N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is an abundantly available antioxidant with a wide range of antidotal properties currently best studied for its use in treating acetaminophen overdose. It has a robustly established safety profile with easily tolerated side effects and presents the Food and Drug Administration's approval for use in treating acetaminophen overdose patients. It has been proven efficacious in off-label uses, such as in respiratory diseases, heart disease, cancer, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and seasonal influenza. Clinical trials have recently shown that NAC's capacity to replenish glutathione stores may significantly improve coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes, especially in high risk individuals. Interestingly, individuals with glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency have been shown to experience even greater benefit. The same study has concluded that NAC's ability to mitigate the impact of the cytokine storm and prevent elevation of liver enzymes, C-reactive protein, and ferritin is associated with higher success rates weaning from the ventilator and return to normal function in COVID-19 patients. Considering the background knowledge of biochemistry, current uses of NAC in clinical practice, and newly acquired evidence on its potential efficacy against COVID-19, it is worthwhile to investigate further whether this agent can be used as a treatment or adjuvant for COVID-19.
Biliary dyskinesia due to a multiseptate gallbladder has been rarely described in literature. Septations within the lumen of the gallbladder can lead to bile resistance, causing symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The majority of cases are due to congenital malformation during the development of the gallbladder. Ultrasound (US) is usually sufficient to make the diagnosis, although other imaging techniques can be used for confirmation. We present the case of a 60-year-old female who presented to the emergency room (ER) with biliary pain due to septations in the lumen of her gallbladder.
Artificial intelligence techniques and similar digital technologies are promising applications for surveillance systems, contact tracing, and pandemic planning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With no long-term effective treatment or vaccinations available, it is highly important to scale intelligence solutions to promote detection, school-level screening, monitoring, reducing burden of staff, and prediction potential COVID-19 outbreaks at schools. The objectives of this paper were to present the artificial intelligence for safely opening schools model, and build a solidifying analysis of current literature for applications of the system. The applications are imminent to promoting school health by maximizing the potential of AI technologies. While the AISOS model is not a silver bullet, the improvement in school transmission will be particularly useful as an emergent temporary, potentially permanent, measure of transmission control and monitoring.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.