bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal Anthropometry and Body Composition in Children With SARS-CoV-2-Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome
Authors: Di Profio Elisabetta , Leone Alessandro , Vizzuso Sara , Fiore Giulia , Pascuzzi Martina Chiara , Agostinelli Marta , Dilillo Dario , Mannarino Savina , Fiori Laura , D’Auria Enza , Fabiano Valentina , Carlucci Patrizia , Bova Stefania Maria , Zoia Elena , Bosetti Alessandra , Calcaterra Valeria , Bertoli Simona , Verduci Elvira , Zuccotti Gianvincenzo 
Published: January 2023

Objectives:
Acute coronavirus disease 2019 infection has been shown to negatively affect body composition among adult and malnourished or obesity children. Our aim is to longitudinally evaluate body composition in children affected by the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C).

Methods:
In this cohort study, we recruited 40 patients affected by MIS-C, aged 2–18 years old, who were admitted in our clinic between December 2020 and February 2021. Physical examination for each participant included weight, height, body mass index (BMI) z score, circumferences, and skinfolds assessment. The same measurements were repeated during outpatient follow-up at 10 (T2), 30 (T3), 90 (T4), and 180 (T5) days after hospital discharge. Fat mass and fat free mass were calculated according to skinfolds predictive equations for children and adolescents. A control group was randomly selected among patients attending a pediatric nutritional outpatient clinic.

Results:
BMI z score significantly decrease between preadmission and hospital discharge. Similarly, arm circumference z score, arm muscular area z score, and arm fat area z score significantly decreased, during hospital stay. Fat mass index (FMI) significantly increased over time, peaking at T3. Fat free mass index decreased during hospitalization.

Conclusions:
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to assess body composition in a numerically large pediatric MIS-C population from acute infection to 6 months after triggering event. FMI and anthropometric parameters linked to fat deposits were significantly higher 6 months after acute event. Thus, limiting physical activity and having sedentary lifestyle may lead to an accumulation of adipose tissue even in healthy children who experienced MIS-C and long hospitalization.
The Yield of Routine Tissue Sampling in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
Authors: Anafy Adi , Amir Achiya Z. , Brazowski Eli , Weintraub Yael , Yerushalmy Feler Anat , Moran-Lev Hadar , Dali Levy Margalit , Ziv-Baran Tomer , Cohen Shlomi , Ben-Tov Amir 
Published: January 2023

Objectives:
Societies’ guidelines suggest routine tissue sampling in all children undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy and ileocolonoscopy, even in the absence of visible endoscopy abnormalities. We aimed to determine the agreement between endoscopic and histopathological findings in pediatric endoscopy and to assess the yield of routine biopsies from all sites.

Methods:
Since January 2019, our endoscopy institute protocol has included routine biopsies sampling from the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, ileum, and colon in all diagnostic procedures. Agreement between tests was done using the kappa coefficient (κ). The study included all endoscopies performed during 2019.

Results:
In total, 541 diagnostic endoscopies were done during the study period with 434 (80%) esophagogastroduodenoscopy and 107 (20%) were ileocolonoscopy. Compared to histology, endoscopic findings performance were: esophagus—sensitivity 33%, specificity 98%; stomach—sensitivity 60%, specificity 89%; duodenum—sensitivity 50%, specificity 97%; duodenal bulb—sensitivity 47%, specificity 89%; terminal ileum—sensitivity 82%, specificity 100%; colon—sensitivity 84%, specificity 96%. Assessment of concordance between endoscopic and histopathologic findings reveals an overall low level of agreement in esophagogastroduodenoscopy (κ of 0.39, 0.51, 0.53, and 0.24 for the esophagus, stomach, duodenal second part, and bulb, respectively), and good agreement in ileocolonoscopy (κ of 0.88 and 0.81 for the ileum and colon, respectively).

Conclusions:
Endoscopy findings are highly specific for histologic pathology, whereas the absence of findings correlates poorly with histologic findings. Ileocolonoscopy shows better agreement than esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Our data support routine tissue sampling in pediatric endoscopy.
Treatment Completion With Three-Dose Series of Benzathine Penicillin Among People Diagnosed With Late Latent and Unknown Duration Syphilis, Maricopa County, Arizona
Authors: Mangone Elizabeth , Bell Jonathan , Khurana Renuka , Taylor Melanie M. 
Published: January 2023

Background
Syphilis is a public health concern as cases are rising each year. If untreated, syphilis is associated with significant morbidity and risk of vertical transmission during pregnancy. For people with late latent and unknown duration stages, 3 injections of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) at 1-week intervals are recommended. Our study quantified treatment for people diagnosed with late latent and unknown duration syphilis in Maricopa County, Arizona with a secondary analysis of pregnant women to assess completion of 3 injections of BPG in multiple time intervals.

Methods
Maricopa County syphilis case data were extracted from the state-run database (PRISM). Records were reviewed for people with late latent and unknown duration syphilis during January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2021. Treatment types and time intervals between treatments were analyzed.

Results
Of a total of 14,924 people with syphilis reported in Maricopa County, 5372 (36.0%) were staged as late latent or unknown duration syphilis. Completion of 3 BPG injections in the time frame of 7 to 9 days was 42.9% (n = 2302). Completion among pregnant women (n = 406) with 3 injections was 68.7% (n = 279).

Conclusions
The completion rate of 3 BPG injections for people with late latent or unknown duration syphilis is low. An unmet need exists to identify barriers to treatment including access to BPG and public health follow-up after the first injection. Prioritized effort is needed to identify and classify patients as having earlier stages of syphilis that require only 1 BPG injection.
Impact of cross-ancestry genetic architecture on GWAS in admixed populations
Authors: Mester Rachel , Hou Kangcheng , Ding Yi , Meeks Gillian , Burch Kathryn S. , Bhattacharya Arjun , Henn Brenna M. , Pasaniuc Bogdan 
Published: January 2023

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of variants for disease risk. These studies have predominantly been conducted in individuals of European ancestries, which raises questions about their transferability to individuals of other ancestries. Of particular interest are admixed populations, usually defined as populations with recent ancestry from two or more continental sources. Admixed genomes contain segments of distinct ancestries that vary in composition across individuals in the population, allowing for the same allele to induce risk for disease on different ancestral backgrounds. This mosaicism raises unique challenges for GWAS in admixed populations, such as the need to correctly adjust for population stratification to balance type I error with statistical power. In this work we quantify the impact of differences in estimated allelic effect sizes for risk variants between ancestry backgrounds on association statistics. Specifically, while the possibility of estimated allelic effect-size heterogeneity by ancestry (HetLanc) can be modeled when performing GWAS in admixed populations, the extent of HetLanc needed to overcome the penalty from an additional degree of freedom in the association statistic has not been thoroughly quantified. Using extensive simulations of admixed genotypes and phenotypes we find that modeling HetLanc in its absence reduces statistical power by up to 72%. This finding is especially pronounced in the presence of allele frequency differentiation. We replicate simulation results using 4,327 African-European admixed genomes from the UK Biobank for 12 traits to find that for most significant SNPs HetLanc is not large enough for GWAS to benefit from modeling heterogeneity.
Using Micro-Cognition Biomarkers of Neurosystem Dysfunction to Define ADHD Subtypes: A Scalable Digital Path to Diagnosis Based on Brain Function
Authors: Wexler Bruce E. , Kish Ryan 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBackgroundDiagnostic categories in psychiatry are based on symptoms and include individuals with different underlying pathology. This within-diagnosis heterogeneity confounds new treatment development and treatment selection for individual patients. A research priority is to discover biomarkers that define groups of patients with similar neuropathology. Digital neurocognitive therapy (DNT) and assessment can provide micro-cognition biomarkers of unprecedented precision. The brain is hierarchically organized from single cells to neurosystems that integrate action of millions of neurons across the brain necessary for cognition and emotion. Micro-cognition biomarkers identify dysfunction at the level of neurosystems that produce clinical illness. We used micro-cognition biomarkers to identify subgroups of children diagnosed with ADHD but with different neuropathology.MethodsK-means clustering was applied to 69 children 6-9 years old with ADHD using performance variables from a Go/NoGo test and the results analyzed against 58 typically developing (TD) children. Neurosystem dysfunction in each group was further characterized by micro-cognition biomarkers extracted from thousands of responses by each child during DNT.FindingsFour highly reproducible clusters were identified that differed on emblematic features of ADHD. Cluster 4 showed two core ADHD features, poor response inhibition and inconsistent attention. Cluster 3 showed only poor response inhibition and the other two showed neither. Cluster 2 showed faster and more consistent responses, higher detection of simple targets and better working memory than TD children but showed the most marked performance decrements when required to track multiple targets or ignore distractors. Cluster 1 showed much greater ability recognizing members of abstract categories rather than natural categories that children learn through physical interaction with the environment while Cluster 4 was the opposite.InterpretationDNT provides data-rich fine-grained, low-cost, noninvasive, and scalable micro-cognition biomarkers that characterize subgroups of patients with the same symptom-based psychiatric diagnosis but differing neuropathology.
High-sensitive detection and quantitation of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from capillary/fingerstick and venepuncture whole-blood using fluorescence-based rapid lateral flow Immunoassay (LFIA)
Authors: Shurbaji Samar , Al Tamimi Faleh , Al Ghwairi Mahmoud M. , El Chaar Dayana , Younes Salma , Majdalawieh Amin F. , Pintus GianFranco , Dweik Nader , Nasrallah Gheyath K. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBackgroundIn the last decade, point of care testing (POCT) such as lateral flow immunoassays (LFIA) were developed for rapid TSH measurement. Most of these TSH-LFIAs are designed for qualitative measurements (i.e., if TSH values >5, or >15 IU/L) and as screening tests for primary hypothyroidism in children and adults. Serum or plasma, but not venepuncture whole-blood, or fingerstick/capillary, are usually used for accurate quantitation of TSH. Studies on performance evaluation of TSH-LFIAs POCT using venepuncture or fingerstick whole-blood are limited.AimWe aim to evaluate the performance of a new fluorescence-based LFIA and its Finecare™ fluorescent reader for quantitative measurement of TSH from a fingerstick, venepuncture whole-blood, and serum.Methods102 fingerstick, venepuncture whole-blood, and serum samples (with normal and abnormal TSH values) were analyzed by Finecare™ Rapid Quantitative LFIA test and Roche CobasPro-c503 as a reference test.ResultsUsing serum, when compared to CobasPro-c503 reference method, Finecare™ showed high sensitivity (90.5%) and specificity (96.3%) for diagnosis of thyroid abnormalities (<0.35 or > 4.5 mIU/L). The actual test values (mIU/L) of Finecare™ showed excellent agreement (Cohen’s Kappa=0.85) and strong correlation (r=0.93, p<0.0001) with CobasPro-c503. Using venepuncture whole-blood samples, Finecare™ showed similar results to serum with high sensitivity (95.2%), specificity (97.5%), excellent agreement (Cohen’s Kappa=0.91), and very strong correlation (r=0.95, p<0.0001) with CobasPro-c503. These results suggest that Finecare™ can be used for quantitative measurement of TSH using serum or venepuncture whole-blood. These key performance indicators were slightly decreased when fingerstick whole-blood samples were used: Sensitivity (85.7%), specificity (90.0%), good agreement (Cohen’s Kappa=0.7) and very strong correlation (r=0.9, p<0.0001) with CobasPro-c503.ConclusionOur results indicate that the Finecare™ is appropriate for TSH screening and quantitative measurement of TSH using serum samples and fingersticks, particularly in none or small laboratory settings.HighlightsFinecare presented high sensitivity & specificity for diagnosing thyroid diseasesStrong correlations were observed between Finecare and the reference methodSample types (serum, venepuncture, fingerstick) do not affect TSH Finecare resultsFingerstick/capillary sample is appropriate for TSH quantitation by Finecare
Delirium in a Young Predominantly Hispanic Population with COVID-19
Authors: Talkington Kelsey C. , Alvarado Luis A. , Castaneda Christopher A. , Tonarelli Silvina B. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractPurposeTo study a primarily Hispanic population of adults younger than 65 to determine if COVID-19 patients with a concurrent delirium diagnosis had worse clinical outcomes in terms of hospital stay, ventilation and mortality, than those without a delirium diagnosis.MethodsAfter approval by the appropriate Institutional Review Board, a retrospective cohort study was performed looking at demographics, vital statistics, and clinical outcomes of patients aged 18-65 admitted to a hospital in the United States – Mexico border region with COVID-19 between March 1 and June 30, 2020. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test, or an unpairedt-test where appropriate, and a univariate analysis was performed to establish relative risk. Confidence intervals were set at 95% andpvalues ≤0.05 were considered significant.Results133 patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses (58% men, 92% Hispanic) were included. Mean age was 50.5 with a standard deviation of 11.7 years (range 20-65 years). The prevalence of delirium was 6%. Fifty percent of delirium patients died during hospitalization compared to 15% of patients without delirium. Patients with delirium were found to spend more days hospitalized, in the intensive care unit, and intubated than their counterparts without delirium. Delirium was associated with increased risk of being placed on mechanical ventilation (RR 3.91, 95% CI 1.46—10.41,pvalue 0.006).ConclusionsDelirium was associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes independent of age. COVID-19 patients need to be actively assessed for signs of delirium and appropriate precautionary measures should be implemented. Proper documentation of delirium is key to continue learning about the incidence of delirium in COVID-19 patients.
In-silicoAnalysis of SARS-Cov2 Spike Proteins of Different Field Variants
Authors: Haseeb Muhammad , Amir Afreenish , Ikram Aamer 
Published: January 2023

ABSTRACTBackgroundCoronaviruses belong to the group of RNA family of viruses which trigger diseases in birds, humans, and mammals, which can cause respiratory tract infections. The COVID-19 pandemic has badly affected every part of the world, and the situation in the world is getting worse with the emergence of novel variants. Our study aims to explore the genome of SARS-,CoV2 followed byin silicoanalysis of its proteins.MethodsDifferent nucleotide and protein variants of SARS-Cov2 were retrieved from NCBI. Contigs & consensus sequences were developed to identify variations in these variants by using SnapGene. Data of variants that significantly differ from each other was run through Predict Protein software to understand changes produced in protein structure The SOPMA web server was used to predict the secondary structure of proteins. Tertiary structure details of selected proteins were analyzed using the online web server SWISS-MODEL.FindingsSequencing results shows numerous single nucleotide polymorphisms in surface glycoprotein, nucleocapsid, ORF1a, and ORF1ab polyprotein. While envelope, membrane, ORF3a, ORF6, ORF7a, ORF8, and ORF10 genes have no or few SNPs. Contigs were mto identifyn of variations in Alpha & Delta Variant of SARs-CoV-2 with reference strain (Wuhan). The secondary structures of SARs-CoV-2 proteins were predicted by using sopma software & were further compared with reference strain of SARS-CoV-2 (Wuhan) proteins. The tertiary structure details of only spike proteins were analyzed through the SWISS-MODEL and Ramachandran plot. By Swiss-model, a comparison of the tertiary structure model of SARS-COV-2 spike protein of Alpha & Delta Variant was made with reference strain (Wuhan). Alpha & Delta Variant of SARs-CoV-2 isolates submitted in GISAID from Pakistan with changes in structural and nonstructural proteins were compared with reference strain & 3D structure mapping of spike glycoprotein and mutations in amino acid were seen.ConclusionThe surprising increased rate of SARS-CoV-2 transmission has forced numerous countries to impose a total lockdown due to an unusual occurrence. In this research, we employedin silicocomputational tools to analyze SARS-CoV-2 genomes worldwide to detect vital variations in structural proteins and dynamic changes in all SARS-CoV-2 proteins, mainly spike proteins, produced due to many mutations. Our analysis revealed substantial differences in functional, immunological, physicochemical, & structural variations in SARS-CoV-2 isolates. However real impact of these SNPs can only be determined further by experiments. Our results can aidin vivoandin vitroexperiments in the future.
Personalized Inhaled Bacteriophage Therapy Decreases Multidrug-ResistantPseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Chan BK , Stanley GL , Kortright KE , Modak M , Ott IM , Sun Y , Würstle S , Grun C , Kazmierczak B , Rajagopalan G , Harris Z , Britto CJ , Stewart J , Talwalkar JS , Appell C , Chaudary N , Jagpal SK , Jain R , Kanu A , Quon BS , Reynolds JM , Mai QA , Shabanova V , Turner PE , Koff JL 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBacteriophage therapy, which uses lytic viruses as antimicrobials, has received renewed interest to address the emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease complicated by recurrentP. aeruginosapulmonary infections that cause lung function decline, is an example where AMR is already a clinical problem. While bacteria evolve bacteriophage resistance, we developed a strategy to select bacteriophages that target bacterial cell surface receptors that contribute to antibiotic resistance or virulence. Thus, in addition to killing bacteria, these phages steer surviving, evolved bacteria to antibiotic re-sensitivity or attenuated virulence. Here, we present outcomes from nine CF adults treated with nebulized bacteriophage therapy for AMRP. aeruginosausing this personalized approach. Results showed that phage therapy: 1) reduced sputumP. aeruginosa, 2) showed evidence for predicted trade-offs in most subjects, and 3) improved lung function, which may reflect the combined effects of decreased bacterial sputum density and phage-driven evolved trade-offs.
Short-term CaMKII inhibition with tatCN19o does not erase pre-formed memory and is neuroprotective in non-rodents
Authors: Rumian Nicole L. , Brown Carolyn Nicole , Hendry-Hofer Tara B. , Rossetti Thomas , Orfila James E. , Tullis Jonathan E. , Dwoskin Linda P. , Buonarati Olivia R. , Lisman John E. , Quillinan Nidia , Herson Paco S. , Bebarta Vikhyat S. , Bayer K. Ulrich 
Published: January 2023

ABSTRACTThe Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a central regulator of learning and memory, which poses a problem for targeting it therapeutically. Indeed, our study supports prior conclusions that long-term interference with CaMKII signaling can erase pre-formed memories. By contrast, short-term pharmacological CaMKII inhibition with tatCN19o interfered with learning in mice only mildly and transiently (for less than 1 h) and did not at all reverse pre-formed memories. This was at ≥500fold of the dose that protected hippocampal neurons from cell death after a highly clinically relevant pig model of transient global cerebral ischemia: ventricular fibrillation followed by advanced life support and electrical defibrillation to induce return of spontaneous circulation. Of additional importance for therapeutic development, cardiovascular safety studies in mice and pig did not indicate any concerns with acute tatCN19o injection. Taken together, even though prolonged interference with CaMKII signaling can erase memory, acute short-term CaMKII inhibition with tatCN19o did not cause such retrograde amnesia that would pose a contraindication for therapy.
Notch1 cortical signaling regulates epithelial architecture and cell-cell adhesion
Authors: White Matthew J. , Jacobs Kyle A. , Singh Tania , Kutys Matthew L. 
Published: January 2023

SUMMARYNotch receptors control tissue morphogenic processes that involve coordinated changes in cell architecture and gene expression, but how a single receptor can produce these diverse biological outputs is unclear. Here we employ a 3D organotypic model of a ductal epithelium to reveal tissue morphogenic defects result from loss of Notch1, but not Notch1 transcriptional signaling. Instead, defects in duct morphogenesis are driven by dysregulated epithelial cell architecture and mitogenic signaling which result from loss of a transcription-independent Notch1 cortical signaling mechanism that ultimately functions to stabilize adherens junctions and cortical actin. We identify that Notch1 localization and cortical signaling are tied to apical-basal cell restructuring and discover a Notch1-FAM83H interaction underlies stabilization of adherens junctions and cortical actin. Together, these results offer new insights into Notch1 signaling and regulation, and advance a paradigm in which transcriptional and cell adhesive programs might be coordinated by a single receptor.
Foraging on host synthesized metabolites enables the bacterial symbiontSnodgrassella alvito colonize the honey bee gut
Authors: Quinn Andrew , El Chazli Yassine , Escrig Stéphane , Daraspe Jean , Neuschwander Nicolas , McNally Aoife , Genoud Christel , Meibom Anders , Engel Philipp 
Published: January 2023

SummaryDietary nutrients and microbial cross-feeding allow diverse bacteria to colonize the animal gut. Less is known about the role of host-derived nutrients in enabling gut bacterial colonization. We examined metabolic interactions within the evolutionary ancient symbiosis between the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the core gut microbiota memberSnodgrassella alvi. This Betaproteobacteria is incapable of metabolizing saccharides, yet colonizes the honey bee gut in the presence of only a sugar diet. Using comparative metabolomics,13C tracers, and Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), we showin vivothatS. alvigrows on host-derived organic acids, including citrate, glycerate and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarate which are actively secreted by the host into the gut lumen.S. alviadditionally modulates tryptophan metabolism in the gut by converting kynurenine to anthranilate. These results suggest thatS. alviis adapted to a specific metabolic niche in the gut that depends on host-derived nutritional resources.