Novel ACE2 protein interactions relevant to COVID-19 predicted by evolutionary rate correlations.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the cell receptor that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 binds to and uses to enter and infect human cells. COVID-19, the pandemic disease caused by the coronavirus, involves diverse pathologies beyond those of a respiratory disease, including micro-thrombosis (micro-clotting), cytokine storms, and inflammatory responses affecting many organ systems. Longer-term chronic illness can persist for many months, often well after the pathogen is no longer detected.

Amino acid synthesis loss in parasitoid wasps and other hymenopterans.

Insects utilize diverse food resources which can affect the evolution of their genomic repertoire, including leading to gene losses in different nutrient pathways. Here, we investigate gene loss in amino acid synthesis pathways, with special attention to hymenopterans and parasitoid wasps. Using comparative genomics, we find that synthesis capability for tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and histidine was lost in holometabolous insects prior to hymenopteran divergence, while valine, leucine, and isoleucine were lost in the common ancestor of Hymenoptera.

Brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), genome: putative underpinnings of polyphagy, insecticide resistance potential and biology of a top worldwide pest.

Background: Halyomorpha halys (Stål), the brown marmorated stink bug, is a highly invasive insect species due in part to its exceptionally high levels of polyphagy. This species is also a nuisance due to overwintering in human-made structures. It has caused significant agricultural losses in recent years along the Atlantic seaboard of North America and in continental Europe.

Quantification of intranodal vascularity by computer pixel-counting method enhances the accuracy of ultrasound in distinguishing metastatic and tuberculous cervical lymph nodes.

Background: Ultrasound is a common imaging method for assessment of cervical lymph nodes. However, metastatic and tuberculous lymph nodes have similar sonographic features in routine ultrasound examination. Computer-aided assessment could be a potential adjunct to enhance the accuracy of differential diagnosis.

A Study on Trunk Muscle Activation of 2 Deep Water Running Styles (High-Knee and Cross-Country Style) and Land Walking.

Context: Deep water running (DWR) is an aquatic aerobic exercise which involves running in water without the feet touching the bottom of the pool, and it may involve different activation of trunk muscles compared with running or walking on land. This form of exercise is gradually being adopted as a form of therapeutic exercise for people with low back pain. It is proposed that different types of running or walking in water may be a more comfortable form of training for the trunk and abdominal muscles compared with exercising on dry land.

A Cross-Diagnostic Investigation of the Differential Impact of Discrimination on Clinical and Personal Recovery.

Objective: Although the negative association between discrimination and recovery has been established, only a few studies have attempted to investigate the underlying mechanism of how perceived discrimination dampens both clinical and personal recovery among people with psychiatric disorders. This study aimed to examine the mediating roles of self-stigma and mental health service engagement in the relationship between perceived discrimination and recovery.

Methods: A total of 374 people (half men and half women; mean±SD age=43.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Computer-Aided Assessment of Intranodal Vascularity in Distinguishing Different Causes of Cervical Lymphadenopathy.

Ultrasound is useful in assessing cervical lymphadenopathy. Advancement of computer science technology allows accurate and reliable assessment of medical images. The aim of the study described here was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of computer-aided assessment of the intranodal vascularity index (VI) in differentiating the various common causes of cervical lymphadenopathy.

Weekly brief phone support in self-help cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia disorder: Relevance to adherence and efficacy.

Self-help cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an acceptable, low-intensity treatment in a stepped care model for insomnia. We tested the application of self-help CBT-I in a Chinese population. 312 participants with self-report of insomnia associated with distress or daytime impairment 3 or more nights per week for at least 3 months were randomized to self-help CBT-I with telephone support (SHS), self-help CBT-I (SH) and waiting-list (WL).

Sonographic appearance of thyroid glands in patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy or conventional radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the sonographic appearances of the thyroid glands in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients whose cervical lymph nodes were treated with conventional radiotherapy (RT) or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). The post-RT sonographic appearances of the thyroid glands in NPC patients were also correlated with the thyroid function.

Methods: One hundred and three NPC patients who had completed RT of cervical lymph nodes using the anterior cervical field, 30 NPC patients who had completed RT of cervical lymph nodes using IMRT, and 61 healthy subjects were included in the study.

Self-help cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Self-help cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is an increasingly popular treatment option for insomnia. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compile an up-to-date evaluation on the efficacy, adherence, acceptability and dropout rate of self-help CBT for insomnia. We systematically searched six key electronic databases up until May 2013.

Stereology of the thyroid gland in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) in comparison with human (Homo sapiens): quantitative and functional implications.

The mammalian thyroid gland maintains basal metabolism in tissues for optimal function. Determining thyroid volume is important in assessing growth and involution. Volume estimation is also important in stereological studies.

Three-dimensional elastography for cervical lymph node volume measurements: a study to investigate feasibility, accuracy and reliability.

This study investigated the feasibility of using three-dimensional (3-D) elastography in measuring cervical lymph node volume and compared the accuracy and reliability of 3-D elastography and 3-D grayscale ultrasound in measurement of ill-defined cervical nodes. Eighteen porcine lymph nodes from the neck were embedded in tissue-mimicking phantoms and scanned with the two ultrasound techniques. Ultrasound measurements were compared with the volume determined by water-displacement method to evaluate measurement accuracy.

Sonographic appearance of submandibular glands in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the sonographic (US) appearances of submandibular glands in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma after external beam radiotherapy (RT) and compare them with those of healthy subjects.

Methods: A total of 81 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with RT and 66 healthy subjects were recruited and underwent submandibular gland US. Bilateral submandibular glands were assessed for their size, echogenicity, echogenicity margin sharpness, and echotexture.

Ultrasonographic assessment of the thyroid gland and adjacent anatomic structures in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus).

Objective: To evaluate the use of ultrasonography for thyroid gland assessment in healthy Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), describe the ultrasonographic appearance of the thyroid gland and adjacent anatomic structures, and identify potential associations between variations in thyroid gland morphology and demographic features in this species.

Animals: 18 captive Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.

Procedures: 1,404 ultrasonographic examinations of the thyroid gland and adjacent anatomic structures (eg, cervical lymph nodes, musculature, and vasculature) were performed during the > 3-year study period.

Sonographic appearance of parotid glands in patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy or conventional radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

This study aimed to investigate and compare the sonographic appearances of parotid glands in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with conventional radiotherapy (RT) or intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and to compare them with healthy subjects. Totally 43 patients treated with conventional RT, 38 patients treated with IMRT and 58 healthy subjects were recruited and underwent parotid ultrasonography. Parotid glands were assessed for their size, echogenicity and internal architectures.

Outcome of a postnatal depression screening programme using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: There is a lack of evidence on the effectiveness of postnatal depression (PND) screening programmes in reducing morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a PND screening programme using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in improving maternal mental health.

Methods: The randomized controlled trial design was used.

The effects of disease severity, use of corticosteroids and social factors on neuropsychiatric complaints in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients at acute and convalescent phases.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of disease severity, corticosteroids and social factors on neuropsychiatric complaints in severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients, both during acute and convalescent phases.

Subjects And Methods: Self-administered mail questionnaires survey to 308 SARS patients after discharging from hospital. Both patients and their families were asked about symptoms related to various neuropsychiatric domains, and the questions covered both acute and convalescent phases.

Adjustment outcomes in Chinese patients following one-month recovery from severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong.

This study aimed to examine the short-term adjustment outcomes including distress, self-esteem, and quality of life among Chinese patients after 1-month recovery from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong and to investigate the predictive abilities of a set of selected variables on the outcomes. At 1-month recovery, 100 SARS survivors (mean age = 37; 66 women) and 184 community subjects completed self-administered questionnaires. In the General Health Questionnaire-28, 61% of the SARS survivors were identified as distressed cases under a conservative cutoff score of 6.

Psychiatric complications in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) during the acute treatment phase: a series of 10 cases.

In February 2003, Hong Kong was hit by a community-wide outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). During the period of the outbreak, 10 patients with SARS with psychiatric complications were referred to our Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry Team for assessment and management. We found that both the direct and indirect effects of SARS such as symptom severity, total isolation during treatment and administration of steroid were probable causes of psychiatric complications.