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Diagnosing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using machine learning models on CMRs and EKGs of the heart

Kolluri et al. | Jul 29, 2024

Diagnosing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using machine learning models on CMRs and EKGs of the heart
Image credit: Jesse Orrico

Here seeking to develop a method to diagnose, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which can cause sudden cardiac death, the authors investigated the use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models to classify cardiac magnetic resonance and heart electrocardiogram scans. They found that the CNN model had a higher accuracy and precision and better other qualities, suggesting that machine learning models could be valuable tools to assist physicians in the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

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Ramifications of natural and artificial sweeteners on the gastrointestinal system

Cowen et al. | Jun 19, 2023

Ramifications of natural and artificial sweeteners on the gastrointestinal system

This study aimed to determine whether artificial sweeteners are harmful to the human microbiome by investigating two different bacteria found to be advantageous to the human gut, Escherichia coli and Bacillus coagulans. Results showed dramatic reduction in bacterial growth for agar plates containing two artificial sweeteners in comparison to two natural sweeteners. This led to the conclusion that both artificial sweeteners inhibit the growth of the two bacteria and warrants further study to determine if zero-sugar sweeteners may be worse for the human gut than natural sugar itself.

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Failure of colony growth in probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota as result of preservative sorbic acid

Raymond et al. | May 07, 2023

Failure of colony growth in probiotic <i>Lactobacillus casei</i> Shirota as result of preservative sorbic acid

This study tested the proficiency of different concentrations of the antimicrobial sorbic acid to inhibit the probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota. It was hypothesized that sorbic acid’s use as a bacterial deterrent would also target this bacterial strain of Lactobacillus. The results supported the hypothesis, with the colony count of L. casei Shirota having significant decreases at all concentrations of sorbic acid. These results additionally suggest that even under the FDA sorbic acid restrictions of 0.03% concentration, damaging effects could be seen in L. casei Shirota.

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