Studies of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: Cross-Sectional Study With Temporal Trends, 2010-2023.

Background: The rapid growth of research in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) continues. However, it is unclear whether this growth reflects an increase in desirable study attributes or merely perpetuates the same issues previously raised in the literature.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate temporal trends in AI/ML studies over time and identify variations that are not apparent from aggregated totals at a single point in time.

Whole genome sequencing data of and isolated from human subjects of Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease. This article reports the complete genome sequences of three novel strains of Genus : two from the species (FMAS_RT1, FMAS_PD2) and one from (FMAS_PN5). These isolates were recovered from the blood samples of acute febrile patients in different geographical and climatic zones of Sri Lanka.

Complete genome sequences of twelve strains of Leptospira interrogans isolated from humans in Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis, a major zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp. is recognized globally as an emerging zoonotic disease. Whole-genome sequencing reveals hidden messages about Leptospira's pathogenesis.

Culture-Independent Detection and Identification of Serovars.

Pathogenic , the causative agents of leptospirosis, comprise >200 serotypes (called serovars). Most have a restricted reservoir-host range, and some, e.g.

Demographic, exposure, clinical, biochemical and diagnostic data of febrile patients recruited for the largest field study on leptospirosis in Sri Lanka.

This dataset includes data from febrile patients recruited for a large hospital-based study in Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2019. The variables include primary socio-demographic data, exposure data, clinical data, biochemical and investigation data. Some of these data are available as serial data from admission to discharge daily.

Serological and molecular epidemiology of leptospirosis and the role of dogs as sentinel for human infection in Nigeria.

Objective: Prospective cross-sectional study of dogs in Nigeria to study leptospirosis, inferred to be endemic in all regions of the country by researchers. Aim is to generate empirical updated evidence of leptospiral infection and delineate serovars involved.

Methods: Study determined the sero-prevalence and infection rate in 342 dogs using sero-assays, culture isolation and novel qPCR.

Pathogenic Evolved a Unique Gene Family Comprised of Ricin B-Like Lectin Domain-Containing Cytotoxins.

Leptospirosis is a globally important neglected zoonotic disease. Previous data suggest that a family of virulence-modifying (VM) proteins (PF07598) is a distinctive feature of group I pathogenic that evolved as important virulence determinants. Here, we show that one such VM protein, LA3490 (also known as Q8F0K3), is expressed by serovar Lai, as a secreted genotoxin that is potently cytotoxic to human cells.

Diagnostic method-based underestimation of leptospirosis in clinical and research settings; an experience from a large prospective study in a high endemic setting.

Background: Leptospirosis has globally significant human mortality and morbidity, yet estimating the clinical and public health burden of leptospirosis is challenging because timely diagnosis remains limited. The goal of the present study was to evaluate leptospirosis undercounting by current standard methods in both clinical and epidemiological study settings.

Methodology/principal Findings: A prospective hospital-based study was conducted in multiple hospitals in Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2019.

Clinical spectrum of endemic leptospirosis in relation to cytokine response.

Objectives: To describe the clinical spectrum and the cytokine response of leptospirosis patients in an endemic setting of Sri Lanka.

Methods: Patients presenting to the university teaching hospital, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka with a leptospirosis-compatible illness were recruited over a period of 12 months starting from June 2012. Daily clinical and biochemical parameters of the patients were prospectively assessed with a follow-up of 14 days after discharge.

Optimizing the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) panel for the diagnosis of Leptospirosis in a low resource, hyper-endemic setting with varied microgeographic variation in reactivity.

The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is the standard serological reference test for the diagnosis of leptospirosis, despite being a technically demanding and laborious procedure. The use of a locally optimised MAT panel is considered essential for proper performance and interpretation of results. This paper describes the procedure of selecting such an optimised panel for Sri Lanka, a country hyper-endemic for leptospirosis.

12 Novel clonal groups of Leptospira infecting humans in multiple contrasting epidemiological contexts in Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis is a ubiquitous zoonotic disease and a major clinical challenge owing to the multitude of clinical presentations and manifestations that are possibly attributable to the diversity of Leptospira, the understanding of which is key to study the epidemiology of this emerging global disease threat. Sri Lanka is a hotspot for leptospirosis with high levels of endemicity as well as annual epidemics. We carried out a prospective study of Leptospira diversity in Sri Lanka, covering the full range of climatic zones, geography, and clinical severity.

Complete Genome Sequence of Strains FMAS_KW1, FMAS_KW2 and FMAS_AW1 Isolated from Leptospirosis Patients from Karawanalla and Awissawella, Sri Lanka.

Leptospirosis is an important cause of acute undifferentiated fever and complex multisystem febrile diseases in the tropics and subtropics. Understanding the evolution of especially as related to the clinical pathogenesis of leptospirosis is facilitated by systematic comparative genomic analysis of human-infecting isolates. Here, we announce the complete genome sequences of three strains that were isolated from blood of humans with undifferentiated fever in Sri Lanka.

Experimental Infection of by the Group II Intermediate Pathogen, .

serovar Varillal, a group II intermediate pathogen species/serovar discovered in the Peruvian Amazon city of Iquitos, is commonly recognized in this region by sera from humans (at least 40% seroprevalence) without a known clinical history of leptospirosis. This high frequency of human seroreactivity remains unexplained. To test the hypothesis that the oral route of infection might explain the high rate of human seroreactivity against , an experimental infection model using was developed, given that rats were one of the original reservoir hosts identified as being colonized by this leptospire.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Psychoeducation for Carers of Persons With Borderline Personality Disorder.

Carers of persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience high burden. Treatment guidelines advocate involving carers in comprehensive therapy approaches. This study is a randomized controlled trial of group psychoeducation, compared to waitlist.

Effect of myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 on expression profiles of genes during the development and progression of Helicobacter-induced gastric cancer.

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common and lethal type of cancer worldwide. Infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is recognized as the major cause of gastric cancer.

Real-Time PCR Reveals Rapid Dissemination of Leptospira interrogans after Intraperitoneal and Conjunctival Inoculation of Hamsters.

The pathogen Leptospira interrogans is a highly motile spirochete that causes acute and fulminant infections in humans and other accidental hosts. Hematogenous dissemination is important for infection by the pathogen but remains poorly understood because few animal model studies have used sensitive tools to quantify the bacteria. We evaluated the kinetics of leptospiral infection in Golden Syrian hamsters by a sensitive quantitative real-time PCR (TaqMan) with lipl32 as the target gene.

What Makes a Bacterial Species Pathogenic?:Comparative Genomic Analysis of the Genus Leptospira.

Leptospirosis, caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, is a globally widespread, neglected and emerging zoonotic disease. While whole genome analysis of individual pathogenic, intermediately pathogenic and saprophytic Leptospira species has been reported, comprehensive cross-species genomic comparison of all known species of infectious and non-infectious Leptospira, with the goal of identifying genes related to pathogenesis and mammalian host adaptation, remains a key gap in the field. Infectious Leptospira, comprised of pathogenic and intermediately pathogenic Leptospira, evolutionarily diverged from non-infectious, saprophytic Leptospira, as demonstrated by the following computational biology analyses: 1) the definitive taxonomy and evolutionary relatedness among all known Leptospira species; 2) genomically-predicted metabolic reconstructions that indicate novel adaptation of infectious Leptospira to mammals, including sialic acid biosynthesis, pathogen-specific porphyrin metabolism and the first-time demonstration of cobalamin (B12) autotrophy as a bacterial virulence factor; 3) CRISPR/Cas systems demonstrated only to be present in pathogenic Leptospira, suggesting a potential mechanism for this clade's refractoriness to gene targeting; 4) finding Leptospira pathogen-specific specialized protein secretion systems; 5) novel virulence-related genes/gene families such as the Virulence Modifying (VM) (PF07598 paralogs) proteins and pathogen-specific adhesins; 6) discovery of novel, pathogen-specific protein modification and secretion mechanisms including unique lipoprotein signal peptide motifs, Sec-independent twin arginine protein secretion motifs, and the absence of certain canonical signal recognition particle proteins from all Leptospira; and 7) and demonstration of infectious Leptospira-specific signal-responsive gene expression, motility and chemotaxis systems.

Whole Genome Shotgun Sequencing Shows Selection on Leptospira Regulatory Proteins During in vitro Culture Attenuation.

Leptospirosis is the most common zoonotic disease worldwide with an estimated 500,000 severe cases reported annually, and case fatality rates of 12-25%, due primarily to acute kidney and lung injuries. Despite its prevalence, the molecular mechanisms underlying leptospirosis pathogenesis remain poorly understood. To identify virulence-related genes in Leptospira interrogans, we delineated cumulative genome changes that occurred during serial in vitro passage of a highly virulent strain of L.

Comparative analysis of lipopolysaccharides of pathogenic and intermediately pathogenic Leptospira species.

Background: Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are complex, amphipathic biomolecules that constitute the major surface component of Gram-negative bacteria. Leptospira, unlike other human-pathogenic spirochetes, produce LPS, which is fundamental to the taxonomy of the genus, involved in host-adaption and also the target of diagnostic antibodies. Despite its significance, little is known of Leptospira LPS composition and carbohydrate structure among different serovars.

Leptospiral pathogenomics.

Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic spirochetes belonging to the genus Leptospira, is a zoonosis with important impacts on human and animal health worldwide. Research on the mechanisms of Leptospira pathogenesis has been hindered due to slow growth of infectious strains, poor transformability, and a paucity of genetic tools. As a result of second generation sequencing technologies, there has been an acceleration of leptospiral genome sequencing efforts in the past decade, which has enabled a concomitant increase in functional genomics analyses of Leptospira pathogenesis.

Regional differences of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka: observations from a flood-associated outbreak in 2011.

Leptospirosis is known to be an important cause of weather disaster-related infectious disease epidemics. In 2011, an outbreak of leptospirosis occurred in the relatively dry district of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka where diagnosis was resisted by local practitioners because leptospirosis was not known in the area and the clinical presentation was considered atypical. To identify the causative Leptospira associated with this outbreak, we carried out a cross-sectional study.

Pathogenomic inference of virulence-associated genes in Leptospira interrogans.

Leptospirosis is a globally important, neglected zoonotic infection caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Since genetic transformation remains technically limited for pathogenic Leptospira, a systems biology pathogenomic approach was used to infer leptospiral virulence genes by whole genome comparison of culture-attenuated Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai with its virulent, isogenic parent. Among the 11 pathogen-specific protein-coding genes in which non-synonymous mutations were found, a putative soluble adenylate cyclase with host cell cAMP-elevating activity, and two members of a previously unstudied ∼15 member paralogous gene family of unknown function were identified.