Risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients: a meta- and network analysis.

Understanding the most relevant hematological/biochemical characteristics, pre-existing health conditions and complications in survivors and non-survivor will aid in predicting COVID-19 patient mortality, as well as intensive care unit (ICU) referral and death. A literature review was conducted for COVID-19 mortality in PubMed, Scopus, and various preprint servers (bioRxiv, medRxiv and SSRN), with 97 observational studies and preprints, consisting of survivor and non-survivor sub-populations. This meta/network analysis comprised 19,014 COVID-19 patients, consisting of 14,359 survivors and 4655 non-survivors. Meta and network analyses were performed using META-MAR V2.7.0 and PAST software. The study revealed that non-survivors of COVID-19 had elevated levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase and creatinine, as well as a higher number of neutrophils. Non-survivors had fewer lymphocytes and platelets, as well as lower hemoglobin and albumin concentrations. Age, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease were shown to be the most influential risk factors among non-survivors. The most common complication among non-survivors was heart failure, followed by septic shock and respiratory failure. Platelet counts, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, albumin, and blood urea nitrogen levels were all linked to ICU admission. Hemoglobin levels preferred non-ICU patients. Lower levels of hemoglobin, lymphocytes, and albumin were associated with increased mortality in ICU patients. This meta-analysis showed that inexpensive and fast biochemical and hematological tests, as well as pre-existing conditions and complications, can be used to estimate the risk of mortality in COVID-19 patients.

The interfering effects of superovulation and vitrification upon some important epigenetic biomarkers in mouse blastocyst.

Appropriate epigenetic changes in preimplantation embryos are critical for embryonic development and successful pregnancy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of some assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) on a panel of epigenetic biomarkers by immunofluorescence staining at blastocyst stage. For this purpose, four treatment groups were designed: control (C), superovulation (S), superovulation+in vitro culture (SI), and superovulation+vitrification+in vitro culture (SVI). Results showed that vitrification decreased the developmental competence of embryos cultured in vitro (P<0.05). Semi-quantitative analysis revealed that vitrification decreased the fluorescence intensity of global DNA methylation in the inner cell mass (ICM), in SVI Group in comparison to C group (P<0.05). Superovulation, elevated the level of H3K9acetylation of trophectoderm (TE) in comparison to C and SI groups (P<0.05). Furthermore, ARTs manipulations influenced H3K9acetylation in the ICM (P<0.05). The fluorescence intensity of H4K12acetylation in TE for SVI group was higher than C and S (P<0.05). For H3K4tri-methylation, S group had higher fluorescence intensity in the ICM in comparison to SI and SVI (P<0.05). Finally, in vitro culture decreased Pou5f1 protein signal in comparison to in vivo-derived embryos at blastocyst stage (P<0.05). In conclusion, ART manipulations may have important influences on multiple epigenetic biomarkers.