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Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Primary hypothyroidism is a common comorbid condition, but little is known about its association with COVID‐19 severity and outcomes. This study aims to identify the frequency of hypothyroidism in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 as well as describe the differences in outcomes between patients with and without pre‐existing hypothyroidism using an observational, multinational registry. Methods: In an observational cohort study we enrolled patients 18 years or older, with laboratory‐confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 infection between March 2020 and February 2021. The primary outcomes were (1) the disease severity defined as per the World Health Organization Scale for Clinical Improvement, which is an ordinal outcome corresponding with the highest severity level recorded during a patient's index COVID‐19 hospitalization, (2) in‐hospital mortality and (3) hospital‐free days. Secondary outcomes were the rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and ICU mortality. Results: Among the 20,366 adult patients included in the study, pre‐existing hypothyroidism was identified in 1616 (7.9%). The median age for the Hypothyroidism group was 70 (interquartile range: 59–80) years, and 65% were female and 67% were White. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (68%), diabetes (42%), dyslipidemia (37%) and obesity (28%). After adjusting for age, body mass index, sex, admission date in the quarter year since March 2020, race, smoking history and other comorbid conditions (coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia), pre‐existing hypothyroidism was not associated with higher odds of severe disease using the World Health Organization disease severity index (odds ratio [OR]: 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.92, 1.13; p =.69), in‐hospital mortality (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.92, 1.15; p =.58) or differences in hospital‐free days (estimated difference 0.01 days; 95% CI: −0.45, 0.47; p =.97). Pre‐existing hypothyroidism was not associated with ICU admission or ICU mortality in unadjusted as well as in adjusted analysis. Conclusions: In an international registry, hypothyroidism was identified in around 1 of every 12 adult hospitalized patients with COVID‐19. Pre‐existing hypothyroidism in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 was not associated with higher disease severity or increased risk of mortality or ICU admissions. However, more research on the possible effects of COVID‐19 on the thyroid gland and its function is needed in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There are concerns regarding the effectiveness and safety of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine in inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients. This systematic review and meta‐analysis comprehensively summarises the available literature regarding the safety and effectiveness of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine in IBD. Methods: Three independent reviewers performed a comprehensive review of all original articles describing the response of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines in patients with IBD. Primary outcomes were (1) pooled seroconversion rate SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination in IBD patients (2) comparison of breakthrough COVID‐19 infection rate SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination in IBD patients with control cohort and (3) pooled adverse event rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine. All outcomes were evaluated for one and two doses of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine. Meta‐regression was performed. Probability of publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and with Egger's test. Results: Twenty‐one studies yielded a pooled seroconversion rate of 73.7% and 96.8% in IBD patients after one and two doses of SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine respectively. Sub‐group analysis revealed non‐statistically significant differences between different immunosuppressive regimens for seroconversion. Meta‐regression revealed that the vaccine type and study location independently influenced seroconversion rates. There was no statistically significant difference in breakthrough infection in IBD patients as compared to control after vaccination. Conclusion: In summary, the systematic review and meta‐analysis suggest that SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine is safe and effective in IBD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The optimal colonoscopy withdrawal time is still a controversial topic. While several studies demonstrate that longer withdrawal time improves adenoma detection rate, others have contradicted these findings. Methods: Three independent reviewers performed a comprehensive review of all original articles published from inception to January 2021 and included studies reporting comparison of the two cohorts—(i) ≥ 6 but less than 9 min of colonoscopy withdrawal time (CWT) and (ii) ≥ 9 min of CWT. The outcome measures were the following: (i) adenoma detection rate (ADR), (ii) advanced ADR, and (iii) sessile serrated adenoma detection rate (SDR). The meta‐analysis was performed, and the statistics were two‐tailed. Results: A total of seven studies met the inclusion criteria after a thorough search of the literature was completed. The analysis revealed that ≥ 9 min of CWT had significantly higher odds of adenoma detection as compared with 6–9 min of CWT (odds ratio [OR] 1.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30–1.82; I2 = 93.7). Additionally, a significantly higher odds of sessile serrated adenoma detection (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.28–2.22; I2 = 0) and a trend towards higher odds of advanced adenoma detection (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.98–1.95, I2 = 90) were seen with CWT of at least 9 min when compared with 6–9 min of CWT. Conclusion: This systematic review and meta‐analysis analysis provides further evidence that at least 9 min of CWT cohort had significantly higher ADR and SDR as compared with the at least 6 min but less than 9 min of cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we analyze hospitalized andintensive care unit coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patient outcomes from the international VIRUS registry (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04323787). We find that COVID‐19 patients administered unfractionated heparin but not enoxaparin have a higher mortality‐rate (390 of 1012 = 39%) compared to patients administered enoxaparin but not unfractionated heparin (270 of 1939 = 14%), presenting a risk ratio of 2.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [2.42, 3.16]; p = 4.45e−52). This difference persists even after balancing on a number of covariates including demographics, comorbidities, admission diagnoses, and method of oxygenation, with an increased mortality rate on discharge from the hospital of 37% (268 of 733) for unfractionated heparin versus 22% (154 of 711) for enoxaparin, presenting a risk ratio of 1.69 (95% CI: [1.42, 2.00]; p = 1.5e−8). In these balanced cohorts, a number of complications occurred at an elevated rate for patients administered unfractionated heparin compared to patients administered enoxaparin, including acute kidney injury, acute cardiac injury, septic shock, and anemia. Furthermore, a higher percentage of Black/African American COVID patients (414 of 1294 [32%]) were noted to receive unfractionated heparin compared to White/Caucasian COVID patients (671 of 2644 [25%]), risk ratio 1.26 (95% CI: [1.14, 1.40]; p = 7.5e−5). After balancing upon available clinical covariates, this difference in anticoagulant use remained statistically significant (311 of 1047 [30%] for Black/African American vs. 263 of 1047 [25%] for White/Caucasian, p =.02, risk ratio 1.18; 95% CI: [1.03, 1.36]). While retrospective studies cannot suggest any causality, these findings motivate the need for follow‐up prospective research into the observed racial disparity in anticoagulant use and outcomes for severe COVID‐19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutually exclusive splicing of exons is a mechanism of functional gene and protein diversification with pivotal roles in organismal development and diseases such as Timothy syndrome, cardiomyopathy and cancer in humans. In order to obtain a first genomewide estimate of the extent and biological role of mutually exclusive splicing in humans, we predicted and subsequently validated mutually exclusive exons (MXEs) using 515 publically available RNA-Seq datasets. Here, we provide evidence for the expression of over 855 MXEs, 42% of which represent novel exons, increasing the annotated human mutually exclusive exome more than fivefold. The data provide strong evidence for the existence of large and multi-cluster MXEs in higher vertebrates and offer new insights into MXE evolution. More than 82% of the MXE clusters are conserved in mammals, and five clusters have homologous clusters in Drosophila. Finally, MXEs are significantly enriched in pathogenic mutations and their spatio-temporal expression might predict human disease pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to optimise process parameters to prepare spray-dried honey-based milk powder containing functional properties of honey. Experimental design with temperature (180 to 200 °C), honey concentration (5-15%) and feed flow rate (8-10 rpm) as independent variables was studied to investigate the effect on product responses. Results showed that increasing the temperature resulted in powder with lower moisture, bulk density, antioxidant activity, total phenolic contents, total flavonoid contents and higher water solubility index. Increasing feed flow rate resulted in higher moisture, bulk density, antioxidant activity, reduced water solubility index, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content, whereas increasing honey concentration resulted in increase in antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content. The moisture content, bulk density, water solubility index, DPPH scavenging activity, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were 3.27%, 0.44 g cc−1, 96.67 g g−1, 17.45%, 2.54 GAE g−1 powder and 1.40 RE g−1 powder, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]