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Heliyon Apr 2022Examination of the mortality patterns in the United States among racial, ethnic, and age groups attributed to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic revealed stark disparities,...
BACKGROUND
Examination of the mortality patterns in the United States among racial, ethnic, and age groups attributed to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic revealed stark disparities, causes for which could have been addressed and rectified this past century. However, these disparities have been amplified during the current COVID-19 pandemic.We have ignored the lessons of the past, and were destined to repeat its failings.
OBJECTIVES
Compare and contrast mortality patterns by age, race, and ethnicity attributable to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in the United States with corresponding patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS
This is a retrospective study, establishing mortality rates according to age, race and ethnicity attributable to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in the United States and to the current COVID-19 pandemic, using mortality data published by the U.S. Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Negative binomial regression models were used to establish rate ratios, that is, ratios of mortality rates across the various racial/ethnic groups, and associated 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS
Mortality patterns by age differ significantly between the 1918-19 influenza pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic: with infant and young adult (25-40 years old) mortality substantially higher in the former. Disparities in mortality between racial and ethnic groups are amplified in the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the 1918-19 experience.
CONCLUSIONS
As we evaluate our nation's response to COVID-19 and design public policy to prepare better for coming pandemics, we cannot ignore the stark disparities in mortality rates experienced by different racial and ethnic groups. This will require a sustained resolve by society and government to delineate and remedy the causative factors, through science devoid of political interpretation and exploitation.
PubMed: 35464697
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09299 -
Neurology(R) Neuroimmunology &... Jul 2022To describe the unique case history of a patient with mGluR1 antibodies, with mainly limbic and without cerebellar symptoms.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the unique case history of a patient with mGluR1 antibodies, with mainly limbic and without cerebellar symptoms.
METHODS
A 50-year-old woman initially presented with focal seizures with epigastric rising and déjà-vu sensations, next to cognitive complaints, and musical auditory hallucinations. MRI, EEG, and neuronal autoantibody tests were performed.
RESULTS
EEG findings showed slow and sharp activity (sharp waves and sharp-wave-slow-wave complex) in the left temporal lobe. A test for autoantibodies was negative initially. Because of persistent symptoms, serum and CSF were tested 4 years later and found positive for mGluR1 antibodies. Treatment started with monthly IV immunoglobulins and azathioprine that was replaced by mycophenolate mofetil later. Especially cognitive symptoms and hallucinations did not respond well to the treatment. During treatment, mGluR1 antibodies remained present in CSF.
DISCUSSION
Whereas cerebellar symptoms are present in 97% of mGluR1-positive cases, our patient presented without ataxia. Therefore, we suggest that the clinical presentation of patients with mGluR1 antibodies is probably more diverse than previously described. Testing for mGluR1 antibodies should be considered in patients with limbic encephalitis and epilepsy, especially when negative for more common antibodies.
Topics: Autoantibodies; Encephalitis; Epilepsy; Female; Hashimoto Disease; Humans; Middle Aged; Receptors, Metabotropic Glutamate
PubMed: 35450924
DOI: 10.1212/NXI.0000000000001171 -
PloS One 2022Appropriate descriptions of statistical methods are essential for evaluating research quality and reproducibility. Despite continued efforts to improve reporting in... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Appropriate descriptions of statistical methods are essential for evaluating research quality and reproducibility. Despite continued efforts to improve reporting in publications, inadequate descriptions of statistical methods persist. At times, reading statistical methods sections can conjure feelings of dèjá vu, with content resembling cut-and-pasted or "boilerplate text" from already published work. Instances of boilerplate text suggest a mechanistic approach to statistical analysis, where the same default methods are being used and described using standardized text. To investigate the extent of this practice, we analyzed text extracted from published statistical methods sections from PLOS ONE and the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). Topic modeling was applied to analyze data from 111,731 papers published in PLOS ONE and 9,523 studies registered with the ANZCTR. PLOS ONE topics emphasized definitions of statistical significance, software and descriptive statistics. One in three PLOS ONE papers contained at least 1 sentence that was a direct copy from another paper. 12,675 papers (11%) closely matched to the sentence "a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant". Common topics across ANZCTR studies differentiated between study designs and analysis methods, with matching text found in approximately 3% of sections. Our findings quantify a serious problem affecting the reporting of statistical methods and shed light on perceptions about the communication of statistics as part of the scientific process. Results further emphasize the importance of rigorous statistical review to ensure that adequate descriptions of methods are prioritized over relatively minor details such as p-values and software when reporting research outcomes.
Topics: Australia; Publications; Reproducibility of Results; Research Design
PubMed: 35263374
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264360 -
Scientific Reports Jan 2022Venta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the...
Venta Micena, an Early Pleistocene site of the Baza Basin (SE Spain), preserves a rich and diverse assemblage of large mammals. VM3, the main excavation quarry of the site, has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza palaeolake. Taphonomic analysis of VM3 has shown that the hyaenas scavenged the prey previously hunted by the hypercarnivores, transported their remains to the communal den, and consumed the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density. In a recent paper (Luzón et al. in Sci Rep 11:13977, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93261-1 , 2021), a small sample of remains unearthed from VM4, an excavation quarry ~ 350 m distant from VM3, is analysed. The authors indicate several differences in the taphonomic features of this assemblage with VM3, and even suggest that a different carnivore could have been the agent involved in the bone accumulation process. Here, we make a comparative analysis of both quarries and analyse more skeletal remains from VM4. Our results indicate that the assemblages are broadly similar in composition, except for slight differences in the frequency of megaherbivores, carnivores and equids according to NISP values (but not to MNI counts), the degree of bone weathering, and the intensity of bone processing by the hyaenas. Given that VM4 and VM3 were not coeval denning areas of P. brevirostris, these differences suggest that during the years when the skeletal remains were accumulated by the hyaenas at VM3, the rise of the water table of the Baza palaeolake that capped with limestone the bones was delayed compared to VM4, which resulted in their more in-depth consumption by the hyaenas.
PubMed: 35027636
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04725-3 -
Evolutionary Human Sciences 2022
PubMed: 37588910
DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.51 -
Epilepsy & Behavior : E&B Dec 2021Roughly two-thirds of all people report having experienced déjà vu-the odd feeling that a current experience is both novel and a repeat or replay of a previous,... (Review)
Review
Roughly two-thirds of all people report having experienced déjà vu-the odd feeling that a current experience is both novel and a repeat or replay of a previous, unrecalled experience. Reports of an association between déjà vu and seizure aura symptomatology have accumulated for over a century, and frequent déjà vu is also now known to be associated with focal seizures, particularly those of a medial temporal lobe (MTL) origin. A longstanding question is whether seizure-related déjà vu has the same basis and is the same subjective experience as non-seizure déjà vu. Survey research suggests that people who experience both seizure-related and non-seizure déjà vu can often subjectively distinguish between the two. We present a case of a person with a history of focal MTL seizures who reports having experienced both seizure-related and non-seizure common déjà vu, though the non-seizure type was more frequent during this person's youth than it is currently. The patient was studied with a virtual tour paradigm that has previously been shown to elicit déjà vu among non-clinical, young adult participants. The patient reported experiencing déjà vu of the common non-seizure type during the virtual tour paradigm, without associated abnormalities of the intracranial EEG. We situate this work in the context of broader ongoing projects examining the subjective correlates of seizures. The importance for memory research of virtual scenes, spatial tasks, virtual reality (VR), and this paradigm for isolating familiarity in the context of recall failure are discussed.
Topics: Adolescent; Epilepsy; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Humans; Mental Recall; Recognition, Psychology; Seizures; Young Adult
PubMed: 34735965
DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108373 -
JACC. Case Reports Oct 2021Sudden cardiac arrest from anomalous coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva is rarely observed in children under 10 years of age. We report a 7-week-old...
Sudden cardiac arrest from anomalous coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva is rarely observed in children under 10 years of age. We report a 7-week-old infant with a brief resolved unexplained event from left anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery who underwent unroofing and again developed syncope at 8 years of age. Ischemia was detected by stress echocardiography both times. ().
PubMed: 34693353
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaccas.2021.08.015 -
Translational Psychiatry Oct 2021Cognitive deficits commonly accompany psychiatric disorders but are often underrecognised, and difficult to treat. The 5-HT receptor is a promising potential treatment...
Cognitive deficits commonly accompany psychiatric disorders but are often underrecognised, and difficult to treat. The 5-HT receptor is a promising potential treatment target for cognitive impairment because in animal studies 5-HT receptor agonists enhance hippocampal-dependent memory processes. To date, there has been little work translating these effects to humans. We tested whether short-term administration of the 5-HT partial agonist, prucalopride, modified behavioural and neural (fMRI) memory processing in 44 healthy human volunteers using an experimental medicine model. We found that participants who had received six days of prucalopride treatment were significantly better at recalling previously seen neutral images and distinguishing them from new images. At a neural level, prucalopride bilaterally increased hippocampal activity and activity in the right angular gyrus compared with placebo. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the potential of 5-HT-receptor activation for cognitive enhancement in humans, and support the potential of this receptor as a treatment target for cognitive impairment.
Topics: Benzofurans; Hippocampus; Humans; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT4; Serotonin; Serotonin 5-HT4 Receptor Agonists
PubMed: 34602607
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01568-4 -
ASPHER Statement: Déjà vu? Planning for the Covid-19 Third Wave and Planning for the Winter 2021-22.International Journal of Public Health 2021
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Seasons
PubMed: 34497482
DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604361 -
BJOG : An International Journal of... Jan 2022
Topics: COVID-19; Civil Defense; Climate Change; Communicable Disease Control; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Female; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Pandemics; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Public Health; SARS-CoV-2; Travel; Travel-Related Illness
PubMed: 34379870
DOI: 10.1111/1471-0528.16859