bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Lou Lixiang , Zhang Hui , Tang Baoming , Li Ming , Li Zeqing , Cao Haifang , Li Jian , Chong Yuliang , Li Zhaowei 
Published: March 2021

SummaryBackgroundAlthough the number of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases continues to increase globally, there are few studies on the clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with COVID-19.ObjectiveTo conduct a comprehensive systematic evaluation and meta-analysis of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children and adolescents to better guide the response to the current epidemic.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI (Chinese database), Clinical Trials.gov and chictr.org.cn (China). The methodological quality of the included literature was evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Case Series Studies. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Q statistic and quantified using I2. We used fixed-effects or random-effects models to pool clinical data in the meta-analysis. Publication bias was evaluated by the Begg’s test.ResultsWe analyzed 49 studies involving 1627 patients. In the pooled data, the most common clinical symptoms were fever (56% [0.50−0.61]) and cough (45% [0.39−0.51]). The most common laboratory abnormalities were elevated procalcitonin (40% [0.23−0.57]), elevated lactate dehydrogenase (31% [0.19−0.43]), increased lymphocyte count (28% [0.17−0.42]), increased creatine kinase (28% [0.18− 0.40]), and elevated C-reactive protein (26% [0.17−0.36]). The most common abnormalities determined by computed tomography were lower-lobe involvement (56% [0.42-0.70]), ground-glass opacities (33% [0.25−0.42]), bilateral pneumonia (32% [0.24-0.40]), patchy shadowing (31% [0.18-0.45]), and upper lobe involvement (30% [0.20-0.41]).ConclusionDisease severity among children and adolescents with COVID-19 was milder than that among adult patients, with a greater proportion of mild and asymptomatic cases, and thus, the diagnosis of COVID-19 and control of the infection source are more challenging.
Finnish Diabetes Risk Score FINDRISC and HbA1c test as a screening test for the metabolic syndrome in people who lives in high-altitude, La Paz – Bolivia (3600 m.a.s.l.)
Authors: Philco-Lima Patricia , Ramírez-Laura Aydeé Cristina , Suxo-Tejada Marlene Isabel , Alanes-Fernandez Ángela María Clara , Choque-Churqui Aida Virginia , Paye-Huanca Omar Erick , Farah-Bravo Luz Jaqueline , Ascaso-Terren Carlos 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDThe identification of the metabolic syndrome is essential for a timely diagnosis and to avoid type 2 diabetes, the objective was to determine the validity of the FINDRISC test and glycated hemoglobin for risk screening for diabetes mellitus in a high-altitude resident population (3600 m.a.s.l.) city of La Paz - Bolivia 2018.METHODSAnalytical study of diagnostic tests, the gold test was the definition of metabolic syndrome according to the criteria of the Harmonization Consensus, compared with the FINDRISC test and glycated hemoglobin. People with an age greater than or equal to 18, who agreed to participate, were included. Pregnant women, people with cancer or thyroid disease were excluded.RESULTS400 people were included. There were 358 women (89.5%) and 42 men (10.5%) with age of 48.38±14.1 years old. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 46.75%. The area under the curve, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and positive likelihood ratio of FINDRISC with cut-off point 10 were 0.7073(CI95% 0.66-0.75), 74.33%(CI95% 67.34-80.30), 67.14%(CI95% 60.33-73.31), 66.51%(CI95% 59.62-72.78) and 2.26(CI95% 1.83-2.79) respectively. With FINDRISC’s (cut-off point 10) and HbA1c (cut-off point 5.7%) together, were 0.8025 (CI95% 0.74-0.84), 88.1%(CI95% 80.82-92.96), 72.41%(CI95% 63.21-80.11), 77.62%(CI95% 69.74-83.98) and 3.19 (CI95% 2.36-4.32) respectively.CONCLUSIONSThe FINDRISC test is a good metabolic syndrome screening test, with a cut point of 10, this is synergized with 5.7% for HbA1c in a high-altitude resident population (3600 m.a.s.l.).Summary BoxWhat is already known on this subject?To exist evidence that FINDRISC test is useful with HbA1c together. It to predict diabetes risk. But there are different cutoff points in both. In high altitude population as La Paz to 3600 m.a.s.l., it doesn’t know.What are the new findings?The FINDRISC test is a good metabolic syndrome screening test, with a cut point of 10, this is synergized with 5.7% for HbA1c in high altitude population as La Paz to 3600 m.a.s.l.How might these results change the focus of research or clinical practice?The FINDRISC test is easy to apply in primary care, plus the determination of glycosylated hemoglobin, enhances its diagnostic capacity to predict metabolic syndrome, in high altitude resident population, where insulin sensitivity is different.
Engaging the complexity of diet and healthy aging in humans
Authors: Senior Alistair M. , Legault Véronique , Lavoie Francis B. , Presse Nancy , Gaudreau Pierrette , Turcot Valérie , Raubenheimer David , Le Couteur David G. , Simpson Stephen J. , Cohen Alan A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLittle is known about how normal variation in dietary patterns in humans affects the aging process, largely because both nutrition and the physiology of aging are highly complex and multidimensional. Here, we apply the nutritional geometry framework to data from 1560 older adults followed over four years to assess how nutrient intake patterns affect the aging process. Aging was quantified via blood biomarkers integrated to measure loss of homeostasis. Additionally, we extend nutritional geometry to 19 micronutrients. Salient results include benefits of intermediate protein and vitamin E intake. Broadly, we show that there are few simple answers of “good” or “bad” nutrients – optimal levels are generally intermediate, but dependent on other nutrients. Simpler linear/univariate analytical approaches are insufficient to capture such associations. We present an interactive tool to explore the results, and our approach presents a roadmap for future studies to explore the full complexity of the nutrition-aging landscape.Impact StatementMultidimensional nutritional analyses reveal how the association between diet and healthy aging is hard to untangle, as most nutrients have non-linear and interactive effects in humans.
Idéfix: identifying accidental sample mix-ups in biobanks using polygenic scores
Authors: Warmerdam Robert , Lanting Pauline ,   LifeLines Cohort Study, Deelen Patrick , Franke Lude 
Published: March 2021

Structured abstractIdentifying sample mix-ups in biobanks is essential to allow the repurposing of genetic data for clinical pharmacogenetics. Pharmacogenetic advice based on the genetic information of another individual is potentially harmful. Existing methods for identifying mix-ups are limited to datasets in which additional omics data (e.g. gene expression) is available. Cohorts lacking such data can only use sex, which can reveal only half of the mix-ups. Here, we describe Idéfix, a method for the identification of accidental sample mix-ups in biobanks using polygenic scores. In the Lifelines population-based biobank we calculated polygenic scores (PGSs) for 25 traits for 32,786 participants. Idéfix then compares the actual phenotypes to PGSs and uses the relative discordance that is expected for mix-ups, compared to correct samples.In a simulation, using induced mix-ups, Idéfix reaches an AUC of 0.90 using 25 polygenic scores and sex. This is a substantial improvement over using only sex, which has an AUC of 0.75. Idéfix therefore is not yet able to identify every sample mix-up. However, this will likely improve soon, with highly powered GWAS summary statistics that will likely become available for more commonly measured traits.Nevertheless, Idéfix can already be used to identify a high-quality set of participants for whom it is very unlikely that they reflect sample mix-ups, and therefore could be offered a pharmacogenetic passport. For instance, when selecting the 10% of participants for whom predicted phenotypes adhere best to the actually measured phenotypes, we estimate that the proportion of sample mix-ups is reduced 250-fold.Availability and implementationIdéfixis freely available athttps://github.com/molgenis/systemsgenetics/wiki/IdefixContactl.h.franke@umcg.nl
Integrative Analysis ofSorghum BicolorGreen Prop Roots Under Elevated CO2and Water Deficit Conditions
Authors: de Souza Rodrigues Tamires , Arge Luis Willian Pacheco , de Freitas Guedes Fernanda Alves , Travassos-Lins João , de Souza Amanda Pereira , Cocuron Jean-Christophe , Buckeridge Marcos Silveira , Grossi-de-Sá Maria Fátima , Alves-Ferreira Márcio 
Published: March 2021

AbstractElevated CO2(E[CO2]) improves the biomass and yield when combined with water-stress in C4 plants. Although several studies described the molecular response of the C4 plantSorghum bicolorduring drought exposure, none reported its combinatorial effect with E[CO2] in the roots. We decided to perform a molecular analysis using green prop roots, the portion of the radicular system photosynthetically active and more sensible to drought. Whole-transcriptome analysis identified 394 up- and 1,471 down-regulated genes. Among the E[CO2] induced pathways, photosynthesis stood out. Carbon fixation, phenylpropanoid, phenolic compounds, and fatty acid biosynthesis-related pathways were repressed. Protein family analysis showed induction of chlorophylla-bbinding protein family, and repression of glutathione-related enzymes. Protein-protein interaction networks exhibited well-defined clusters, including genes related to cell organization and biogenesis, oxi-reduction process, and photosynthesis being induced. The findings suggest that the E[CO2] mitigates the water deficit by antioxidant and osmoregulation activity, as well as by accumulation of sugar-alcohols in the green prop roots, which may be responsible by the increase in biomass together with the cell proliferation. The higher carbon uptake explains the increase in photosynthetic and primary metabolism activities. Our data revealed that green prop roots present an intriguing metabolism under water deficit and E[CO2], showing its crucial role in the drought tolerance acquisition in a predicted future global atmosphere.
Optimized structure of monoubiquitinated FANCD2 (human) at Lys 561: a theoretical approach
Authors: Mondal Sudipa , Reddy Subba , Mukhopadhyay Sudit S. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFanconi anaemia pathway repairs inter-strand cross linking damage (ICL) of the DNA. Monoubiquitination of FANCD2 and FANCI is very crucial for ICL repairing. In this work we have tried to understand the monoubiquitinated FANCD2 structure, which facilitates the FANCD2 for binding the damage part of the chromatin. Crystal structure of the monoubiquitinated FANCD2 alone is not available, therefore we have developed the optimized structure of the human monoubiquitinated (Lys 561) FANCD2. As there is no suitable software or web server we have developed a method for building up monoubiquitinated product and validated on simplest monoubiquitinated protein, diubiquitin. We have predicted the structure of human monoubiquitinated FANCD2 by using our method and studied the interaction with DNA by docking studies. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation was used to understand the stability of the structure. Large structural differences have been observed between FANCD2 and monoubiquitinated FANCD2. DNA docking studies suggest that the binding site varies for the FANCD2 and monoubiquitinated FANCD2.
Sub-spreading events limit the reliable elimination of heterogeneous epidemics
Authors: Parag Kris V 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe show that sub-spreading events i.e., transmission events in which an infection propagates to few or no individuals, can be surprisingly important for defining the lifetime of an infectious disease epidemic and hence its waiting time to elimination or fade-out, measured from the time-point of its last observed case. While limiting super-spreading promotes more effective control when cases are growing, we find that when incidence is waning, curbing sub-spreading is more important for achieving reliable elimination of the epidemic. Controlling super-spreading in this low-transmissibility phase offers diminishing returns over non-selective, population-wide measures. By restricting sub-spreading we efficiently dampen remaining variations among the reproduction numbers of infectious events, which minimises the risk of premature and late end-of-epidemic declarations. Because case-ascertainment or reporting rates can be modelled in exactly the same way as control policies, we concurrently show that the under-reporting of sub-spreading events during waning phases will engender overconfident assessments of epidemic elimination. While controlling sub-spreading may not be easily realised, the likely neglecting of these events by surveillance systems could result in unexpectedly risky end-of-epidemic declarations. Super-spreading controls the size of the epidemic peak but sub-spreading mediates the variability of its tail.
Ageing and Dementia: Age-Period-Cohort Effects of Policy Intervention in England, 2006-2016
Authors: Kolpashnikova Kamila 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundDementia is one of the most important challenges of our time. According to the Dementia Statistics Hub, only about 66% of all UK residents with dementia were diagnosed in 2017-2018. Yet, there are reservations about the early diagnosis of dementia-related diseases. As a result, the UK National Screening Committee does not recommend systematic population screening of dementia.MethodsThis study added additional evidence of the effectiveness of the National Dementia Strategy and increased numbers of diagnosis of dementia on the younger cohorts of the elderly, using the intrinsic estimator age-period-cohort models and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing data.ResultsAge effects show that screening and diagnosis increases in volume only among those aged 75 and above, suggesting that many of the younger elderly were not diagnosed. Period effects show that although there was an initial increase due to new policy implementation, the trend stalled in later years, indicating that the increase might not have been even across the period when controlled for age and cohort. The study also shows that cohort effects indicate lower prevalence in younger cohorts controlled for age and period.ConclusionsAlthough more research in diverse contexts is warranted, this study cautions against the abandonment of timely diagnosis and increased screening and shows some effectiveness of prevention strategies on the national level.
Is there a serum proteome signature to predict mortality in severe COVID-19 patients?
Authors: Völlmy Franziska , van den Toorn Henk , Chiozzi Riccardo Zenezini , Zucchetti Ottavio , Papi Alberto , Volta Carlo Alberto , Marracino Luisa , Vieceli Dalla Sega Francesco , Fortini Francesca , Campo Gianluca , Contoli Marco , Spadaro Savino , Rizzo Paola , Heck Albert J.R. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractHere we recorded serum proteome profiles of 33 COVID-19 patients admitted to respiratory and intensive care units because of respiratory failure. We received, for most patients, blood samples just after admission and at two more later timepoints. We focused on serum proteins different in abundance between the group of survivors and non-survivors and observed that a rather small panel of about a dozen proteins were significantly different in abundance between these two groups. The four structurally and functionally related type-3 cystatins AHSG, FETUB, HRG and KNG1 were all more abundant in the survivors. The family of inter-α-trypsin inhibitors, ITIH1, ITIH2, ITIH3 and ITIH4, were all found to be differentially abundant in between survivors and non-survivors, whereby ITIH1 and ITIH2 were more abundant in the survivor group and ITIH3 and ITIH4 more abundant in the non-survivors. ITIH1/ITIH2 and ITIH3/ITIH4 also did show opposite trends in protein abundance during disease progression. This panel of eight proteins, complemented with a few more, may represent a panel for mortality risk assessment and eventually even for treatment, by administration of exogenous proteins possibly aiding survival. Such administration is not unprecedented, as administration of exogenous inter-α-trypsin inhibitors is already used in the treatment of patients with severe sepsis and Kawasaki disease. The mortality risk panel defined here is in excellent agreement with findings in two recent COVID-19 serum proteomics studies on independent cohorts, supporting our findings. This panel may not be unique for COVID-19, as some of the proteins here annotated as mortality risk factors have previously been annotated as mortality markers in aging and in other diseases caused by different pathogens, including bacteria.
Development of a pest threshold decision support system for minimising damage to winter wheat from wheat bulb fly,Delia coarctata
Authors: Leybourne Daniel J , Storer Kate E , Berry Pete , Ellis Steve 
Published: March 2021

Graphical AbstractIn this article we describe two predictive models that can be used for the integrated management of wheat bulb fly. Our first model is a pest level prediction model and our second model predicts the number of shoots a winter wheat crop will achieve by the terminal spikelet developmental stage. We revise and update current wheat bulb fly damage thresholds and combine this with our two models to devise a tolerance-based decision support system that can be used to minimise the risk of crop damage by wheat bulb fly.SummaryWheat bulb fly,Delia coarctata,is an important pest of winter wheat in the UK, causing significant damage of up to 4 t ha-1. Accepted population thresholds forD. coarctataare 250 eggs m-2for crops sown up to the end of October and 100 eggs m-2for crops sown from November. Fields with populations ofD. coarctatathat exceed the thresholds are at higher risk of experiencing economically damaging pest infestations. In the UK, recent withdrawal of insecticides means that only a seed treatment is available for chemical control ofD. coarctata,however this is only effective for late-sown crops (November onwards) and accurate estimations of annual population levels are required to ensure a seed treatment is applied if needed. As a result of the lack of post-drilling control strategies, the management ofD. coarctatais becoming increasingly reliant on non-chemical methods of control. Control strategies that are effective in managing similar stem-boring pests of wheat include sowing earlier and using higher seed rates to produce crops with more shoots and greater tolerance to shoot damage.In this study we develop two predictive models that can be used for integratedD. coarctatamanagement. The first is an updated pest level prediction model that predictsD. coarctatapopulations from meteorological parameters with a predictive accuracy of 70%, which represents a significant improvement on the previousD. coarctatapopulation prediction model. Our second model predicts the maximum number of shoots for a winter wheat crop that would be expected at the terminal spikelet development stage. This shoot number model uses information about the thermal time from plant emergence to terminal spikelet, leaf phyllochron length, plant population, and sowing date to predict the degree of tolerance a crop will have againstD. coarctata.The shoot number model was calibrated against data collected from five field experiments and tested against data from four experiments. Model testing demonstrated that the shoot number model has a predictive accuracy of 70%. A decision support system using these two models for the sustainable management ofD. coarcatarisk is described.
The impact of policy timing on the spread of COVID-19
Authors: Elitzur Moshe , Kaplan Scott , Ivezić Željko , Zilberman David 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe model COVID-19 data for 89 nations and US states with a recently developed formalism that describes mathematically any pattern of growth with the minimum number of parameters. The results show that the disease has a typical duration of 18 days, with a significant increase in fatality when it lasts longer than about 4 months. Searching for correlations between “flattening of the curve” and preventive public policies, we find strong statistical evidence for the impact of the first implemented policy on decreasing the pandemic growth rate; a delay of one week in implementation nearly triples the size of the infected population, on average. Without any government action, the initial outburst still slows down after 36 days, possibly thanks to changes in public behavior in response to the pandemic toll. Stay-at-home (lockdown) was not the first policy of any sample member and we do not find statistically meaningful evidence for its added impact, similar to a recent study that employed an entirely different approach. However, lockdown was mostly imposed only shortly before the exponential rise was arrested. The possibility remains that lockdown might have shortened significantly the initial exponential rise had it been employed as first, rather than last resort.
SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor-binding domain with a G485R mutation in complex with human ACE2
Authors: Weekley Claire M. , Purcell Damian F. J. , Parker Michael W. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSince SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019, genomic sequencing has identified mutations in the viral RNA including in the receptor-binding domain of the Spike protein. Structural characterisation of the Spike carrying point mutations aids in our understanding of how these mutations impact binding of the protein to its human receptor, ACE2, and to therapeutic antibodies. The Spike G485R mutation has been observed in multiple isolates of the virus and mutation of the adjacent residue E484 to lysine is known to contribute to antigenic escape. Here, we have crystallised the SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor-binding domain with a G485R mutation in complex with human ACE2. The crystal structure shows that while the G485 residue does not have a direct interaction with ACE2, its mutation to arginine affects the structure of the loop made by residues 480-488 in the receptor-binding motif, disrupting the interactions of neighbouring residues with ACE2 and with potential implications for antigenic escape from vaccines, antibodies and other biologics directed against SARS-CoV-2 Spike.
Yeast surface display-based identification of ACE2 mutations that modulate SARS-CoV-2 spike binding across multiple mammalian species
Authors: Heinzelman Pete , Greenhalgh Jonathan C. , Romero Philip A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractUnderstanding how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with different mammalian angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) cell entry receptors elucidates determinants of virus transmission and facilitates development of vaccines for humans and animals. Yeast display-based directed evolution identified conserved ACE2 mutations that increase spike binding across multiple species. Gln42Leu increased ACE2-spike binding for human and four of four other mammalian ACE2s; Leu79Ile had a effect for human and three of three mammalian ACE2s. These residues are highly represented, 83% for Gln42 and 56% for Leu79, among mammalian ACE2s. The above findings can be important in protecting humans and animals from existing and future SARS-CoV-2 variants.