Potential source of bias in AI models: lactate measurement in the ICU in sepsis patients as a template.

Objective: Health inequities may be driven by demographics such as sex, language proficiency, and race-ethnicity. These disparities may manifest through likelihood of testing, which in turn can bias artificial intelligence models. We aimed to evaluate variation in serum lactate measurements in the intensive care unit (ICU) in sepsis.

Proximal Pulmonary Artery Stiffening as a Biomarker of Cardiopulmonary Aging.

The geroscience hypothesis suggests that understanding underlying ageing mechanisms will enable us to delay aging and lessen age-related disability and diseases. While hallmarks of ageing list multiple contributing factors, role of mechanics has only been recently recognized and increasingly appreciated. Here, we use mouse models of ageing to investigate changes in mechanics of the proximal pulmonary artery, lung and right ventricle function in ageing.

Hypoxia-Induced Cardiopulmonary Remodeling and Recovery: Critical Roles of the Proximal Pulmonary Artery, Macrophages, and Exercise.

Hypoxemia impairs cardiopulmonary function. We investigated pulmonary artery remodeling in mice exposed to chronic hypoxia for up to five weeks and quantified associated changes in cardiac and lung function, without or with subsequent normoxic recovery in the absence or presence of exercise or pharmacological intervention. Hypoxia-induced stiffening of the proximal pulmonary artery stemmed primarily from remodeling of the adventitial collagen, which resulted in part from altered inter-cellular signaling associated with phenotypic changes in the mural smooth muscle cells and macrophages.

Epigenetic age acceleration in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis revealed by DNA methylation clocks.

In this research, we delve into the association between epigenetic aging and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a debilitating lung disease that progresses over time. Utilizing the Illumina MethylationEPIC array, we assessed DNA methylation levels in donated human lung tissue from patients with IPF, categorizing the disease into mild, moderate, and severe stages based on clinical assessments. We used seven epigenetic clocks to determine age acceleration, which is the discrepancy between biological (epigenetic) and chronological age.

Participant flow diagrams for health equity in AI.

Selection bias can arise through many aspects of a study, including recruitment, inclusion/exclusion criteria, input-level exclusion and outcome-level exclusion, and often reflects the underrepresentation of populations historically disadvantaged in medical research. The effects of selection bias can be further amplified when non-representative samples are used in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications to construct clinical algorithms. Building on the "Data Cards" initiative for transparency in AI research, we advocate for the addition of a participant flow diagram for AI studies detailing relevant sociodemographic and/or clinical characteristics of excluded participants across study phases, with the goal of identifying potential algorithmic biases before their clinical implementation.

Clinical characteristics governing treatment adjustment in COPD patients: results from the Swiss COPD cohort study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a widespread chronic disease characterised by irreversible airway obstruction [1]. Features of clinical practice and healthcare systems for COPD patients can vary widely, even within similar healthcare structures. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) strategy is considered the most reliable guidance for the management of COPD and aims to provide treating physicians with appropriate insight into the disease.

Risk Factors for Recurrent Exacerbations in the General-Practitioner-Based Swiss Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Cohort.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often suffer from acute exacerbations. Our objective was to describe recurrent exacerbations in a GP-based Swiss COPD cohort and develop a statistical model for predicting exacerbation.

Methods: COPD cohort demographic and medical data were recorded for 24 months, by means of a questionnaire-based COPD cohort.

Strategies and solutions to address Digital Determinants of Health (DDOH) across underinvested communities.

Healthcare has long struggled to improve services through technology without further widening health disparities. With the significant expansion of digital health, a group of healthcare professionals and scholars from across the globe are proposing the official usage of the term "Digital Determinants of Health" (DDOH) to explicitly call out the relationship between technology, healthcare, and equity. This is the final paper in a series published in PLOS Digital Health that seeks to understand and summarize current knowledge of the strategies and solutions that help to mitigate the negative effects of DDOH for underinvested communities.

Peripheral Blood Single-Cell Sequencing Uncovers Common and Specific Immune Aberrations in Fibrotic Lung Diseases.

Rationale And Objectives: The extent and commonality of peripheral blood immune aberrations in fibrotic interstitial lung diseases are not well characterized. In this study, we aimed to identify common and distinct immune aberrations in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (FHP) using cutting-edge single-cell profiling technologies.

Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing was performed on patients and healthy controls' peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage samples using 10X Genomics 5' gene expression and V(D)J profiling.

Predictive factors for exacerbation and re-exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an extension of the Cox model to analyze data from the Swiss COPD cohort.

Background: The Swiss COPD cohort was established in 2006 to collect data in a primary care setting. The objective of this study was to evaluate possible predictive factors for exacerbation and re-exacerbation.

Methods: In order to predict exacerbation until the next visit based on the knowledge of exacerbation since the last visit, a multistate model described by Therneau and Grambsch was performed.

The ADO index as a predictor of two-year mortality in general practice-based chronic obstructive pulmonary disease cohorts.

Background: Existing prediction models for mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients have not yet been validated in primary care, which is where the majority of patients receive care.

Objectives: Our aim was to validate the ADO (age, dyspnoea, airflow obstruction) index as a predictor of 2-year mortality in 2 general practice-based COPD cohorts.

Methods: Six hundred and forty-six patients with COPD with GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) stages I-IV were enrolled by their general practitioners and followed for 2 years.

Endothelial microparticle uptake in target cells is annexin I/phosphatidylserine receptor dependent and prevents apoptosis.

Objective: Endothelial microparticles (EMP) are released from activated or apoptotic cells, but their effect on target cells and the exact way of incorporation are largely unknown. We sought to determine the uptake mechanism and the biological effect of EMP on endothelial and endothelial-regenerating cells.

Methods And Results: EMP were generated from starved endothelial cells and isolated by ultracentrifugation.