Anaemia of acute inflammation: a higher acute systemic inflammatory response is associated with a larger decrease in blood haemoglobin levels in patients with COVID-19 infection

Smartphone conjunctiva photography for malaria risk stratification in asymptomatic school age children

Malaria remains a major global health challenge. Although effective control relies on testing all suspected cases, asymptomatic infections in school-age children are frequently overlooked. Advances in retinal imaging and computer vision have enhanced malaria detection. However, noninvasive, point-of-care malaria detection remains unrealized, partly because of the need for specialized equipment. Here we report radiomic analyses of 4302 photographs of the palpebral conjunctiva captured using unmodified smartphone cameras from asymptomatic 405 participants aged 5 to 15 years to predict malaria risk. Our neural network classification model of radiomic features achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.76 with 95% confidence intervals from 0.68 to 0.84 in distinguishing between malaria-infected and non-infected cases in endemic regions. Photographing the inner eyelid provides the advantages of easy accessibility and direct exposure to the microvasculature. This mobile health approach has the potential for malaria prescreening and managing febrile illness in resource-limited settings.

Intravenous Injection of PEI-Decorated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Impacts NF-kappaB Protein Expression in Immunologically Stressed Mice

Nanoparticle-based formulations are considered valuable tools for diagnostic and treatment purposes. The surface decoration of nanoparticles with polyethyleneimine (PEI) is often used to enhance their targeting and functional properties. Here, we aimed at addressing the long-term fate in vivo and the potential "off-target" effects of PEI decorated iron oxide nanoparticles (PEI-MNPs) in individuals with low-grade and persistent systemic inflammation. For this purpose, we synthesized PEI-MNPs (core-shell method, PEI coating under high pressure homogenization). Further on, we induced a low-grade and persistent inflammation in mice through regular subcutaneous injection of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs, from zymosan). PEI-MNPs were injected intravenously. Up to 7 weeks thereafter, the blood parameters were determined via automated fluorescence flow cytometry, animals were euthanized, and the organs analyzed for iron contents (atomic absorption spectrometry) and for expression of NF-κB associated proteins (p65, IκBα, p105/50, p100/52, COX-2, Bcl-2, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting). We observed that the PEI-MNPs had a diameter of 136 nm and a zeta-potential 56.9 mV. After injection in mice, the blood parameters were modified and the iron levels were increased in different organs. Moreover, the liver of animals showed an increased protein expression of canonical NF-κB signaling pathway members early after PEI-MNP application, whereas at the later post-observation time, members of the non-canonical signaling pathway were prominent. We conclude that the synergistic effect between PEI-MNPs and the low-grade and persistent inflammatory state is mainly due to the hepatocytes sensing infection (PAMPs), to immune responses resulting from the intracellular metabolism of the uptaken PEI-MNPs, or to hepatocyte and immune cell communications. Therefore, we suggest a careful assessment of the safety and toxicity of PEI-MNP-based carriers for gene therapy, chemotherapy, and other medical applications not only in healthy individuals but also in those suffering from chronic inflammation.

Effects of COVID-19 Infection in Healthy Subjects on Cardiac Function and Biomarkers of Oxygen Transport, Blood Coagulation and Inflammation

BACKGROUND

The manifestations, severity, and mortality of COVID-19 are considered to be associated with the changes in various hematological parameters and in immunity. Associations of immunoglobulin G antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome-linked coronavirus (IgG-SARS)-positive status with cardiac function and hematological and biochemical parameters in apparently health subjects are poorly understood.

METHODS

The present cross-sectional study included 307 healthy volunteers (24-69 years of age; 44.8 ± 8.6 years; 80.4% men) and was initiated in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 episodes were confirmed by detection of IgG-SARS against SARS-CoV-2 S1 RBD to reveal 70 IgG-SARS-positive and 237 negative participants. Numerous ultrasound characteristics were assessed by echocardiography, and 15 hematological and biochemical parameters were assayed in the blood. Descriptive and comparative analysis was based on the IgG-SARS status of the participants.

RESULTS

The left ventricular mass index, mitral ratio of peak early to late diastolic filling velocity or flow velocity across the mitral valve, and deceleration time of early mitral inflow were decreased (p < 0.05) in IgG-SARS-positive participants versus those in IgG-SARS-negative participants according to multivariate logistic regression analysis. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and platelet count were slightly increased, and blood hemoglobin was decreased in IgG-SARS-positive participants compared with those in IgG-SARS-negative participants.

CONCLUSIONS

LV filling, inflammation, blood coagulation, and hemoglobin appear to be influenced by COVID-19 infection in healthy participants. Our observations contribute to the definition of vulnerabilities in the apparently healthy subjects with long COVID-19. These vulnerabilities may be more severe in patients with certain chronic diseases.