for participants further down the chain. Our findings suggest that algorithms can improve performance, but human bias may hinder algorithmic solutions from being preserved.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Emergent phenomena in complex physical and socio-technical systems: from cells to societies’.
Algoriphagus algorifonticola sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from cold spring area of South China Sea
Authors: Yan Cen , Chen Can , Chai Baozhong , Ye Yanghui , Anwar Nusratgul , Zhao Zhe , Wang Ruijun , Huo Yingyi , Zhang Xinyin , Wu Min , Zheng Daoqiong
Published: May 2022

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, short-rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain hg1T, was isolated from marine sediment within the cold spring area of South China Sea and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic investigation. Colonies were circular and 1.0–2.0 mm in diameter, coral in colour, convex and smooth after growth on marine agar at 28 °C for 3 days. Strain hg1T was found to grow at 4–40 °C (optimum, 35–37 °C), at pH 6.5–9.0 (optimum, pH 7.5) and with 0–8 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1.5–2 %). Chemotaxonomic analysis showed the sole respiratory quinone was MK-7, and the principal fatty acids are iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1 ω7c and/or C16 : 1 ω6c), and iso-C16 : 0. The major polar lipids are phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified phospholipid and five unidentified glycolipids. The DNA G+C content of strain hg1T was 39.6 mol% based on the genome sequence. The comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities showed that hg1T was closely related to

Algoriphagus ornithinivorans

DSM 15282T (98.6 % sequence similarity),

Algoriphagus zhangzhouensis

MCCC 1F01099T (97.9 %) and

Algoriphagus vanfongensis

DSM 17529T (97.2 %); it exhibited 97.0 % or less sequence similarity to the type strains of other species of the genus

Algoriphagus

with validly published names. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed with the neighbour-joining, maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain hg1T constituted a separate branch with

A

.

ornithinivorans

,

A. zhangzhouensis

,

A. vanfongensis

in a clade of the genus

Algoriphagus

. OrthoANI values between strain hg1T and

A

.

ornithinivorans

,

A. zhangzhouensis

and

A. vanfongensis

were 94.3, 74.1, 73.2 %, respectively, and in silico DNA–DNA hybridization values were 56.2, 18.5 and 18.3 %, respectively. Differential phenotypic properties, together with phylogenetic distinctiveness, demonstrated that strain hg1T is clearly distinct from recognized species of genus

Algoriphagus

. On the basis of these features, we propose that strain hg1T (=MCCC 1K03570T=KCTC 72111T) represents a novel species of the genus

Algoriphagus

with the name Algoriphagus algorifonticola sp. nov.
Mycobacterium senriense sp. nov., a slowly growing, non-scotochromogenic species, isolated from sputum of an elderly man
Authors: Abe Yuko , Fukushima Kiyoharu , Matsumoto Yuki , Niitsu Takayuki , Nabeshima Hiroshi , Nagahama Yasuharu , Akiba Eri , Haduki Kako , Saito Haruko , Nitta Tadayoshi , Kawano Akira , Tanaka Michio , Matsuki Takanori , Motooka Daisuke , Tsujino Kazuyuki , Miki Keisuke , Nakamura Shota , Iida Tetsuya , Kida Hiroshi
Published: May 2022

A slowly growing mycobacteria, identified as strain TY59T, was isolated from sputum of an elderly man with pneumonia. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that this strain was similar to members of the

Mycobacterium avium

complex and closely related species. Strain TY59T has highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to the type strains of

Mycobacterium colombiense

(99.80 % sequence similarity),

Mycobacterium vulneris

(99.74 %),

Mycobacterium timonense

(99.54 %),

Mycobacterium avium

subsp.

avium

(99.54 %) and

Mycobacterium avium

subsp.

silvaticum

(99.54 %). Analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and DNA-directed RNA polymerase subunit beta (rpoB) sequences gave similar results to the 16S rRNA gene analysis. The closest species to strain TY59T were

M. colombiense

and

M. vulneris

with 97.90–98.25 % identity in ITS and 96.4–96.6 % in rpoB. The strain's 65 kDa heat shock protein (hsp65) gene was different from those of

M. vulneris

,

M. colombiense

and

M. avium

subsp.

silvaticum

with 72.4–74.2 % identity. Average nucleotide identity results showed a 93.4 % match to

M. vulneris

as the maximum value. Phenotypically, the non-chromogenicity, rough colonies, growth at 42 °C, negative results for nitrate reduction, β-glucosidase and Tween 80 hydrolysis, and positive results for catalase activity set this strain apart from closely related species. We propose that Mycobacterium senriense sp. nov. is a novel species of slowly growing mycobacteria. The type strain is TY59T (RIMD 1371001T=CIP 111917T).
Furfurilactobacillus milii sp. nov., isolated from fermented cereal foods
Authors: Simpson David J. , Zhang Justina S. , D'Amico Vera , Llamas-Arriba M. Goretti , Gänzle Michael G.
Published: May 2022

Genomic characterization of

Furfurilactobacillus rossiae

revealed that strains which were previously identified as

F. rossiae

are genetically heterogeneous. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains FUA3430, FUA3583, C5, FUA3115 and FUA3119, were 99.6 % identical to

F. rossiae

but the core genome analysis revealed that these strains share less than 93 % average nucleotide identity (ANI) with the

F. rossiae

type strain DSM 15814T. Because the ANI value is below the threshold for delineation of bacterial species, we propose the novel species Furfurilactobacillus milii sp. nov. with the type strain FUA3430T (=DSM 113338T=LMG 32478T). Strains of F. milii have smaller genomes than

F. rossiae

, lack the pdu-cbi-cob-hem cluster which is responsible for 1,2-propanediol utilization in

F. rossiae

, and lack genes involved in ethanolamine utilization. Two strains of the novel species (FUA3430T and FUA3583) were compared to

F. rossiae

FUA3214. Analysis of the cellular fatty acid composition and metabolite analysis did not reveal significant differences between F. milii sp. nov. and

F. rossiae

FUA3124. Although the growth requirements with respect to temperature and pH were very similar, only the strain of

F. rossiae

utilized melibiose and d-xylose. Morphological differences were also seen in the colony and cell size of the novel compared to

F. rossiae

.
Transcriptome and DNA methylome analysis of peripheral blood samples reveals incomplete restoration and transposable element activation after 3-month recovery of COVID-19
Authors: Yin Ying , Liu Xiao-zhao , Tian Qing , Fan Yi-xian , Ye Zhen , Meng Tian-qing , Wei Gong-hong , Xiong Cheng-liang , Li Honggang , He Ximiao , Zhou Li-quan
Published: May 2022

Comprehensive analyses showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection caused COVID-19 and induced strong immune responses and sometimes severe illnesses. However, cellular features of recovered patients and long-term health consequences remain largely unexplored. In this study, we collected peripheral blood samples from recovered COVID-19 patients (average age of 35.7 years old) from Hubei province, China, 3 months after discharge; and carried out RNA-seq and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) to identify hallmarks of recovered COVID-19 patients. Our analyses showed significant changes both in expression and DNA methylation of genes and transposable elements (TEs) in recovered COVID-19 patients. We identified 639 misregulated genes and 18516 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in total. Genes with aberrant expression and DMRs were found to be associated with immune responses and other related biological processes, implicating prolonged overreaction of the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Notably, a significant amount of TEs were aberrantly activated and TE activation was positively correlated with COVID-19 severity. Moreover, differentially methylated TEs may regulate adjacent gene expression as regulatory elements. Those identified transcriptomic and epigenomic signatures define and drive the features of recovered COVID-19 patients, helping determine the risks of long COVID-19, and providing guidance for clinical intervention.
Revisiting IgG antibody reactivity to Epstein-Barr virus in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and its potential application to disease diagnosis
Authors: Sepúlveda Nuno , Malato João , Sotzny Franziska , Grabowska Anna D , Fonseca André , Cordeiro Clara , Graça Luís , Biecek Przemyslaw , Behrends Uta , Mautner Josef , Westermeier Francisco , Lacerda Eliana M , Scheibenbogen Carmen
Published: May 2022

Infections by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are often at the disease onset of patients suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). However, serological analyses of these infections remain inconclusive when comparing patients with healthy controls. In particular, it is unclear if certain EBV-derived antigens eliciting antibody responses have a biomarker potential for disease diagnosis. With this purpose, we re-analysed a previously published microarray data on the IgG antibody responses against 3,054 EBV-related antigens in 92 patients with ME/CFS and 50 HCs. This re-analysis consisted of constructing different regression models for binary outcomes with the ability to classify patients and HCs. In these models, we tested for a possible interaction of different antibodies with age and gender. When analyzing the whole data set, there were no antibody responses that could be used to distinguish patients from healthy controls. A similar finding was obtained when comparing patients with noninfectious or unknown disease trigger to healthy controls. However, when data analysis was restricted to the comparison between HCs and patients with a putative infection at disease onset, we could identify stronger antibody responses against two candidate antigens (EBNA4_0529 and EBNA6_0070). Using antibody responses to these two antigens together with age and gender, the final classification model had an estimated sensitivity and specificity of 0.833 and 0.720, respectively. This reliable case-control discrimination suggested the use of the antibody levels related to these candidate viral epitopes as biomarkers for disease diagnosis in this subgroup of patients. When a bioinformatic analysis was performed on these epitopes, it revealed a potential molecular mimicry with several human proteins. To confirm these promising findings, a follow-up study will be conducted in a separate cohort of patients.
Coronavirus and incomes: the COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in Africa in February 2022
Authors: Nesteruk Igor , Rodionov Oleksii
Published: May 2022

The relative accumulated and daily characteristics of the COVID-19 pandemic dynamics in Africa were used to find links with the gross domestic product per capita (GDP), percentages of fully vaccinated people and daily numbers of tests per case. A simple statistical analysis of datasets corresponding to February 1, 2022 showed that accumulated and daily numbers of cases per capita, daily numbers of deaths per capita and vaccination levels increase with the increase of GDP. As in the case of Europe, the smoothed daily numbers of new cases per capita in Africa increase with the increasing of the vaccination level. But the increase of the accumulated numbers of cases and daily number of deaths with increasing the vaccination level was revealed in Africa. In comparison with Europe, no significant correlation was revealed between the vaccination level and the number of deaths per case. As in the case of Europe, African countries demonstrate no statistically significant links between the pandemic dynamics characteristics and the daily number of tests per case. It looks that countries with very small GDP are less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cause of this phenomenon requires further research, but it is possible that low incomes limit the mobility of the population and reduce the number of contacts with infected people. In order to overcome the pandemic, quarantine measures and social distance should not be neglected (this also applies to countries with a high level of income and vaccination).
Anti SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence in Zanzibar in 2021 before the Omicron wave
Authors: Salum Salum Seif , Sheikh Mohammed Ali , Hebestreit Antje , Kelm Sørge
Published: May 2022

Objectives

For Tanzania including Zanzibar, the development of the COVID-19 pandemic has remained unclear, since reporting cases was suspended during 2020/21. The present study provides first data on the COVID-19 seroprevalence among Zanzibari before the omicron variant wave starting in late 2021.

Design

During August through October 2021 representative cross-sectional data were collected from randomly selected households in 120 wards of the two main islands, Unguja and Pemba. Participants voluntarily provided blood samples to test their sera for antibodies against SARS-CoV2 in a semiquantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results

58.9% of the 2051 sera analysed were positive without significant differences between Unguja and Pemba or between rural and urban areas, similar to observations from other sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Conclusions

The antibody levels observed are most likely to previous infections with SARS-CoV2, since vaccination was basically not available before the survey. Therefore, this study provides first insight, how many Zanzibari have had COVID-19 before the Omicron variant. Further, it provides the appropriate basis for a follow-up survey addressing how this seroprevalence influenced the susceptibility to the Omicron variants, given harmonised methodologies are used.
Antibody response and intra-host viral evolution after plasma therapy in COVID-19 patients pre-exposed or not to B-cell depleting agents
Authors: Gachoud David , Pillonel Trestan , Gerasimos Tsilimidos , Battola Dunia , Dumas Dominique , Opota Onya , Fontana Stefano , Vollenweider Peter , Manuel Oriol , Greub Gilbert , Bertelli Claire , Rufer Nathalie
Published: May 2022

Background

Administration of plasma therapy may contribute to viral control and survival of COVID-19 patients receiving B-cell depleting agents that hinder the endogenous humoral response. However, little is known on the impact of anti-CD20 pre-exposition and the use of different sources of plasma (convalescent versus vaccinated) on the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies and viral evolution after plasma therapy.

Methods

Eligible COVID-19 patients (n = 36), half of them after anti-CD20 targeted therapy, were treated with therapeutic plasma from convalescent (n = 17) or mRNA-vaccinated (n = 19) donors. Each plasma-transfused patient was thoroughly monitored over time by anti-S IgG quantification and whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequencing.

Results

The majority of anti-CD20 pre-exposed patients (15/18) showed progressive declines of anti-S protein IgG titers following plasma therapy, indicating that they mostly relied on the passive transfer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Such antibody kinetics correlated with prolonged infection before virus clearance, contrasting with the endogenous humoral response predominantly present in patients who had not received B-cell depleting agents (15/18). No relevant differences were observed between patients treated with plasma from convalescent and/or vaccinated donors. Finally, 4/30 genotyped patients showed increased intra-host viral evolution and 3/30 included 1 to 4 spike mutations, potentially associated to immune escape.

Conclusions

Convalescent and/or vaccinated plasma therapy may provide anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and clinical benefit to B-cell depleted COVID-19 patients. Only a limited number of patients acquired viral mutations prior to clinical recovery, yet our study further emphasizes the need for long-term surveillance for intra-host variant evolution, to guide best therapeutic strategies.
Effectiveness of oral aciclovir in preventing maternal chickenpox: A comparison with VZIG
Authors: Sile Bersabeh , Brown Kevin E , Gower Charlotte , Bosowski Johanna , Dennis Amanda , Falconer Michelle , Stowe Julia , Amirthalingam Gayatri
Published: May 2022

Objectives

Although often presenting as a self-limiting childhood disease, chickenpox can have serious consequences if acquired in pregnancy. The UK recommendations are that varicella immunoglobulin (VZIG) is administered intramuscularly to susceptible pregnant women exposed to chickenpox prior to 20 weeks gestation. Oral aciclovir or VZIG is recommended if exposure occurs at 20+ weeks gestation. Our objective was to compare the effectiveness of oral aciclovir to VZIG in preventing maternal and neonatal chickenpox.

Methods

We identified and followed up 186 pregnant women who were exposed to chickenpox and compared their outcomes.

Results

171/186 (91.9%) of these women received either VZIG or oral aciclovir. 53 of the 145 (36.6%) women who received VZIG went on to develop chickenpox compared to 8 of the 26 (30.8%) women who received oral aciclovir (p=0.32). No statistical difference was found between the oral aciclovir and VZIG groups even after controlling for maternal age, gestational stage, type of exposure and IgG titre (adjusted OR:0.83; 95%CI:0.26-2.65; p=0.751).

Conclusions

These findings support the use of oral aciclovir as first-line prophylaxis in pregnant women exposed at 20+ weeks, (and possibly second-line <20 weeks) as they suggest its effectiveness at preventing maternal chickenpox is either better or equal to VZIG.
Escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron to mucosal immunity in vaccinated subjects
Authors: Martinuzzi Emanuela , Boutros Jacques , Benzaquen Jonathan , Glaichenhaus Nicolas , Hofman Paul , Marquette Charles Hugo
Published: May 2022

Omicron s escape to vaccine-induced systemic antibody responses has been shown in several studies in Omicron-infected patients and vaccine controls.

In the present study we compared mucosal antibody response to Omicron to mucosal antibody response to ancestral strain and Delta variant. This was done on nasal epithelial lining fluid (NELF) prospectively collected in 84 otherwise healthy healthcare workers who had never exhibited PCR-documented COVID-19 and had received three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. NELF was collected prior to Omicron detection in the geographical area of inclusion.

We show that NELF antibodies from vaccinated individuals were less efficient at inhibiting the binding of the Omicron Spike protein to ACE-2 compared to those of Delta or the ancestral strain.

These findings may explain the increased risk of onward transmission of Omicron, consistent with its successful global displacement of Delta in countries with a high vaccination coverage.
Use of c-peptide as a measure of cephalic phase insulin release in humans
Authors: Pullicin Alexa J. , Newsom Sean A. , Robinson Matthew M. , Lim Juyun
Published: May 2022

Cephalic phase insulin release (CPIR) is a rapid pulse of insulin secreted within minutes of food-related sensory stimulation. Understanding the mechanisms underlying CPIR in humans has been hindered by its small observed effect size and high variability within and between studies. One contributing factor to these limitations may be the use of peripherally measured insulin as an indicator of secreted insulin, since a substantial portion of insulin is metabolized by the liver before delivery to peripheral circulation. Here, we investigated the use of c-peptide, which is co-secreted in equimolar amounts to insulin from pancreatic beta cells, as a proxy for insulin secretion during the cephalic phase period. Changes in insulin and c-peptide were monitored in 18 adults over two repeated sessions following oral stimulation with a sucrose-containing gelatin stimulus. We found that on average, insulin and c-peptide release followed a similar time course over the cephalic phase period, but that c-peptide showed a greater effect size. Importantly, when insulin and c-peptide concentrations were compared across sessions, we found that changes in c-peptide were significantly correlated at the 2 minute (r = 0.50, p = 0.03) and 4 minute (r = 0.65, p = 0.003) time points, as well as when individuals’ peak c-peptide concentrations were considered (r = 0.64, p = 0.004). In contrast, no significant correlations were observed for changes in insulin measured from the sessions (r = −0.06-0.35, p < 0.05). Herein, we detail the individual variability of insulin and c-peptide release during the cephalic phase period, and discuss why c-peptide may be a more appropriate metric to represent insulin secretion.
Alcohol Use Disorder Is Associated with Higher Risks of Adverse Brain Outcomes
Authors: Zhang Pengyue , Edenberg Howard , Nurnberger John , Lai Dongbing , Cheng Feixiong , Liu Yunlong
Published: May 2022

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is on the ascendancy in the US older adult population, while the association between AUD and adverse brain outcomes remains inconclusive. The objective of this work is to investigate the associations between AUD with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. In a retrospective cohort design using US insurance claim data (2007-2020), 129,182 patients with AUD were matched with 129,182 controls by age, sex, race, and clinical characteristics. After adjusting for covariates, AUD was associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease (female adjusted HR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.68-1.90, P<0.001; male adjusted HR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.71-1.91, P<0.001) and a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease (female adjusted HR=1.49, 95% CI: 1.32-1.68 P<0.001; male adjusted HR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.32-1.52, P<0.001) in the overall sample. In separate analyses of Black, White, and Hispanic patients, those with AUD had higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease (adjusted HRs≥1.58; Ps≤0.001). A significantly elevated risk for Parkinson’s disease was found only in the White subpopulation (female adjusted HR=1.55, 95% CI: 1.36-1.77, P<0.001; male adjusted HR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.33-1.57, P<0.001). Alcohol use disorder is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Alcohol use disorder is associated with Parkinson’s disease in White persons. Cognitive screening and neurological examination among older adults with severe problematic alcohol use hold the promise for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Conceptualization of Health Literacy from a Nursing Perspective
Authors: Wilandika Angga , Pandin Moses Glorino Rumambo
Published: May 2022

Health as an inseparable part of human beings needs to be maintained to achieve a complete human health degree. The role of health literacy in attaining optimum health is significant. When associated with nursing, health literacy must be interpreted as a part of the role and function of nursing. However, to understand health literacy, it is necessary to study it from the aspect of scientific formation itself and a nursing perspective. This review proposes an alternative conceptualization of health literacy from a nursing perspective. This review used an integrative search through four databases: ScienceDirect, ProQuest, SAGE Journal, and Google Scholar. Search using various combinations of keywords with the help of Boolean operators, including: health literacy, nursing perspective, nursing, and conceptualization combined as MESH terms. The inclusion criteria are peer-reviewed articles in English that discuss health literacy and nursing perspective. Articles published within the last six years (2017-2022). Research such as literature reviews, dissertations, editorials, commentaries, and other expert opinions are excluded. Ten articles were considered in this literature review. We describe the conceptualization of health literacy from the nurse’s point of view, the predictors that influence it, the dimensions surrounding health literacy, the implication of health literacy, and how nurses will participate in supporting this health literacy. In the end, this conceptualization will be used as an illustration material to integrate the concept of health literacy into various problems that become nursing tasks.
A Genomic Risk Score Identifies Individuals at High Risk for Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Authors: Myserlis Evangelos Pavlos , Georgakis Marios K. , Demel Stacie L. , Sekar Padmini , Chung Jaeyoon , Malik Rainer , Hyacinth Hyacinth I. , Comeau Mary E. , Falcone Guido , Langefeld Carl D. , Rosand Jonathan , Woo Daniel , Anderson Christopher D.
Published: May 2022

Background

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), the most fatal form of stroke, has an estimated heritability of 29%. Applying a meta-scoring approach, we developed a genomic risk score for ICH and determined its predictive power in comparison to standard clinical risk factors.

Methods

Using a meta-analytic approach, we combined genome-wide association data from individuals of European ancestry for ICH and ICH-related traits in a meta-genomic risk score (metaGRS) consisting of 2.6 million variants. We tested associations with ICH and the predictive performance of the metaGRS in addition to clinical risk factors in a held-out validation dataset (842 cases and 796 controls). Furthermore, we tested associations with risk of incident ICH in the population-based UK Biobank cohort (486,784 individuals, 1,526 events, median follow-up 11.3 years).

Results

One SD increment in the metaGRS was significantly associated with 45% higher odds for ICH (OR 1.45; 95%CI: 1.30-1.63) in age- and sex-adjusted models and 31% higher odds for ICH (OR: 1.31, 95%CI: 1.16-1.48) in models further adjusted for clinical risk factors. The metaGRS identified individuals with almost 5-fold higher odds for ICH in the top score percentile (OR: 4.83, 95%CI: 1.56-21.2). Predictive models for ICH incorporating the metaGRS in addition to clinical predictors showed superior performance compared with clinical risk factors alone (c-index: 0.695 vs. 0.686). The metaGRS showed similar associations for both lobar and non-lobar ICH, which were independent of the known APOE risk locus for lobar ICH. In the UK Biobank, the metaGRS was associated with higher risk of incident ICH (HR: 1.15, 95%CI: 1.09-1.21). The associations were significant within both a relatively high-risk population of users of antithrombotic medications, as well as among a relatively low-risk population with a good control of vascular risk factors and no use of anticoagulants.

Conclusions

We developed and validated a genomic risk score that predicts lifetime risk of ICH beyond established clinical risk factors among individuals of European ancestry. Whether implementation of the score in risk prognostication models for high-risk populations, such as patients under antithrombotic treatment, could improve clinical decision making should be explored in future studies.