COVID-19 in China and the US: Differences in hospital admission co-variates and outcomes

Background Although there are extensive data on admission co-variates and outcomes of persons with coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19) at diverse geographic sites there are few if any subject-level comparisons between sites in regions and countries. We aim to comparatively investigate differences in hospital admission co-variates and outcomes of hospitalized people with COVID-19 between Wuhan City, China and the New York City region, USA. Methods We retrospectively collected clinical data on 1859 Hospitalized subjects with COVID-19 in Wuhan City, China 20 January to 4 April, 2020. Data on those 5700 hospitalized subjects with COVID-19 in the New York City region, USA 1 March to 4 April, 2020 was drawn from a published article by Richardson et al. Hospital admission co-variates (epidemiological, demographic and laboratory co-variates) and outcomes (rate of intensive care unit(ICU) admission, invasive mechanical ventilation(IMV), major organ failure and death and length of hospital stay) were compared between the two cohorts. Results Wuhan subjects were younger, more likely female, less likely to have co-morbidities and fever, more likely to have a blood lymphocyte concentration > 1×10E+9/L and less likely to have abnormal liver and cardiac function tests compared with the New York subjects. There were outcomes data on all Wuhan subjects and 2,634 New York subjects. Wuhan subjects had higher blood nadir median lymphocyte concentrations and longer hospitalizations, were less likely to receive IMV, ICU hospitalization and kidney replacement therapy. Amongst subjects not receiving IMV those in Wuhan were less likely to die compared with New York subjects. In contrast, risk of death was similar in subjects receiving IMV at both sites. Conclusions We found different hospital admission co-variates and outcomes between hospitalized persons with COVID-19 between Wuhan City and the New York region, which should be useful developing a comprehensive global understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and COVID-19.

IMPACT OF BEETROOT (BETA VULGARIS RUBRA) AND/OR SWISS CHARD (BETA VULGARIS CICLA) JUICES ORAL ADMINISTRATION AGAINST BARIUM CHLORIDE-INDUCED HYPOKALEMIA, ATPASE DISTURBANCE, AND HEART AND LUNG TOXICITY IN RATS

Objective: The research designed to explore, for the 1st time, the probable antioxidant activity and protective effect of oral administration of beetroot (Beta vulgaris Rubra) and Swiss chard (B. vulgaris Cicla) juices against barium chloride (BaCl2)-induced toxicity in rats through investigating the changes on complete blood picture, heart and lung oxidative biomarkers, cardiac function tests, inflammatory markers as well as adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity, hypokalemia, and electrolyte disturbances. Methods: Seventy-five adult male albino rats of Sprague-Dawley strains (150±5 g) were divided into five groups (15/each) except healthy control group which contains 10 rats, and BaCl2 control group that contains 20 rats as follows: Group I: Healthy control; Group II: BaCl2 control, and Groups III, IV, and V: BaCl2 intoxicated groups supplemented with 1 ml of beetroot, Swiss chard, and combination of both juices, respectively/kg body weight 3 times per week orally. Results: Results explored that beetroot and Swiss chard juices contain significant amount of polyphenols and flavonoids as well as macro- and micronutrients that improved the complete blood picture, heart and lung oxidative stress parameters, cardiac function tests, inflammatory markers, ATPase activity, hypokalemia, and also electrolyte balance in supplemented groups compared to BaCl2 control group. Conclusion: This search illustrated that fresh beetroot and Swiss chard juices can improve various biochemical abnormalities resulted from BaCl2 toxicity. BaCl2 intoxicated rats that were supplemented with combination of juices showed the most significant improvements.

Identification of RyR2-PBmice and the effects of transposon insertional mutagenesis of the RyR2 gene on cardiac function in mice

Ryanodine receptor 2 (RyR2) plays an important role in maintaining the normal heart function, and mutantions can lead to arrhythmia, heart failure and other heart diseases. In this study, we successfully identified a piggyBac translocated RyR2 gene heterozygous mouse model (RyR2-PBmice) by tracking red fluorescent protein (RFP) and genotyping PCR. Cardiac function tests showed that there was no significant difference between the RyR2-PBmice and corresponding wild-type mice (WTmice), regardless of whether they were in the basal state or injected with epinephrine and caffeine. However, the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ content was significantly reduced in the cardiomyocytes of RyR2-PBmice as assessed by measuring caffeine-induced [Ca2+]i transients; the cardiac muscle tissue of RyR2-PBmice displayed significant mitochondrial swelling and focal dissolution of mitochondrial cristae, and the tissue ATP content in the RyR2-PBmice heart was significantly reduced. To further analyze the molecular mechanism behind these changes, we tested the expression levels of related proteins using RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. The mRNA level of RyR2 in RyR2-PBmice cardiac tissue decreased significantly compared with the WTmice, and the protein expression associated with the respiratory chain was also downregulated. These results suggested that the piggyBac transposon inserted into the RyR2 gene substantively affected the structure and function of mitochondria in the mouse cardiomyocytes, leading to disorders of energy metabolism.