Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening multiple-organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection and is the leading cause of death in non-cardiac intensive care facilities. Early reliable prediction of sepsis outcomes leads to cost-efficient resource allocation and therapeutic strategies. However, there are still no reliable markers to predict the outcome of patients at the initial stage of sepsis. Analyzing transcription profiles enables researchers to predict early outcomes using transcripts and their expression patterns. Transcriptomic profiling of septic patients has been done recently; however, analysis of prognostic outcomes is still scarce. Objective: This study aimed to determine transcriptional indicators that may be useful in the prognosis of the severity of sepsis. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of Filipino patients admitted for sepsis at the national tertiary referral hospital in Manila, Philippines. We conducted differentially expressed gene analysis, network analyses, and area under the curve study of publicly available datasets of surviving vs. non-surviving sepsis patients to identify candidate prognosticator markers. Quantitative PCR was used to characterize the expression of each marker. A model using ordinal logistic regression analysis was done to determine which among the markers can best predict the outcome of sepsis severity. Results: We identified ACTB, RAC1, STAT3, and UBQLN1 as candidate mRNA prognosticators. The expression of STAT3, a gene involved in immunosuppression, is inversely correlated with the severity of sepsis. Conclusion Transcriptomic markers such as STAT3 can predict the severity of patients with sepsis. Early detection of its inverse expression may prompt early and more aggressive management of patients.
sepsis ; STAT3 ; data mining ; transcriptomics

Objectives. The effect of COVID-19 infection in pregnant women and her neonate is not well-understood, with no clear evidence for vertical transmission. This study aims to determine the maternal and neonatal clinical characteristics and the dyad’s outcomes among those infected with COVID-19 infection. Methods. An ambispective cross-sectional study involving pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 infection was conducted at the Philippine General Hospital from April to August 2020. Two hundred nine obstetric patients were included, 14 of whom consented to specimen collection to determine vertical transmission. Results. The majority of pregnant women with COVID-19 infection and their neonates had good outcomes. Labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum course were generally uneventful. The all-cause maternal morbidity rate was high at 75.6 per 100 cases during the five-month study period. COVID-19 related morbidities included the development of Guillain-Barré Syndrome. The in-hospital all-cause maternal mortality rate was 1.91 per 100 cases. The causes of maternal death were acute respiratory failure, septic shock, and congenital heart disease (atrial septal defect with Eisenmengerization). The in-hospital, all-cause neonatal mortality rate was 1.04 per 100 neonates of cases. The lone mother and infant deaths were in a postmortem rt-PCR swab negative mother with an rt-PCR swab positive live neonate who eventually succumbed after nine days of life. All 14 dyads with collected specimens that included amniotic fluid, placental tissue, umbilical cord, and neonate nasopharyngeal swab tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 rt-PCR. Conclusion. The prognosis for COVID-19 infected pregnant patients was generally good, with most of the patients discharged improved. Almost all of the neonates born to COVID-19-infected mothers were stable-term infants. There was no evidence for vertical transmission, as shown by negative rt-PCR results for all the additional specimens obtained. In general, the prognosis for COVID-19 infected dyads was good. The majority of the mothers were discharged well with their term infants. All possible maternal sources of COVID-19 infection to the neonate tested negative. This study provided no evidence for vertical transmission.
regnancy ; Female ; Infant, Newborn ; COVID-19 ; Family

Background: A rise in the number of immunocompromised patients has increased the risk of opportunistic fungal infections. Identifying novel sources of antifungal agents from commonly discarded materials (i.e. potato peelings) can provide a cheaper alternative for antifungal drugs.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the antifungal activity of crude glycoalkaloid extract from Solanum tuberosum L. (white potato) peelings against opportunistic fungi Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Aspergillus flavus.

Methods: The glycoalkaloid content from dried potato peelings were extracted using ethanol and confirmed using colorimetric tests.The extract had a concentration 833.33 microgram/mL. Determination of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extract via two-fold broth dilution was performed for the five fungi with amphotericin B and fluconazole as the reference antifungal drugs.

Results: MICs of the crude extract for C. albicans, C. glabrata, A. fumigatus, and A. niger were not found within the concentration range of the studies and would thus need further experiments using a broader range of glycoalkaloid concentrations. The extract was found to have a MIC of 104.17microgram/mL for A. flavus, thereby verifying the antifungal effect of glycoalkaloid against A. flavus at said concentration.

Conclusion: Glycoalkaloids from Solanum tuberosum are a potential source of antifungals against certain opportunistic fungi.

Plant ; Solanum Tuberosum ; Aspergillus ; Candida