Background Machine learning (ML) has spread rapidly from computer science to several disciplines. Given the predictive capacity of ML, it offers new opportunities for health, behavioral, and social scientists. However, it remains unclear how and to what extent ML is being used in studies of social determinants of health (SDH). Methods Using four search engines, we conducted a scoping review of studies that used ML to study SDH (published before May 1, 2020). Two independent reviewers analyzed the relevant studies. For each study, we identified the research questions, Results, data, and algorithms. We synthesized our findings in a narrative report. Results Of the initial 8097 hits, we identified 82 relevant studies. The number of publications has risen during the past decade. More than half of the studies (n = 46) used US data. About 80% (n = 66) utilized surveys, and 70% (n = 57) employed ML for common prediction tasks. Although the number of studies in ML and SDH is growing rapidly, only a few studies used ML to improve causal inference, curate data, or identify social bias in predictions (i.e., algorithmic fairness). Conclusions While ML equips researchers with new ways to measure health outcomes and their determinants from non-conventional sources such as text, audio, and image data, most studies still rely on traditional surveys. Although there are no guarantees that ML will lead to better social epidemiological research, the potential for innovation in SDH research is evident as a result of harnessing the predictive power of ML for causality, data curation, or algorithmic fairness.

Vitexin, a lignan compound, has been shown to exert apoptotic actions on human breast cancer cell lines and to have anti-inflammatory activities. Nevertheless, there is currently no study addressing the effects of vitexin on the induction of apoptosis in U937 human leukemia cells. The aim of this study was to determine the anticancer effects and molecular mechanisms of vitexin on U937 leukemia cells. We showed that vitexin can potently induce programmed cell death in U937 leukemia cell growth as well as morphological changes that were examined by MTT assay and phase contrast microscopy, respectively. The DNA content and the levels of mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψm) were determined by flow cytometric analysis. The cell cycle arrest-regulated and apoptosis-associated protein levels were measured by western blotting. Vitexin-triggered apoptosis was accompanied by a decrease of the level of ∆Ψm and the percentage of viability and provoked apoptosis in U937 cells. The downregulation of the protein level for Bcl-2 with the simultaneous upregulation of caspase-3 and -9 protein expression in U937 cells were observed after treatment with vitexin. Therefore, our data provide a potential mechanism for the chemopreventive activity of vitexin, and we suggest that vitexin may serve as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of human leukemia.

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Objectives: To summarize the effects of intravenous corticosteroid treatment for sepsis defined by the Sepsis-3 criteria in adult patients. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We searched RCTs from PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform from inception to July 12th, 2019 and updated on June 28th, 2020. Conference proceedings from relevant societies and the reference lists of previous reviews were manually screened. Abstract or full-text articles were screened by two independent investigators. We included RCTs where (1) the participants had infections and the baseline Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score ≥ 2 (the Sepsis-3 definitions) (2) the intervention involved any intravenous corticosteroids; (3) the control group received placebo or standard of care (4) the outcomes of interest included mortality or clinical recovery. We chose the 28-day mortality as the pre-specified primary outcome and risk ratio (RR) as the effect measure. We followed PRISMA guidelines and chose random-effects models for the pooled analyses. Results: This study included 24 RCTs and 19 of them (7,115 participants) reported the 28-day mortality. Pooled analyses showed that intravenous corticosteroid treatment compared to placebo or standard of care was not associated with a lower risk of 28-day mortality (RR, 0.88; 95%CI, 0.73 to 1.05), but with a higher risk of hyperglycemia (RR, 1.16; 95%CI, 1.06 to 1.27). Sensitivity analysis of high-quality studies revealed a similar result for the 28-day mortality (RR, 0.95; 95%CI, 0.86 to 1.05). Conclusions: Our findings suggested that intravenous corticosteroids compared to placebo or standard of care may not reduce the 28-day mortality in adult patients with sepsis defined by the Sepsis-3 criteria. Further studies are warranted to clarify the roles of disease severity and treatment timing in the effects of corticosteroid treatment in this population. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019143083