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J Intern Med 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Internal Medicine Department, Beaumont Health, Royal Oak, MI, USA.

Introduction: Higher comorbidity and older age have been reported as correlates of poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients worldwide, however US data is scarce. We evaluated mortality predictors of COVID-19 in a large cohort of hospitalized patients in the US.

Design: Retrospective, multicenter cohort of inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 by RT-PCR from March 1-April 1,2020 was performed, and outcome data evaluated from March 1-April 17, 2020. Read More

J Burn Care Res 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Hennepin County Medical Center.

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and SJS/TEN overlap syndrome (SJS/TEN) are severe exfoliative skin disorders resulting primarily from allergic drug reactions and sometimes from viral causes. Because of the significant epidermal loss in many of these patients, many of them end up receiving treatment at a burn center for expertise in the care of large wounds. Previous work on the treatment of this disease focused only on the differences in care of the same patients treated at non-burn centers and then transferred to burn centers. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Centro de Investigação em Saúde de Manhiça (CISM), Maputo, Mozambique; ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic - Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain; National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health, Mozambique; ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Pediatrics Department, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (University of Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:

Objectives: This retrospective analysis performed in Manhiça, Southern Mozambique aimed to describe the occurrence of post-malarial anaemia (measured as a decrease of haematocrit ≥10%) and the need for blood transfusions in children with severe malaria treated with intravenous quinine or parenteral artesunate.

Methods: All children <15 years admitted with a parasitologically-confirmed diagnosis of malaria from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2017, alive at hospital discharge, and with at least one measurement of haematocrit within 28 days after hospital discharge detected by passive case detection were included.

Results: The overall prevalence of post-malarial anaemia observed in the study was 23. Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Instituto Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, Brazil.

There is currently no system to track the emergence of zika virus (ZIKV) subtypes. We developed a surveillance system able to retrieve sequence submissions and further classify distinct ZIKV genotypes in the world. This approach was able to detect a new occurrence of ZIKV from African lineage in Brazil in 2019. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2020 Jun 1:110461. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Institute of Biochemistry and Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6, Canada. Electronic address:

In arid conditions, the African Clawed frog Xenopus laevis enters a state of estivation dormancy as an adaptive survival strategy. Under estivation, X. laevis experience severe dehydration stress as 25-35% of total body water is lost. Read More

Exp Gerontol 2020 Jun 1:110986. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, United States of America.

Background/objective: Inflammation is implicated in cognitive decline; however, there is a paucity of data for African American populations and for sex-specific associations.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy/Genetics of Microangiopathic Brain Injury studies. Read More

Breast J 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Germline variations in genes coding for proteins involved in the oxidative stress and DNA repair greatly influence drug response and toxicity. Because BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins play a role in DNA damage repair, we postulated that taxane-related toxicity is potentially higher and clinical outcome in different in patients with BRCA pathogenic variants (PV). Seven hundred nineteen women who underwent BRCA genetic testing and were treated with taxane-containing chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer between 1997 and 2018 were included in the study. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2020 Jun 4;16(6):e1008559. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Department of Pathology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Antibiotics continue to be the standard-of-care for bacterial vaginosis (BV), although recurrence rates are high. Vaginal probiotics may improve durability of BV treatment, although few probiotics for vaginal health contain Lactobacillus spp. that commonly colonize the lower female genital tract. Read More

PLoS One 2020 4;15(6):e0234006. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Department of Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Background: Immigrants from low- and middle-income countries who have settled in high-income countries show higher risks of depression in comparison with host populations. The risks are associated with adverse social conditions. Indecisive results have been reported on the depression risks of the offspring of immigrant populations. Read More

JMIR Res Protoc 2019 Dec 10. Epub 2019 Dec 10.

Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases Unit, Department of Public Health and Surveillance, Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health (Sciensano), Brussels, BE.

Background: Late HIV-diagnoses foster HIV-transmission and may nurture hidden HIV-epidemics. In Belgium, mathematical modelling indicates high prevalence of undiagnosed HIV-infections among men who have sex with men (MSM) of non-Belgian origin and among sub-Saharan African Migrants (SAM). Promotion of HIV-testing facilitates early diagnoses, but diagnostic opportunities are being missed in primary care. Read More

Conserv Biol 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK.

Conflicts between the interests of agriculture and wildlife conservation are a major threat to biodiversity and human wellbeing globally. Addressing such conflicts requires a thorough understanding of the impacts associated with living alongside protected wildlife. Despite this, most studies reporting on human-wildlife impacts and the strategies used to mitigate them focus on a single species, thus over-simplifying often complex systems of human-wildlife interactions. Read More

Clin Pharmacol Ther 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Division of Population Health and Genomics, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, U.K.

Angioedema occurring in the head and neck region is a rare and sometimes life-threatening adverse reaction to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). Only few studies have investigated the association of common variants with this extreme reaction, but none have explored the combined influence of rare variants yet. Adjudicated cases of ACEI- or ARB-induced angioedema (ACEI-AE, ARB-AE) and controls were recruited at five different centres. Read More

JAMA Ophthalmol 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Department of Oncology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri," Milan, Italy.

Importance: The contribution of long-term intraocular pressure (IOP) variability to the development of primary open-angle glaucoma is still controversial.

Objective: To assess whether long-term IOP variability data improve a prediction model for the development of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in individuals with untreated ocular hypertension.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This post hoc secondary analysis of 2 randomized clinical trials included data from 709 of 819 participants in the observation group of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) followed up from February 28, 1994, to June 1, 2002, and 397 of 500 participants in the placebo group of the European Glaucoma Prevention Study (EGPS) followed up from January 1, 1997, to September 30, 2003. Read More

J Public Health Manag Pract 2020 Jun 2. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California (Ms Rhoads); Health Solutions, mySidewalk, Kansas City, Missouri (Dr Martin); and Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California (Dr Zimmerman).

Context And Setting: Kansas City, Missouri, experiences substantial racial/ethnic health disparities, particularly associated with that city's high level of residential segregation. Among the risk factors for poor health are substandard housing, particularly common in African American neighborhoods, which lead to asthma and therefore to school absences. A 2018 ballot initiative in Kansas City, Missouri, would allow health inspectors to investigate complaints of poor or hazardous conditions in rental housing. Read More

Nurs Res 2020 Jun 1. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Department of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Department of Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Department of Population and Quantitative Health Science, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.

Background: Racial discrimination is one of many barriers experienced by African Americans that interfere with health self-care management. Discrimination stress may decrease the tendency for individuals to resonate with the social-emotional appeals embedded in persuasive health information, which are known to play a key role in producing behavior change. Understanding the neurobehavioral underpinnings of discrimination stress experienced by African Americans may help reduce or resolve this important health disparity. Read More

Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2020 Jun 29;76(Pt 6):558-564. Epub 2020 May 29.

Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Pharmacy - Department of Excellence 2018-2022, University of Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy.

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei is the etiological agent of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT). HAT, together with other neglected tropical diseases, causes serious health and economic issues, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. The classical antifolates targeting dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) are ineffective towards trypanosomatid parasites owing to a metabolic bypass by the expression of pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1). Read More

J Med Internet Res 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran., Jahrom, IR.

Unstructured: Since WHO has officially announced that COVID-19 outbreak reaching a pandemic level, things have significantly changed inside USA, as this infection spread has reached and passed its exponential phase. A stringent analysis of the COVID-19 epidemiologic data requires much more time and would generally be expected to happen with significant delay after the exponential phase of the disease is over and when the focus of the health-care system is diverted away from crisis-management. Although much is said about high-risk groups and the vulnerability of elderly and patients with underlying comorbidities, the impact of race and its implications on susceptibility of ethnic minorities in indigent societies towards COVID-19 has not been discussed in detail worldwide and specifically in the United States. Read More

J Med Internet Res 2020 Jun 4;22(6):e17519. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.

Background: Technology is a potentially powerful tool to assist patients with transitions of care during and after hospitalization. Patients with low health literacy who are predisposed to poor health outcomes are particularly poised to benefit from such interventions. However, this population may lack the ability to effectively engage with technology. Read More

J Obstet Gynaecol 2020 Jun 4:1-6. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Department of Psychology and Sociological Studies, Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Reducing maternal mortality is a big challenge facing low-income nations. Some of the causes of maternal mortality have been studied, however, much less is known about differentials in pregnancy-related deaths among women of different age groups. This study used nationally representative data from demographic and health surveys (DHS) in Namibia, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Read More

Photochem Photobiol 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Urban environments can have high-risk spaces that can provide excess personal sun exposure, such as urban or street canyons, and the spaces between buildings, amongst others. In these urban spaces sun exposure can be high or low depending on several factors. Polysulphone film (PSF) was used to assess possible daily solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and, for the first time in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Read More

HIV Med 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Introduction: There is limited literature on the appropriateness of viral load (VL) monitoring and management of detectable VL in public health settings in rural South Africa.

Methods: We analysed data captured in the electronic patient register from HIV-positive patients ≥ 15 years old initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 17 public sector clinics in rural KwaZulu-Natal, during 2010-2016. We estimated the completion rate for VL monitoring at 6, 12, and 24 months. Read More

J Gen Intern Med 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, Nashville, USA.

Background: Potential research participants, particularly those from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medical research, often decide to participate based on how they judge people, places, and study protocols as trustworthy. And yet, few studies have explored notions of trustworthiness or determinants of trustworthiness from the perspective of potential medical research participants.

Objective: This paper describes how racially and ethnically diverse potential medical research participants conceptualize what makes researchers, research settings, and research protocols seem trustworthy. Read More

Hernia 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Surgery, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.

Introduction: Socioeconomic factors predispose certain populations to an increased exposure to emergent operative procedures. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role socioeconomic factors play in emergent repairs of inguinal, ventral and umbilical hernias.

Methods: The SPARCS database was used to identify all patients undergoing emergent ventral hernia repair (EVR), emergent inguinal hernia repair (EIR), and emergent umbilical hernia repair (EUR) between 2008 and 2015. Read More

AIDS Behav 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Economic vulnerability, such as homelessness and unemployment, contributes to HIV risk among U.S. racial minorities. Read More

Eur J Nutr 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART), North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Purpose: Low-grade inflammation and a diet high in salt are both established risk factors for cardiovascular disease. High potassium (K) intake was found to counter increase in blood pressure due to high salt intake and may potentially also have protective anti-inflammatory effects. To better understand these interactions under normal physiological conditions, we investigated the relationships between 22 inflammatory mediators with 24-h urinary K in young healthy adults stratified by low, medium and high salt intake (salt tertiles). Read More

World J Oncol 2020 Jun 14;11(3):79-87. Epub 2020 May 14.

Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Though renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 2% of global cancer diagnoses and deaths, it has more than doubled in incidence in the developed world over the past half-century, and today is the ninth most common neoplasm in the United States (US). While North America and Western Europe have the highest disease burden (with the Belarus highest in incidence), Latin America, Asia and Africa are projected to see an increase in incidence as nation's transition to a Western lifestyle. Most cases of RCC are discovered incidentally on imaging, and survival is highly dependent on the stage at diagnosis, with the metastatic disease having only a 12% 5-year survival rate. Read More

Int J Nephrol Renovasc Dis 2020 13;13:107-118. Epub 2020 May 13.

Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.

Introduction: Measures of adiposity are related to cardiovascular disease risk, but this relationship is inconsistent in disease states, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study investigated the relationship between adiposity and blood pressure (BP) by CKD status.

Materials And Methods: South Africans of mixed-ancestry (n=1,621) were included. Read More

Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis 2020 11;15:1039-1047. Epub 2020 May 11.

University of Cape Town Lung Institute, and Division of Pulmonology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is associated with many forms of chronic lung disease including the development of chronic airflow obstruction (AFO). However, the nature, evolution and mechanisms responsible for the AFO after PTB are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine the progression of changes in lung physiology in patients treated for PTB. Read More

Nature 2020 Jun 3;582(7810):67-72. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Continental rifts are important sources of mantle carbon dioxide (CO) emission into Earth's atmosphere. Because deep carbon is stored for long periods in the lithospheric mantle, rift CO flux depends on lithospheric processes that control melt and volatile transport. The influence of compositional and thickness differences between Archaean and Proterozoic lithosphere on deep-carbon fluxes remains untested. Read More

BMJ Evid Based Med 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Health inequities have long defined health and the healthcare system in the USA. The clinical and research capacity across the USA is unparalleled, yet compared to other high and even some middle-income countries, the average health indicators of the population remain suboptimal in 2020, a finding at least in part explained by inequity in healthcare access. In this context, COVID-19 has rapidly emerged as a major threat to the public's health. Read More

BMJ 2020 Jun 3;369:m2094. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of General Paediatrics and Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Necker-Enfants Malades University Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Université de Paris, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75015 Paris, France.

Objectives: To describe the characteristics of children and adolescents affected by an outbreak of Kawasaki-like multisystem inflammatory syndrome and to evaluate a potential temporal association with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: General paediatric department of a university hospital in Paris, France. Read More

J Natl Med Assoc 2020 May 31. Epub 2020 May 31.

Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, New England Health Analytics LLC, Granby, CT, USA.

Introduction: Black patients are under-represented in randomized trials evaluating oral anticoagulants in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). We sought to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban versus warfarin in African Americans with NVAF.

Methods: We performed an analysis using Optum® De-Identified Electronic Health Record (EHR) data from 1/1/2012-9/30/2018. Read More

Trials 2020 Jun 3;21(1):456. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Background: Hypertension is the most important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality in the United States. The Emergency Department represents an underutilized opportunity to impact difficult-to-reach populations. There are 136 million visits to the Emergency Department each year and nearly all have at least one blood pressure measured and recorded. Read More

Health Res Policy Syst 2020 Jun 3;18(1):54. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

CEPED, Institute for Research on Sustainable Development, IRD-Université de Paris, ERL INSERM SAGESUD, Paris, France.

Introduction: Numerous sub-Saharan African countries have experimented with performance-based financing (PBF) with the goal of improving health system performance. To date, few articles have examined the implementation of this type of complex intervention in Francophone West Africa. This qualitative research aims to understand the process of implementing a PBF pilot project in Mali's Koulikoro region. Read More

BMC Public Health 2020 Jun 3;20(1):836. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Division of Emergency Medicine, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: First aid training is a cost-effective way to decrease the burden of disease and injury in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Since evidence from Western countries has shown that children are able to learn first aid, first aid training of children in LMIC may be a promising way forward. Hence, our project aim was to develop contextualized materials to train sub-Saharan African children in first aid, based on the best available evidence. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2020 Jun 3;20(1):392. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Work Group Neglected Tropical Diseases, Infection Biology Unit, Deutsches Primatezentrum GmbH, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077, Goettingen, Germany.

Background: The first yaws eradication campaign reduced the prevalence of yaws by 95%. In recent years, however, yaws has reemerged and is currently subject to a second, ongoing eradication campaign. Yet, the epidemiological status of Tanzania and 75 other countries with a known history of human yaws is currently unknown. Read More

BMC Public Health 2020 Jun 3;20(1):840. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Internal Medicine, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D. B. Todd Jr. Blvd, Nashville, TN, 37208, USA.

Background: Addressing knowledge deficiencies about cancer clinical trials and biospecimen donation can potentially improve participation among racial and ethnic minorities. This paper describes the formative research process used to design a culturally-appropriate cancer clinical trials education program for African American and Latino communities. We characterized community member feedback and its integration into the program. Read More

BMC Med Genet 2020 Jun 3;21(1):122. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Screening Processes, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, University of Sfax, Road Sidi Mansour Km 6, BP 1177, 3018, Sfax, Tunisia.

Background: Otosclerosis (OTSC) is among the most common causes of a late-onset hearing loss in adults and is characterized by an abnormal bone growth in the otic capsule. Alteration in the osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression has been suggested in the implication of OTSC pathogenesis.

Methods: A case-control association study of rs2228568, rs7844539, rs3102734 and rs2073618 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the OPG gene was performed in a Tunisian-North African population composed of 183 unrelated OTSC patients and 177 healthy subjects. Read More

Glob Public Health 2020 Jun 4:1-15. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Gender and Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.

Alcohol and drug misuse (ADM) pose a significant disease burden globally. Yet, there remains a gap in understanding risk factors associated with women's ADM, particularly those in marginalised settings. We investigated risk factors associated with ADM amongst young women in urban informal settlements in South Africa. Read More

Molecules 2020 Jun 1;25(11). Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Chemistry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa.

A series of novel ferrocenylsubphthalocyanine dyads Y-BSubPc(H) with ferrocenyl-carboxylic acids Y-H = (FcCHCO-H), (Fc(CH)CO-H) or (FcCO(CH)CO-H) in the axial position were synthesized from the parent Cl-BSubPc(H) via an activated triflate-SubPc intermediate. UV/Vis data revealed that the axial ferrocenyl-containing ligand did not influence the Q-band maxima compared to Cl-BSubPc(H). A combined electrochemical and density functional theory (DFT) study showed that Fe group of the ferrocenyl-containing axial ligand is involved in the first reversible oxidation process, followed by a second oxidation localized on the macrocycle of the subphthalocyanine. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Jun 1;17(11). Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie, Biostatistique et recherche clinique, Ecole de Santé Publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Route de Lennik, 808 B-1070 Brussels, Belgium.

One of the major contributors of malaria-related deaths in Sub-Saharan African countries is the limited accessibility to quality care. In these countries, malaria control activities are implemented at the health-district level (operational entity of the national health system), while malaria readiness indicators are regionally representative. This study provides an approach for estimating health district-level malaria readiness indicators from survey data designed to provide regionally representative estimates. Read More

Nutrients 2020 Jun 1;12(6). Epub 2020 Jun 1.

2289 Highland Loop, Port Townsend, WA 98368, USA.

We thank Dr [... Read More

Am J Hypertens 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), nocturnal hypertension, and non-dipping systolic blood pressure (BP) are each highly prevalent among African Americans. However, few data are available on the association between OSA and nighttime BP in this population.

Methods: We examined the association of OSA with nighttime BP among African Americans who completed 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring at Exam 1 (2000-2004) of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) and subsequently participated in the JHS Sleep Study (2012-2016). Read More

J Virol Methods 2020 May 31:113885. Epub 2020 May 31.

Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, PR China. Electronic address:

African swine fever (ASF) is an acute, hemorrhagic, highly contagious disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) infection of domestic pigs and wild boars, showing mortality rates up to 100 %. There are no effective vaccines or antiviral drugs available for ASFV. Therefore, disease control is mainly based on animal slaughtering and the enforcement of strict sanitary measures. Read More

JAMA Psychiatry 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Importance: With the current opioid crisis, it is important to improve understanding of the biological mechanisms of opioid use disorder (OUD).

Objectives: To detect genetic risk variants for OUD and determine genetic correlations and causal association with OUD and other traits.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A genome-wide association study of electronic health record-defined OUD in the Million Veteran Program sample was conducted, comprising 8529 affected European American individuals and 71 200 opioid-exposed European American controls (defined by electronic health record trajectory analysis) and 4032 affected African American individuals and 26 029 opioid-exposed African American controls. Read More

PLoS One 2020 3;15(6):e0233274. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Population Health, Clinical Trials Unit, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, England, United Kingdom.

Background: Hemorrhage is a leading cause of death after trauma and childbirth. In response to severe hemorrhage, bleeding patients often receive transfusions of red blood cells, plasma, platelets, or other blood components. We examined risk factors for transfusion in acute severe bleeding in two trials of over 20,000 patients to better understand factors associated with transfusion likelihood. Read More

Gigascience 2020 Jun;9(6)

LOEWE-Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany.

Recent advances in genome sequencing technologies have simplified the generation of genome data and reduced the costs for genome assemblies, even for complex genomes like those of vertebrates. More practically oriented genomic courses can prepare university students for the increasing importance of genomic data used in biological and medical research. Low-cost third-generation sequencing technology, along with publicly available data, can be used to teach students how to process genomic data, assemble full chromosome-level genomes, and publish the results in peer-reviewed journals, or preprint servers. Read More

Autism Res 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by phenotypic heterogeneity and a complex genetic architecture which includes distinctive epigenetic patterns. We report differential DNA methylation patterns associated with ASD in South African children. An exploratory whole-epigenome methylation screen using the Illumina 450 K MethylationArray identified differentially methylated CpG sites between ASD and controls that mapped to 898 genes (P ≤ 0. Read More