Scientific reports
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Rapid diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI) using electrocardiography (ECG) is the cornerstone of effective treatment and prevention of mortality; however, conventional interpretation methods has low reliability for detecting MI and is difficulty to apply to limb 6-lead ECG based life type or wearable devices. We developed and validated a deep learning-based artificial intelligence algorithm (DLA) for detecting MI using 6-lead ECG. A total of 412,461 ECGs were used to develop a variational autoencoder (VAE) that reconstructed precordial 6-lead ECG using limb 6-lead ECG. ⋯ During internal and external validation, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the DLA with VAE using a 6-lead ECG were 0.880 and 0.854, respectively, and the performances were preserved by the territory of the coronary lesion. Our DLA successfully detected MI using a 12-lead ECG or a 6-lead ECG. The results indicate that MI could be detected not only with a conventional 12 lead ECG but also with a life type 6-lead ECG device that employs our DLA.
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The Cannabis sativa plant contains more than 120 cannabinoids. With the exceptions of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), comparatively little is known about the pharmacology of the less-abundant plant-derived (phyto) cannabinoids. The best-studied transducers of cannabinoid-dependent effects are type 1 and type 2 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R, CB2R). ⋯ Compounds were assessed for their affinity to receptors, ability to inhibit cAMP accumulation, βarrestin2 recruitment, receptor selectivity, and ligand bias in cell culture; and cataleptic, hypothermic, anti-nociceptive, hypolocomotive, and anxiolytic effects in mice. Our data reveal partial agonist activity for many phytocannabinoids tested at CB1R and/or CB2R, as well as in vivo responses often associated with activation of CB1R. These data build on the growing body of literature showing cannabinoid receptor-dependent pharmacology for these less-abundant phytocannabinoids and are critical in understanding the complex and interactive pharmacology of Cannabis-derived molecules.
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The association between angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) and the risk of mortality in hospitalized patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was investigated. This retrospective cohort study was performed in all hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in tertiary hospitals in Daegu, Korea. Patients were classified based on whether they received ACE-I or ARB before COVID-19 diagnosis. ⋯ Among the patients with ACE-I or ARB therapy, 8 patients (26.7%) used high equivalent doses of ACE-I or ARB and they had higher in-hospital mortality and an increased risk of ARDS and AKI (all, P < 0.05). ACE-I or ARB therapy in patients with severe COVID-19 was associated with the occurrence of severe complications and increased in-hospital mortality. The potentially harmful effect of ACE-I or ARB therapy may be higher in patients who received high doses.
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Observational Study
Serum pentraxin 3 as a biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.
Biomarkers for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are needed in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, a leading cause of HCC. We evaluated whether measurement of serum pentraxin 3 (PTX3) could improve diagnosis of HCC in chronic HBV infection. Data from patients with HBV-related chronic hepatitis (n = 159), cirrhosis (n = 99) and HCC (n = 107), and healthy controls (n = 151) were analyzed. ⋯ PTX3 was an independent risk factor of HCC [odds ratio (OR) 1.617, P < 0.001] and could distinguish HCC in chronic HBV infection [cutoff 9.231 ng/mL, AUC 0.929 with 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.898-0.953], including α-fetoprotein (AFP) negative [cutoff 8.985 ng/mL, AUC (95%CI) 0.947 (0.908-0.973)] and early-stage HCC [cutoff 9.359 ng/mL, AUC (95%CI) 0.920 (0.885-0.947)]. Combination of PTX3 with AFP improved the discrimination of early HCC from chronic HBV infection [AUC (95%CI) 0.948 (0.918-0.970)]. In short, PTX3 measurement could identify HCC, including AFP-negative and early-stage HCC, in chronic HBV infection.
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An ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) started in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Currently, the spatiotemporal epidemic transmission, prediction, and risk are insufficient for COVID-19 but we urgently need relevant information globally. We have developed a novel two-stage simulation model to simulate the spatiotemporal changes in the number of cases and estimate the future worldwide risk. ⋯ We successfully predicted the outbreak of South Korea, Japan, and Italy in the early stages of the global pandemic based on the information before February 12, 2020. The development of the epidemic is now earlier than we expected. However, the trend of spread is similar to our estimation.