bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Robust Discovery of Mild Cognitive impairment subtypes and their Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease conversion using unsupervised machine learning and Gaussian Mixture Modeling
Authors: Nezhadmoghadam Fahimeh , Martinez-Torteya Antonio , Treviño Victor , Martínez Emmanuel , Santos Alejandro , Tamez-Peña Jose ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. The ability to correctly predict the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages can help physicians make more informed clinical decisions on therapy plans.ObjectiveTo determine whether the unsupervised discovering of latent classes of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be useful in finding different prodromal AD stages and/or subjects that have a low MCI to AD conversion risk.Methods18 features relevant with the MCI to AD conversion process described 681 subjects with early MCI. Subjects were split into training (70%) and validation (30%) sets. Subjects from the training set were analyzed using consensus clustering and Gaussian mixture models (GMM) were used to describe the shape of the discovered latent classes. The discovered GMM predicted the latent class of the validation set. Finally, descriptive statistics, rates of conversion, and odds ratios (OR) were computed for each discovered class.ResultsThrough consensus clustering we discovered three different clusters among MCI subjects. The three clusters were associated with low-risk (OR = 0.12, 95%CI = 0.04 to 0.3|), medium-risk (OR = 1.33, 95%CI = 0.75 to 2.37), and high-risk (OR = 3.02, 95%CI = 1.64 to 5.57) of converting from MCI to AD, with the high-risk and low-risk groups highly contrasting. Hence, prodromal AD subjects were present on only two clusters.ConclusionWe successfully discovered three different latent classes among MCI subjects with varied risk of MCI-to-AD conversion through consensus clustering. Two of the discovered classes may represent two different prodromal presentations of the Alzheimer’s disease.
Intravenous Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Extracorporeal Oxygenation Patients with Severe COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Authors: Kaushal Sunjay , Khan Aisha , Deatrick Kristopher , Ng Derek K. , Snyder Abigail , Shah Aakash , Caceres Lina V. , Bacallao Ketty , Bembea Melania , Everett Allen , Zhu Jie , Kaczorowski David , Madathil Ronson , Tabatabai Ali , Rosenthal Geoffrey , Brooks Adriana , Longsomboon Bangon , Mishra Rachana , Saha Progyaparamita , Desire Yvenie , Saltzman Russell , G.Hankey Kim , Arias Sixto A. , Ayoade Folusakin , Tovar Jairo A. , Lamazares Rejane , Gershengorn Hayley B. , Fontaine Magali J. , Klein Matt , Mullins Kristin , Gunasekaran Muthukumar , Loebe Matthias , Karakeshishyan Vela , Jayaweera Dushyantha T. , Atala Anthony , Ghodsizad Ali , Hare Joshua M. 
Published: October 2020

BackgroundThere is an ongoing critical need to improve therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 pneumonia, particularly in the most severely affected patients. Adult mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) infusions have the potential to benefit critically ill patients with acute respiratory syndrome SARS-COV-2 infection, but clinical data supporting efficacy are lacking.MethodsWe conducted a case-control study of critically ill patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To evaluate clinical responsiveness in the most critically ill patient we examined outcomes in a sub-group of those requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Patients (n=9) were administered with up to 3 infusions of intravenous (IV) MSCs and compared to a local ECMO control group (n=31). The primary outcome was safety, and the secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality (or rate of hospital discharge), cytokine levels, and viral clearance.FindingsMSC infusions (12 patients) were well tolerated and no side effects occurred. Of ECMO patients receiving MSC infusions, 2 out of 9 died (22.2%; 95%CI: 2.8%, 60.0%) compared with a mortality of 15 of 31 (48.4%; 95%CI: 30.2%, 66.9%; p = 0.25) in the ECMO control group. Isolated plasma exosomes containing the SARS-COV-2 Spike protein decreased after MSC infusions between day 14 or 21 after administration (p=0.003 and p=0.005, respectively) and was associated with a decrease in COVID-19 IgG Spike protein titer at same time points (p = 0.006 and p=0.007, respectively). Control ECMO patients receiving convalescent plasma did not clear COVID-19 IgG over the same time frame.InterpretationTogether these findings suggest that MSC IV infusion is well tolerated in patients with a broad range of severity including the most severe COVID-19 ARDS requiring ECMO. These data also raise the possibility that MSCs, in addition to exerting an immunomodulatory effect, contribute to viral clearance and strongly support the conduct of randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Assessment of authors understanding of the STROBE-nut reporting guidelines
Authors: Hawwash Dana , Seck Michelle , Quaranta Elisa , Kolsteren Patrick , Lachat Carl 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectivesTo test authors’ experience of applying the STrengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology-nutritional epidemiology (STROBE-nut) on a recently published paper. Correct understanding of the items on the reporting guidelines could lead to appropriate use.Designa cross sectional study, with a convenient sample.SettingParticipants were asked to return the STROBE-nut data collection template filled on recently published papers. Next, an interview was organised to collect feedback on the process of applying the guidelines. Two researchers involved in the development of STROBE-nut completed the template using the participant’s respective published papers. The filled templates were then compared to assess the measure of agreement of the STROBE-nut items as a proxy of understanding.ParticipantsAuthors who recently published papers reporting dietary assessment or food intake data.ResultsWe recruited 12 participants between May 2018 and June 2019. Five participants never used reporting guidelines before, while ten reported intention of future use. Half of the participants reported that the use of filling STROBE nut was useful, but some modifications are needed. Agreement between participants and experts on items reporting was generally low. Only two items had moderate weighted kappa agreement nut 1 (Kappa= 0.4, P 0.02) and nut 22.1 (Kappa= 0.47, P 0.01).ConclusionsThere is need to ensure correct understanding of STROBE-nut by authors. Revisions of STROBE-nut that make the items shorter and simpler can increase understanding. Training researchers at early stage on the aim of reporting guidelines could potentially increase proper use and decrease subjective interpretation.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A POSSIBLE LINK WITH CHONDROITIN SULFATE
Authors: Listik Eduardo , Listik Marcia , Listik Clarice , Toma Leny 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to determine discrepancies in the urinary glycosaminoglycan profiles of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients (n=9) when compared with those from healthy volunteers (HVs, n=3). The guardians and/or educators for each participant also returned a validated Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). The urinary chondroitin sulfate (CS) concentration was 46.1% lower in the ASD group than in the HV group. The ABC score and the urinary CS concentration were negatively correlated (Spearman’s ρ=– 0.2635), indicating that as the severity of the clinical aspect of this disorder increased, the urinary CS concentration decreased. These results suggest that low CS concentrations in the urine may be associated with ASD, and could be measured using a fast and low-cost method for diagnostics.
Systematic review on chronic non-communicable disease in disaster settings
Authors: Ngaruiya Christine , Bernstein Robyn , Leff Rebecca , Wallace Lydia , Agrawal Pooja , Selvam Anand , Hersey Denise , Hayward Alison 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) constitute the leading cause of mortality globally. Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) not only experience the largest burden of humanitarian emergencies but are also disproportionately affected by NCDs, yet primary focus on the topic is lagging. We conducted a systematic review on the effect of humanitarian disasters on NCDs in LMICs assessing epidemiology, interventions, and treatment.MethodsA systematic search in MEDLINE, MEDLINE (PubMed, for in-process and non-indexed citations), Social Science Citation Index, and Global Health (EBSCO) for indexed articles published before December 11, 2017 was conducted, and publications reporting on NCDs and humanitarian emergencies in LMICs were included. We extracted and synthesized results using a thematic analysis approach and present the results by disease type. The study is registered at PROSPERO (CRD42018088769).ResultsOf the 85 included publications, most reported on observational research studies and almost half (48.9%) reported on studies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), with scant studies reporting on the African and Americas regions. NCDs represented a significant burden for populations affected by humanitarian crises in our findings, despite a dearth of data from particular regions and disease categories. The majority of studies included in our review presented epidemiologic evidence for the burden of disease, while few studies addressed clinical management or intervention delivery. Commonly cited barriers to healthcare access in all phases of disaster and major disease diagnoses studied included: low levels of education, financial difficulties, displacement, illiteracy, lack of access to medications, affordability of treatment and monitoring devices, and centralized healthcare infrastructure for NCDs. Screening and prevention for NCDs in disaster-prone settings was supported. Refugee status was independently identified both as a risk factor for diagnosis with an NCD and conferred worse morbidity.ConclusionsAn increased focus on the effects of, and mitigating factors for, NCDs occurring in disaster-afflicted LMICs is needed. While the majority of studies included in our review presented epidemiologic evidence for the burden of disease, research is needed to address contributing factors, interventions, and means of managing disease during humanitarian emergencies in LMICs.
Correlation between Chest CT Severity Scores and the Clinical Parameters of Adult Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia
Authors: Saeed Ghufran Aref , Gaba Waqar , Shah Asad , Al Helali Abeer Ahmed , Raidullah Emadullah , Al Ali Ameirah Bader , Elghazali Mohammed , Ahmed Deena Yousef , Al Kaabi Shaikha Ghanam , Almazrouei Safaa 
Published: October 2020

AbstractPurposeOur aim is to correlate the clinical condition of patients with COVID-19 infection with the 25 Point CT severity score by Chang et al (devised for assessment of ARDS in patients with SARS in 2005).Material and MethodsData of consecutive symptomatic patients who were suspected to have COVID-19 infection and presented to our hospital, was collected from March to April 2020. All patients underwent two consecutive RT-PCR tests and had a non-contrast HRCT scan done at presentation. From the original cohort of 1062 patients, 160 patients were excluded leaving a total number of 902 patients.ResultsThe mean age was 44.2 ±11.9 years [85.3%males, 14.7%females]. CT severity score found to be positively correlated with lymphopenia, increased serum CRP, d-dimer and ferritin levels (p < 0.0001). The oxygen requirements as well as length of hospital stay were increasing with the increase of scan severity.ConclusionThe 25-point CT severity score correlates well with the COVID-19 clinical severity. Our data suggest that chest CT scoring system can aid in predicting COVID-19 disease outcome and significantly correlates with lab tests and oxygen requirements.
Dietary Nicotianamine as a Factor in International Variations of Mortality from Covid-19
Authors: Day Charles E. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractNicotianamine is a compound found only in plants that strongly binds to and potently inhibits at nanomolar concentrations the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) which is the human cell receptor for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Because of its ACE2 binding activity it can potentially reduce mortality from Covid-19. This report explores the inverse association of dietary nicotianamine intake with mortality from Covid-19 from numerous countries. The data support a probable dramatic effect of nicotianamine in reducing coronavirus mortality. The best-case scenario of consuming a diet high in nicotianamine is a 100-fold reduction in Covid-19 mortality. Worst case is that one consumes a more healthful diet that is less expensive and more environmentally friendly.
Experiences of Women Who Gave Birth in US Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Mollard Elizabeth , Wittmaack Amaya 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of women who gave birth in a US hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women who gave birth between March and July 2020 completed a survey on the experience of giving birth during a pandemic. 885 women were consented and participated in the study. 22.5% of women reported hypertension, 33.8% reported anxiety, 18.6% reported depression, and 1.13% reported testing positive for COVID-19. 61% of women reported inadequate support for childbirth, and 20.5% reported that they did not feel safe giving birth in the hospital. Women who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to be of Asian race, have a cesarean section, not have a birth partner present, and discontinue breastfeeding before 6 weeks.Pandemic related changes to maternity care practices may have impacted birthing women’s perceptions of safety and support in the hospital environment and affected symptoms of stress. Healthcare policy and maternity care practices should promote feelings of safety and control and overall experience for women giving birth in the hospital during a pandemic.
Treatment with human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells for COVID-19 patients with lung damage: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial
Authors: Shi Lei , Huang Hai , Lu Xuechun , Yan Xiaoyan , Jiang Xiaojing , Xu Ruonan , Wang Siyu , Zhang Chao , Yuan Xin , Xu Zhe , Huang Lei , Fu Jun-Liang , Li Yuanyuan , Zhang Yu , Yao Weiqi , Liu Tianyi , Song Jinwen , Sun Liangliang , Yang Fan , Zhang Xin , Zhang Bo , Shi Ming , Meng Fanping , Song Yanning , Yu Yongpei , Wen Jiqiu , Li Qi , Mao Qing , Maeurer Markus , Zumla Alimuddin , Yao Chen , Xie Wei-Fen , Wang Fu-Sheng 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDTreatment of severe Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is challenging. We performed a phase 2 trial to assess the efficacy and safety of human umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) to treat severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage, based on our phase 1 data.METHODSIn this randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, we recruited 101 severe COVID-19 patients with lung damage. They were randomly assigned to receive either UC-MSCs (4 × 107 cells per infusion) or placebo on day 0, 3, and 6. The primary endpoint was an altered proportion of whole lung lesion volumes from baseline to day 28. Other imaging outcomes, 6-minute walk test, maximum vital capacity, diffusing capacity, and adverse events were recorded and analysed.RESULTS100 COVID-19 patients were finally recruited to receive either UC-MSCs (n = 65) or placebo (n = 35). UC-MSCs administration exerted numerical improvement in whole lung lesion volume from baseline to day 28 compared with the placebo (the median difference was -13.31%, 95%CI -29.14%, 2.13%, P=0.080). UC-MSCs significantly reduced the proportions of solid component lesion volume compared with the placebo (median difference: -15.45%; 95% CI -30.82%, -0.39%; P=0.043). The 6-minute walk test showed an increased distance in patients treated with UC-MSCs (difference: 27.00 m; 95% CI 0.00, 57.00; P=0.057). The incidence of adverse events was similar in the two groups.CONCLUSIONSUC-MSCs treatment is a safe and potentially effective therapeutic approach for COVID-19 patients with lung damage. (Funded by The National Key R&D Program of China and others. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04288102.)
Dose-response relationship among body mass index, abdominal adiposity and atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis of 30 prospective studies
Authors: Liu Menglu , Mei Kaibo , Ma Jianyong , Yu Peng , Xie Lixia , Zhao Yujie , Liu Xiao 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundWhether being overweight increases the risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is unclear, and whether adiposity independently contributes to POAF has not been comprehensively studied. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify the strength and shape of the exposure-effect relationship between adiposity and POAF.MethodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched for prospective studies (RCTs, cohort studies, and nest-case control studies) reporting data regarding the relationship between adiposity and the risk of POAF.ResultsThirty publications involving 139,302 patients were included. Analysis of categorical variables showed that obesity (RR: 1.39, P<0.001), but not being underweight (RR: 1.44, P=0.13) or being overweight (RR: 1.03, P=0.48), was associated with an increased risk of POAF. In the exposure-effect analysis, the summary RR for a 5-unit increment in body mass index (BMI) was 1.09 (P<0.001) for the risk of POAF. There was a significant linear relationship between BMI and POAF (Pnonlinearity=0.91); the curve was flat and began to rise steeply at a BMI of approximately 30. Notably, BMI levels below 30 (overweight) were not associated with a higher risk of POAF. In the subgroup analysis of surgery types, the pooled RR values for a BMI increase of 5 for coronary artery bypass graft and valve surgery were 1.21 (P<0.01) and 1.34 (P=0.25), respectively, suggesting that a potential difference in the association exists by surgery type. Additionally, waist obesity was associated with the risk of POAF (RR: 1.55, P<0.001).ConclusionBased on the current evidence, our findings show that adiposity was independently associated with an increased risk of POAF, while being underweight or overweight might not significantly increase the POAF risk. The magnitude of the effect of obesity on AF in patients undergoing valve surgery might be small, and this finding needs to be further confirmed.
Risks and Benefits of Antibiotics vs. COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality
Authors: Tanioka Hisaya , Tanioka Sayaka 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTObjectivesThe purpose is to analyze the potential association of each antibiotic consumption rate and use ratio with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and to investigate the efficacy and safe use of antibiotics against COVID-19.DesignRetrospective statistical analysis study of antibiotic use compared with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.MethodsEach antibiotic defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day as each antibiotic consumption rate was available in the official reports and each antibacterial use ratio data was calculated from them. Coronavirus Disease data were obtained from the WHO Coronavirus Disease Dashboard. The relationships between the sum of DDD, each antibacterial DDD, each antibiotic use ratio, and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality were examined. The statistical correlation was calculated by univariate linear regression analysis and expressed by Pearson’s correlation coefficient.ResultsThe sum of DDD had no statistical correlation with mortality and morbidity. Cephalosporins were a negative correlation with them. Penicillins had a weak positive correlation with them. Macrolides, quinolones, and sulfonates showed a slightly negative correlation tendency with mortality.ConclusionsCephalosporins may affect less COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Penicillins suggest to accelerate them. The combination of cephalosporins with macrolides or quinolones may be a helpful treatment. The difference in antibiotic use between Japan and EU/EEA countries will suggest an explanation for the reduction in morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19.
Statistical deconvolution for inference of infection time series
Authors: Miller Andrew C. , Hannah Lauren , Futoma Joseph , Foti Nicholas J. , Fox Emily B. , D’Amour Alexander , Sandler Mark , Saurous Rif A. , Lewnard Joseph A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAccurate measurement of daily infection incidence is crucial to epidemic response. However, delays in symptom onset, testing, and reporting obscure the dynamics of transmission, necessitating methods to remove the effects of stochastic delays from observed data. Existing estimators can be sensitive to model misspecification and censored observations; many analysts have instead used methods that exhibit strong bias or do not account for delays. We develop an estimator with a regularization scheme to cope with these sources of noise, which we term the Robust Incidence Deconvolution Estimator (RIDE). We validate RIDE on synthetic data, comparing accuracy and stability to existing approaches. We then use RIDE to study COVID-19 records in the United States, and find evidence that infection estimates from reported cases can be more informative than estimates from mortality data. To implement these methods, we releaseincidental, a ready-to-useRimplementation of our estimator that can aid ongoing efforts to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.
Automated application of novel gene-disease associations to scale reanalysis of undiagnosed patients
Authors: Mensah Nana E. , Sabir Ataf H. , Bond Andrew , Roworth Wendy , Irving Melita , Davies Angela C. , Ahn Joo Wook 
Published: October 2020

AbstractA pressing challenge for genomic medicine services is to increase the diagnostic rate of molecular testing. Reanalysis of genomic data can increase the diagnostic yield of molecular testing for rare diseases by 5.9-47% and novel gene-disease associations are often cited as the catalyst for significant findings. However, clinical services lack adequate resources to conduct routine reanalysis for unresolved cases. To determine whether an automated application could lead to new diagnoses and streamline routine reanalysis, we developed TierUp. TierUp identifies new gene-disease associations with implications for unresolved rare disease cases recruited to the 100,000 Genomes Project. TierUp streams data from the public PanelApp database to enable routine, up-to-date reanalyses. When applied to 948 undiagnosed rare disease cases, TierUp highlighted 410 high and moderate impact variants in under 77 minutes, reducing the burden of variants for review with this reanalysis strategy by 99%. Ongoing variant interpretation has produced five follow-up clinical reports, including a molecular diagnosis of a rare form of spondylometaphyseal dysplasia. We recommend that clinical services leverage bioinformatics expertise to develop automated reanalysis tools. Additionally, we highlight the need for studies focused on the ethical, legal and health economics considerations raised by automated reanalysis tools.