Digestive system involvement and clinical outcomes among COVID-19 patients:A retrospective cohort study from Qatar

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus most commonly presents with respiratory symptoms.While gastrointestinal(GI)manifestations either at presentation or during hospitalization are also common,their impact on clinical outcomes is controversial.Some studies have described worse outcomes in COVID-19 patients with GI symptoms,while others have shown either no association or a protective effect.There is a need for consistent standards to describe GI symptoms in COVID-19 patients and to assess their effect on clinical outcomes,including mortality and disease severity.AIM To investigate the prevalence of GI symptoms in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and their correlation with disease severity and clinical outcomes.METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 601 consecutive adult COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization between May 1-15,2020.GI symptoms were recorded at admission and during hospitalization.Demographic,clinical,laboratory,and treatment data were retrieved.Clinical outcomes included all-cause mortality,disease severity at presentation,need for intensive care unit(ICU)admission,development of acute respiratory distress syndrome,and need for mechanical ventilation.Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify independent predictors of the adverse outcomes.RESULTS The prevalence of any GI symptom at admission was 27.1%and during hospitalization was 19.8%.The most common symptoms were nausea(98 patients),diarrhea(76 patients),vomiting(73 patients),and epigastric pain or discomfort(69 patients).There was no difference in the mortality between the two groups(6.21%vs 5.5%,P=0.7).Patients with GI symptoms were more likely to have severe disease at presentation(33.13%vs 22.5%,P<0.001)and prolonged hospital stay(15 d vs 14 d,P=0.04).There was no difference in other clinical outcomes,including ICU admission,development of acute respiratory distress syndrome,or need for mechanical ventilation.Drugs associated with the development of GI symptoms during hospitalization were ribavirin(diarrhea 26.37%P<0.001,anorexia 17.58%,P=0.02),hydroxychloroquine(vomiting 28.52%,P=0.009)and lopinavir/ritonavir(nausea 32.65%P=0.049,vomiting 31.47%P=0.004,and epigastric pain 12.65%P=0.048).In the multivariate regression analysis,age>65 years was associated with increased mortality risk[odds ratio(OR)7.53,confidence interval(CI):3.09-18.29,P<0.001],ICU admission(OR:1.79,CI:1.13-2.83,P=0.012),and need for mechanical ventilation(OR:1.89,CI:1.94-2.99,P=0.007).Hypertension was an independent risk factor for ICU admission(OR:1.82,CI:1.17-2.84,P=0.008)and need for mechanical ventilation(OR:1.66,CI:1.05-2.62,P=0.028).CONCLUSION Patients with GI symptoms are more likely to have severe disease at presentation;however,mortality and disease progression is not different between the two groups.

Soft and flexible:core-shell ionic liquid resistive memory for electronic synapses

The human brain is the most efficient computational and intelligent system,and researchers are trying to mimic the human brain using solid-state materials.However,the use of solid-state materials has a limitation due to the movement of neurotransmitters.Hence,soft memory devices are receiving tremendous attention for smooth neurotransmission due to the ion concentration polarization mechanism.This paper proposes a core-shell soft ionic liquid(IL)-resistive memory device for electronic synapses using Cu/Ag@AgCI/Cu with multistate resistive behavior.The presence of the Ag@AgCI core shell in the liquid electrolyte significantly helps to control the movement of Cu^(2+)ions,which results in multistate resistive switching behavior.The core-shell IL soft memory device can open a gateway for electronic synapses.

Ionic liquid multistate resistive switching characteristics in two terminal soft and flexible discrete channels for neuromorphic computing

By exploiting ion transport phenomena in a soft and flexible discrete channel,liquid material conductance can be controlled by using an electrical input signal,which results in analog neuromorphic behavior.This paper proposes an ionic liquid(IL)multistate resistive switching device capable of mimicking synapse analog behavior by using IL BMIM FeCL_(4) and H_(2)O into the two ends of a discrete polydimethylsiloxane(PDMs)channel.The spike rate-dependent plasticity(SRDP)and spike-timing-dependent plasticity(STDP)behavior are highly stable by modulating the input signal.Furthermore,the discrete channel device presents highly durable performance under mechanical bending and stretching.Using the obtained parameters from the proposed ionic liquid-based synaptic device,convolutional neural network simulation runs to an image recognition task,reaching an accuracy of 84%.The bending test of a device opens a new gateway for the future of soft and flexible brain-inspired neuromorphic computing systems for various shaped artificial intelligence applications.