bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How strong is the epidemiological evidence to support any potential protective role for vitamin D levels on COVID-19 infections and mortality? - A time-series analysis of European Populations
Authors: Singh Samer 
Published: November 2020

ABSTRACTA potential protective role of vitamin D serum levels on overall adverse outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 on populations had been suggested previously based upon single-point cross-sectional analysis of 8 April 2020 data from 20 European countries assuming comparable underlying confounding variables for these populations, at an early stage of the current pandemic. Comparative time-series cross-sectional analysis of the COVID-19 data from 12 March (early pre-peak) to 26 July (late post-peak of infections) 2020 was performed to assess the strength of the assertion. The study subjects included 1,829,634 COVID-19 cases (11.11% of total worldwide) and 179,135 associated deaths (27.45 % of total worldwide) on 26 July 2012. Previously suggested cross-sectional study design and methodology could not consistently and significantly (p-value≥0.05) support the notion of the potential protective role of the mean serum vitamin D levels of the populations on COVID-19 incidence and mortality. However, the exponential correlative model, as well as alternative simple regression analysis on ln and Log10 transformed COVID-19 data for the time period indicated improved consistently negative covariation with vitamin D levels. Additionally, the later methodology increased the predictive potential for explaining the variability in data [R2 by 1.27-1.96 fold, adjusted-R2 by 1.33-2.47, p-value=0.0457-0.0035, for cases/million; R2 by 1.81-2.67, adjusted-R2 by 2.21-3.74 fold for deaths/million, p-value=0.0049-0.0228). Considering, the established role of vitamin D in immune system functioning randomized well-controlled trials may be suggested to evaluate/assess the potential protective role of vitamin D in reducing the COVID-19 impact on populations.
High infectiousness immediately before COVID-19 symptom onset highlights the importance of contact tracing
Authors: Hart W.S. , Maini P.K. , Thompson R.N. 
Published: November 2020

AbstractUnderstanding changes in infectiousness during COVID-19 infections is critical to assess the effectiveness of public health measures such as contact tracing. Data from known source-recipient pairs can be used to estimate the average infectiousness profile of infected individuals, and to evaluate the proportion of presymptomatic transmissions. Here, we infer the infectiousness profile of COVID-19 infections using a mechanistic approach, and show that this method provides an improved fit to data from source-recipient pairs compared to previous studies. Our results indicate a higher proportion of presymptomatic transmissions than previously thought, with many transmissions occurring shortly before symptom onset. High infectiousness immediately prior to symptom onset highlights the importance of contact tracing, even if contacts from a short time window before symptom onset alone are traced.
Extracellular vesicles as predictors of individual response to exercise training in youth living with obesity
Authors: Pierdoná Taiana M. , Martin Alexandria , Obi Patience O. , Seif Samira , Bydak Benjamin , Eadie Ashley , Brunt Keith , McGavock Jonathan M. , Sénéchal Martin , Saleem Ayesha 
Published: November 2020

AbstractExercise is associated with various health benefits, including the prevention and management of obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors. However, a strong heterogeneity in the adaptive response to exercise training exists. The objective of this study was to evaluate if changes in extracellular vesicles (EVs) after acute aerobic exercise (AE) were associated with the responder phenotype following 6-weeks of resistance exercise training. This is a secondary analysis of plasma samples from the EXIT trial (clinical trial #02204670). Eleven sedentary youth with obesity (15.7±0.5 years, BMI ≥ 95th percentile) underwent an acute bout of AE (60% heart rate reserve, 45 min). Blood was collected before exercise [at time (AT) 0 min], during [AT15, 30, 45 min], and 75 min after exercise [AT120]. Afterward, youth participated in 6-week resistance training program, and were categorized into responders (RE) or non-responders (NRE) based on changes in insulin sensitivity as measured by the Matsuda Index. EVs were isolated using size exclusion chromatography (Izon®). The primary outcome variable was EV biophysical profile, which includes size, zeta potential, protein yield and expression of markers associated with EV subtypes. The variables were analyzed in a single-blind fashion. Overall, there was a general increase in EV production in both groups. Average EV size was larger in RE (~147 nm) vs. NRE (~124 nm; p<0.05). Average EV size at AT0 was associated with absolute change in Matsuda index following 6-weeks of resistance training (r=0.44, p=0.08). EV size distribution revealed RE preferentially expressed EVs between 150 – 250 nm in size, whereas NRE expressed EVs between 50 – 100 nm (p<0.05). At baseline, RE-EVs contained ~25% lower Tsg101 protein, ~85% higher MMP2 content, while CD63 levels remained unchanged between the groups. Total protein yield in RE-EVs was higher than NRE at AT15 (p<0.05). Our data suggest that youth with obesity that respond to exercise training produce larger EVs, with lower exosome- and higher microvesicle-specific protein expression. RE-EVs also had higher EV protein yield during AE. The relationship between larger EV subtypes and/or cargo, and the individual response to exercise has yet to be fully elucidated.
Modeling aerial transmission of pathogens (including the SARS-CoV-2 virus) through aerosol emissions from e-cigarettes
Authors: Sussman Roberto A , Golberstein Eliana , Polosa Riccardo 
Published: November 2020

AbstractWe examine the plausibility, scope and risks of aerial transmission of pathogens (including the SARS-CoV-2 virus) through respiratory droplets carried by exhaled e–cigarette aerosol (ECA). Given the lack of empiric evidence, we consider cigarette smoking and mouth breathing through a mouthpiece as convenient proxies to infer the respiratory mechanics and droplets sizes and their rate of emission that should result from vaping. To quantify direct exposure distance we model exhaled ECA flow as an intermittent turbulent jet evolving into an unstable puff, estimating for low intensity vaping (practiced by 80-90% of vapers) the emission of 6-200 (mean 79.82, standard deviation 74.66) respiratory submicron droplets per puff a horizontal distance spread of 1-2 meters, with intense vaping possibly emitting up to 1000 droplets per puff in the submicron range a distance spread over 2 meters. Since exhaled ECA acts effectively as a visual tracer of its expiratory flow, bystanders become instinctively aware that possible direct contagion might occur only in the direction and scope of the jet.
Biostatistical Investigation of Correlation Between COVID-19 and Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Eynizadeh Zahra , Ameli Zahra , Sahranavard Mahdieh , Daneshparvar Mobina , Dolagh Mobina Abdollahi , Roozkhosh Mahboobeh , Ejtehadi Mohammad Reza , Irani Maryam Azimzadeh 
Published: November 2020

AbstractCOVID-19 is a highly infectious disease. Studies suggest that its severity is amplified in patients diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus. In this study, the correlation between the prevalence of COVID-19 and Diabetes was analyzed at the regional and global scale using data extracted from WHO and IDF Diabetes Atlas. For the regional investigation data was assorted into ten regions including Central Asia, Middle east and western Asia, Africa, North America and the Caribbean, South east Asia, East Asia, Europe, South and Central America, South Asia and Oceania. The results show a positive correlation coefficient of 0.47 in Middle east and western Asia. While at the global scale analysis all the selected countries were considered together and a correlation coefficient of 0.32 was observed. This number was increased to 0.69 when the top most affected countries by COVID-19 were considered for the analysis. In order to investigate the time dependent relationship of the two diseases, the data was analysed in five windows of 45 days each since the beginning of pandemic. The results show an increasing pattern of the correlation coefficient in the last three windows. Overall, based on this study by increasing the prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus, the prevalence of COVID-19 cases may also increase.
Antibody persistency and trend post-SARS-CoV-2 infection at eight months
Authors: Dehgani-Mobaraki Puya , Zaidi Asiya Kamber , Porreca Annamaria , Floridi Alessandro , Floridi Emanuela 
Published: November 2020

AbstractAn improved understanding of the immunity offered by the antibodies developed against SARS-CoV-2 is critical for the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines. Our study aimed at the longitudinal analysis of antibody presence, persistence and its trend over a period of eight months in a group of COVID-19 recovered patients who tested positive by real-time quantitative PCR for SARS-CoV-2 in the period between the 18th and 30th of March, 2020. The subjects were divided into two groups based on disease severity: mild and moderately-severe. The MAGLUMI 2019-nCoV lgM/lgG chemiluminescent analytical system (CLIA) assay was used to analyse the antibody titres. Robust IgG antibody persistency was demonstrated in 76.7 % of the subjects (23 out of 30) at eight months post-infection. The results of this study highlight an important point in terms of the association between humoral immune response and disease severity. Patients who might have experienced a relatively moderate-severe infection may develop a robust immunity that could persist for a longer duration.
Urine biomarker: novel approach to hepatocellular carcinoma screening
Authors: Kim Amy K , Hamilton James P. , Lin Selena Y. , Chang Ting-Tsung , Hann Hie-Won , Hu Chi-Tan , Lou Yue , Lin Yih-Jyh , Gade Terence P. , Park Grace , Luu Harry , Lee Tai-Jung , Wang Jeremy , Chen Dion , Goggins Michael G. , Jain Surbhi , Song Wei , Su Ying-Hsiu 
Published: November 2020

ABSTRACTBackground & AimsContinued limitations in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening have led to late diagnosis with poor survival, despite well-defined high-risk patient populations. Our aim is to develop a non-invasive urine circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) biomarker panel for HCC screening to aid in early detection.MethodsCandidate ctDNA biomarkers was prescreened in urine samples obtained from HCC, cirrhosis, and hepatitis patients. Then, 609 patient urine samples with HCC, cirrhosis, or chronic hepatitis B were collected from five academic medical centers and evaluated by serum alpha feto-protein (AFP) and urine ctDNA panel using logistic regression, a Two-Step machine learning algorithm, and iterated 10-fold cross-validation.ResultsMutated TP53, and methylated RASSF1a and GSTP1, were selected for the urine ctDNA panel. The sensitivity of AFP-alone (9.8 ng/mL cut-off) to detect HCC was 71% by Two-Step. The combination of ctDNA and AFP increased the sensitivity to 81% at a specificity of 90%. The AUROC for the combination of ctDNA and AFP vs. AFP-alone were 0.925 (95% CI, 0.924-0.925) and 0.877 (95% CI, 0.876-0.877), respectively. Notably, among the patients with AFP <20 ng/mL, the combination panel correctly identified 64% of HCC cases. The panel performed superiorly to AFP-alone in early-stage HCC (BCLC A) with 80% sensitivity and 90% specificity. In an iterated 10-fold cross-validation analysis, the AUROC for the combination panel was 0.898 (95% CI, 0.895-0.901).ConclusionsThe combination of urine ctDNA and serum AFP can increase HCC detection rates including in those patients with low-AFP. Given the ease of collection, a urine ctDNA panel could be a potential non-invasive HCC screening test.
Touch inhibits touch: sanshool-induced paradoxical tingling reveals perceptual interference between somatosensory submodalities
Authors: Cataldo Antonio , Hagura Nobuhiro , Hyder Yousef , Haggard Patrick 
Published: November 2020

AbstractHuman perception of touch is mediated by inputs from multiple channels. Classical theories postulate independent contributions of each channel to each tactile feature, with little or no interaction between channels. In contrast to this view, we show that inputs from two sub-modalities of mechanical input channels interact to determine tactile perception. The flutter-range vibration channel was activated anomalously usinghydroxy-α-sanshool, a bioactive compound of Szechuan pepper, which chemically induces tingling sensations. We tested whether this tingling sensation on the lips was modulated by sustained mechanical pressure. Across four experiments, we show that sustained touch inhibits sanshool tingling sensations in a location-specific, pressure-level and time-dependent manner. Additional experiments ruled out mediation of nociceptive or affective (C-tactile) channels underlying this interaction. These results reveal novel inhibitory influence from steady-pressure onto flutter-range tactile perceptual channels, consistent with early-stage interactions between mechanoreceptor inputs within the somatosensory pathway.
Dietary zinc restriction induces nociceptive pain with reduced inflammation in mice
Authors: de Lima Cleverton Kleiton Freitas , Sisnande Tháyna , da Silva Rafaela Vieira , de Castro Soares da Silva Vanessa Domitilla , do Amaral Julio Jablonski , de Mendonça Ochs Soraya , dos Santos Bruna Lima Roedel , de Miranda Ana Luisa Palhares , Lima Luis Mauricio T. R. 
Published: November 2020

AbstractZinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient involved in a large diversity of cellular metabolism, included in the physiology of nervous system and pain modulation. There is little evidence for the role of Zn nutritional alternations to the onset and progression of neuropathic and inflammatory pain. We investigate the effects of a zinc restricted diet on the development of pain. Weaned mice were submitted to different diets: AIN-93 (38mg/kg of Zn) and Zn-deficient (AIN-93 with 11mg/kg of Zn), during four weeks. Mechanical allodynia was measured weekly using Von Frey hairs. Plantar assays for cold and heat allodynia, formalin-induced nociception and carrageenan-induced mechanical allodynia were performed at the 4thweek. Plasma, DRG and livers samples were obtained for biochemical and metabolomics analysis. Zn deficient diet completely changed mice sensitivity pattern, inducing an intense allodynia evoked by mechanical, cold and heat stimulus since weaning and during four weeks. Showed also an increased sensitivity of neurogenic phase of formalin test but the inflammatory pain behavior was drastically reduced. Zn restriction increased the ATF-3 and SOD-1 levels at DRG and reduced that of GFAP, leading an increase of neuronal activation and oxidative stress, and reduced neuroimmune activity. Plasma TNF was also reduced and metabolomics analyses suggest a downregulation of lipid metabolism of arachidonic acid, reinforcing the impact of Zn restriction to the inflammatory response. Reduction of Zn intake interferes in pain circuits, reducing inflammatory pain, however enhancing nociceptive pain. Accordingly, Zn imbalance could be predisposing factor for NP development. Therefore, dietary zinc supplementation and its monitoring present clinical relevance.
Comparison of Macular Thickness Measurements Using Swept-Source and Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography in Healthy and Diabetic Subjects
Authors: Xiong Kun , Wang Wei , Gong Xia , Li Wangting , Li Yuting , Meng Jie , Wang Langhua , Liang Xiaoling , Liu Yizhi , Huang Wenyong 
Published: November 2020

AbstractPurposeTo compare macular thicknesses measured using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) in normal subjects, diabetics with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and diabetics without DR (NDR).MethodsWe analysed 510 normal eyes, 741 NDR eyes and 209 DR eyes. Mean macular thicknesses in Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) subfields, central point thicknesses (CPT), and macular volume were measured by SS-OCT and SD-OCT. We assessed agreement between SS-OCT and SD-OCT measurements by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots, and established a conversion equation relating central subfield (CSF), CPT and macular volume between the two devices.ResultsMacular thickness measurements by SS-OCT were significantly thinner than those by SD-OCT. The mean CSF thickness in normal eyes measured by SD-OCT and SS-OCT were 226.6 ± 19.1 μm (male 236.1 ± 19.1 μm vs female 223.0 ± 17.9 μm, p < 0.0001) and 258.4 ± 19.8 μm. In all three groups, the agreement between SS-OCT and SD-OCT was excellent (all ICC ≥ 0.866). For CSF the conversion equation SD-OCT = 31.95 + 0.999 × SS-OCT was derived. Using the equation, with 99.6% and 97.6% of the predicted values for CSF fell within 10% of the actual measurements in DR and NDR eyes, respectively.ConclusionWe propose SS-OCT CSF thicknesses of 275 μm for males and 260 μm for females as the minimum criteria for macular edema in Chinese eyes. And SS-OCT measurements were significantly thinner than those of SD-OCT, we derived an equation to convert SS-OCT measurements to SD-OCT equivalents.
Duration of SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in faeces as a parameter for wastewater-based epidemiology: Re-analysis of patient data using a shedding dynamics model
Authors: Miura Fuminari , Kitajima Masaaki , Omori Ryosuke 
Published: November 2020

AbstractBackgroundWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is one of the most promising approaches to effectively monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The virus concentration in faeces and its temporal variations are essential information for WBE. While some clinical studies have reported severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) concentrations in faeces, the value varies amongst patients and changes over time.AimThe present study aimed to examine how the temporal variations in the concentration of virus in faeces affect the monitoring of disease incidence. We re-analysed the experimental findings of clinical studies to estimate the duration of virus shedding and the faecal virus concentration.MethodAvailable experimental data as of 23 October, 2020 were collected and patient data reported in Germany were included for further analysis. The viral shedding kinetics was modelled, and the dynamic model was fitted to the collected experimental data by a Bayesian framework. Using samples of posterior distributions, the duration of viral shedding and the concentration of virus copies in faeces over time were computed.ResultsWe estimated the median concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in faeces as 2.6 (95% Credible Interval (CrI): 0.22–4.8) log copies per gram (g) of faeces over the shedding period, and our model implied that the duration of viral shedding was 23.2 days (95% CrI: 19.5–31.5), given the current standard quantification limit (Ct = 40). With simulated incidences, our results also indicated that a one-week delay between symptom onset and wastewater sampling increased the estimation of incidence by 13.5%.ConclusionsOur results demonstrated that the temporal variation in virus concentration in faeces affects microbial monitoring systems such as WBE. The present study also implied the need for adjusting the estimates of virus concentration in faeces by incorporating the kinetics of unobserved concentrations. The method used in this study is easily implemented in further simulations; therefore, the results of this study might contribute to enhancing disease surveillance and risk assessments that require quantities of virus to be excreted into the environment.
Lifestyle modifies the diabetes-related metabolic risk, conditional on individual genetic differences
Authors: Shin Jisu , Zhou Xuan , Tan Joanne , Hyppönen Elina , Benyamin Beben , Lee S Hong 
Published: November 2020

AbstractBackgroundMetabolic syndrome is a group of heritable metabolic traits that are highly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Classical interventions to T2DM include individual self-management of environmental risk factors such as improving diet quality, increasing physical activity and reducing smoking and alcohol consumptions, which decreases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. However, it is poorly understood how the phenotypes of diabetes-related metabolic traits change with respect to lifestyle modifications at the individual level.MethodsIn this study, we applied a whole-genome genotype-by-environment (GxE) interaction approach to describe how intermediate traits reflecting metabolic risk are affected by genetic variations and how this genetic risk can interact with lifestyle, which can vary, conditional on individual genetic differences. In the analysis, we used 12 diabetes-related metabolic traits and eight lifestyle covariates from the UK Biobank comprising 288,837 white British participants genotyped for 1,133,273 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms.FindingsWe found 17 GxE interactions, of which four modulated BMI and the others distributed across other traits. Modulation of genetic effects by physical activity was seen for four traits (glucose, HbA1c, C-reactive protein, systolic blood pressure), and by alcohol and smoking for three (BMI, glucose, waist-hip ratio; and BMI, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, respectively). We also found a number of significant phenotypic modulations by the lifestyle covariates, which were not attributed to the genetic effects in the model. Overall, modulation in the metabolic risk in response to the level of lifestyle covariates was clearly observed, and its direction and magnitude were varied depending on individual differences. We also showed that the metabolic risk inferred by our model was notably higher in T2DM prospective cases than controls.InterpretationOur findings highlight the importance of individual genetic differences in the prevention and management of diabetes and suggest that the one-size-fits-all approach may not benefit all.FundingThis study has been supported by the Australian Research Council (DP 190100766, FT 160100229).