Data on pathologic changes of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are scarce. To gain knowledge about the pathology that may contribute to disease progression and fatality, we performed ...postmortem needle core biopsies of lung, liver, and heart in four patients who died of COVID-19 pneumonia. The patients' ages ranged from 59 to 81, including three males and one female. Each patient had at least one underlying disease, including immunocompromised status (chronic lymphocytic leukemia and renal transplantation) or other conditions (cirrhosis, hypertension, and diabetes). Time from disease onset to death ranged from 15 to 52 days. All patients had elevated white blood cell counts, with significant rise toward the end, and all had lymphocytopenia except for the patient with leukemia. Histologically, the main findings are in the lungs, including injury to the alveolar epithelial cells, hyaline membrane formation, and hyperplasia of type II pneumocytes, all components of diffuse alveolar damage. Consolidation by fibroblastic proliferation with extracellular matrix and fibrin forming clusters in airspaces is evident. In one patient, the consolidation consists of abundant intra-alveolar neutrophilic infiltration, consistent with superimposed bacterial bronchopneumonia. The liver exhibits mild lobular infiltration by small lymphocytes, and centrilobular sinusoidal dilation. Patchy necrosis is also seen. The heart shows only focal mild fibrosis and mild myocardial hypertrophy, changes likely related to the underlying conditions. In conclusion, the postmortem examinations show advanced diffuse alveolar damage, as well as superimposed bacterial pneumonia in some patients. Changes in the liver and heart are likely secondary or related to the underlying diseases.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Abstract
Background
In December 2019, novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan and has since rapidly spread throughout China. We aimed to clarify the characteristics ...and clinical significance of peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration in COVID-19.
Methods
The levels of peripheral lymphocyte subsets were measured by flow cytometry in 60 hospitalized COVID-19 patients before and after treatment, and their association with clinical characteristics and treatment efficacy was analyzed.
Results
Total lymphocytes, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells decreased in COVID-19 patients, and severe cases had a lower level than mild cases. The subsets showed a significant association with inflammatory status in COVID-19, especially CD8+ T cells and CD4+/CD8+ ratio. After treatment, 37 patients (67%) showed clinical response, with an increase in CD8+ T cells and B cells. No significant change in any subset was detected in nonresponsive cases. In multivariate analysis, posttreatment decrease in CD8+ T cells and B cells and increase in CD4+/CD8+ ratio were indicated as independent predictors of poor efficacy.
Conclusions
Peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration was associated with clinical characteristics and treatment efficacy of COVID-19. CD8+ T cells tended to be an independent predictor for COVID-19 severity and treatment efficacy.
Peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration showed a clear association with the clinical characteristics of COVID-19, especially in relation to disease severity assessment and treatment efficacy prediction, which could help to indicate timely interventions to be provided by physicians.
Binary asteroid exploration is an important research focus in the areas of deep space exploration and space informatics because of its unique scientific value in analyzing the structure and ...gravitational dynamic properties of asteroids, as well as the origin and evolution of celestial bodies in the solar system. Remote photometric observations can reveal the key characteristics of binary asteroids that differ from other kinds of asteroids, especially unary asteroids, and provide an efficient and convenient way to discover binary asteroids. However, the automatic binary asteroid detection problem by advanced machine learning methodology remains unresolved when handing complex asteroid photometric data. For this problem, this article proposes to simulate unary and binary asteroid systems using cellinoid and oblate sphere shape models and generate the corresponding light curve brightness information with different asteroid physical parameters. Then, a benchmark unary and binary asteroid light curve dataset is constructed. Afterward, a layered discriminative constrained energy minimization (LDCEM) method is developed to train a binary asteroid detector in a layered learning manner by enlarging the response differences between the light curve data of unary and binary asteroids such that the two common kinds of asteroids can be well distinguished. The experimental results on the simulated asteroid light curve data, as well as the real observed asteroid light curve data, show that the proposed LDCEM method can yield promising binary asteroid detection performance in comparison with some representative detection methods.
Abstract
Background
Since December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, occurred in Wuhan, and rapidly spread throughout China. This ...study aimed to clarify the characteristics of patients with refractory COVID-19.
Methods
In this retrospective single-center study, we included 155 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from 1 January to 5 February. The cases were divided into general and refractory COVID-19 groups according to the clinical efficacy of treatment after hospitalization, and the differences between groups were compared.
Results
Compared with patients with general COVID-19 (45.2%), those with refractory disease were older, were more likely to be male, and had more underlying comorbid conditions, a lower incidence of fever, higher maximum temperatures among patients with fever, higher incidences of shortness of breath and anorexia, more severe disease assessment at admission, higher neutrophil, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and C-reactive protein levels, lower platelet counts and albumin levels, and higher incidences of bilateral pneumonia and pleural effusion (P < .05). Patients with refractory COVID-19 were more likely to receive oxygen, mechanical ventilation, expectorant, and adjunctive treatment, including corticosteroids, antiviral drugs, and immune enhancers (P < .05). Considering the factors of disease severity at admission, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit transfer, patients with refractory COVID-19 were also more likely to be male, have manifestations of anorexia on admission, and receive oxygen, expectorant, and adjunctive agents (P < .05).
Conclusion
In nearly 50% of patients with COVID-19 obvious clinical and radiological remission was not achieved within 10 days after hospitalization. Male, anorexia, and no fever at admission was predictive of poor treatment efficacy.
In nearly 50% of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), obvious clinical and radiological remission could not be attained within 10 days after hospitalization. There were obvious differences in clinical characteristics between patients with refractory versus general COVID-19.
Abstract
The field of space science places significant emphasis on deep space exploration, with a particular focus on asteroids as a potential hazard to humanity. Inverting their physical ...characteristics from photometric observations is essential for uncovering their origins and evolution. This article attempts to present a solution to the challenging task of estimating the physical properties of binary asteroids, which are common in near-Earth asteroids larger than 200 meters. A novel model for binary asteroids is proposed, which integrates orbital and rotational motions to simulate brightness variations based on two Cellinoid shapes. The model combines the projection and occultation effects of the shapes to generate the simulated brightness. The inversion of determining physical properties is optimized based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm through a simulation process involving several parameter corrections. Finally, the performance of the proposed model is demonstrated through numerical experiments and applications to two real binary asteroids, namely, asteroid (317) Roxane and asteroid (624) Hektor. The derived results are nearly identical to those from other publications, which confirms that the proposed model provides reliable and accurate estimations of the physical properties of binary asteroids. Additionally, this method has a potential application in supporting the development of effective strategies for the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) project, the first planetary defense experiment in space undertaken by humans.
Summary
Context
Weight loss remains one of the most important arms in obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Further studies are needed to identify the best treatment.
Objective
To ...evaluate the effects of exenatide (EXE) on reproductive and metabolic function in overweight/obese (OW/OB) PCOS.
Design
This is a 24‐week open‐label prospective, randomized, clinical study.
Patients and Measurements
This study randomized 176 OW/OB women diagnosed with PCOS to receive either EXE 10 μg BID (n = 88) or metformin (MET) 1000 mg BID (n = 88) for the first 12 weeks. Then all patients were treated with MET alone during the second 12 weeks. We observed metabolic parameters at 0 and 12 weeks, and then tracked the rate of pregnancy during the second 12 weeks.
Results
After the first 12 weeks of intervention, compared with MET, subjects who received EXE had significantly decreased weight (4.29 ± 1.29 kg vs 2.28 ± 0.55 kg, P < .001) and total fat% (4.67 ± 0.09% vs 1.11 ± 0.32%, P < .001), improved the homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance (1.30 ± 0.58 vs 0.59 ± 0.12, P < .001) and increased the menstrual frequency ratio (0.62 ± 0.12 vs 0.37 ± 0.01, P < .001). During the second 12 weeks, the rate of natural pregnancy of EXE‐treated patients was significantly higher than MET‐treated patients (43.60% vs 18.70%, P < .05).
Conclusions
Short‐term EXE therapy was linked to significant weight loss and central adiposity reduction, which may further explain the improvements in insulin resistance, inflammatory marker and menstrual cycle, which may contribute to increasing pregnancy rates in OW/OB women with PCOS.
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Chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion has already been identified as a significant durability issue in reinforced concrete systems in the world. Here, the chloride ion diffusion in concrete ...structures blended with furnace slag (FS) and bottom ash (BA) admixtures were studied by soaking and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. According to the EIS findings, increasing the volume of FS and BA improves resistance to chloride ion migration. The use of BA at 30% helped to increase the compressive strength of the concrete after 28 days ofcuring time. The soaking results revealed that the F-30BA sample significantly effect on the migration of chloride ions in concrete structures containing FS and BA additives. The surface morphology of steel rebar exhibited that a little corrosion product and slight pits were found on thesurface of steel in F-30BA sample which was in theaccordance with the results obtained from soaking and EIS tests.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A 60-GHz artificial magnetic conductor (AMC)-based circularly polarized (CP) on-chip antenna has been designed and fabricated using standard 0.18-μm six metal-layer CMOS technology. The design ...consists of a wideband circularly polarized loop antenna at the top layer M6 and a novel AMC structure at the bottom layer M1. The size of the antenna including the modified AMC structure is 1.8 × 1.8 × 0.3 mm 3 . The circular open-loop structure is employed for antenna design because the gap within the loop can excite traveling wave current and then achieve circular polarized radiation. In addition, it is found that the bandwidth of circular polarization can be significantly increased by introducing one more inner parasitic loop. With the modified AMC structure integrated into the bottom layer, the antenna performance can be optimized and improved as more design freedom is introduced. The proposed antenna can offer a simulated peak gain of -3.7 dBi and a measured gain of -4.4 dBi, respectively, as well as simulated and measured axial ratio (AR <; 3) bandwidth to cover from 57 to 67 GHz.
The Buyi (Bouyei) people in Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest Guizhou, China, have used medicinal plants and traditional remedies for ethnoveterinary practices, such as ...treating domestic animals during livestock breeding, since ancient times. However, the unique ethnoveterinary practices of the Buyi have rarely been recorded. This study aimed to identify the plants used in their traditional ethnoveterinary practices, and to propose suggestions for future conservation and sustainable use of this knowledge. Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted in 19 villages/townships in Qianxinan Prefecture between 2017 and 2018. Data were collected from the local Buyi people through semi-structured interviews and participatory observations. The informant consensus factor (FIC) and use reports (URs) were utilized to evaluate the consent of the current ethnoveterinary practices among the local communities, and 83 informants were interviewed during the field investigations. Plant samples and voucher specimens were collected for taxonomic identification. A total of 122 plant species, belonging to 60 families and 114 genera, were recorded as being used in ethnoveterinary practices by the Buyi people. The most used ethnoveterinary medicinal plant (EMP) parts included the roots, whole plant, and bulb, and the most common preparation methods included decoction, crushing, and boiling. Some EMPs, such as Quisqualis indica and Paris polyphylla, have special preparation methods. The informant consensus factor (FIC) and use reports (URs) of the EMP species were analyzed. Twenty EMP species with the highest URs were noted as having particular importance in the daily lives of Buyi people in Qianxinan Prefecture. In this study, we identified traditional ethnoveterinary knowledge of the medicinal plants among the Buyi communities in Qianxinan Prefecture. This knowledge has previously been limited to local vets, herders, and aged community members. Plants with important medicinal uses need to be validated phytochemically and pharmacologically in the future, to develop new alternative drugs for veterinary purposes.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Nonadiabatic simulation methods are indispensable tools to investigate the dynamical processes, including the polariton formed by the hybridisation of molecule and photon. The direct product state, ...say (), is a convenient choice to start the simulation, with and denoting the molecular and photon ground state, respectively. Here, by using exact quantum dynamics simulation, we show that the LiF molecule in a cavity can become self-excited if the simulation starts with the direct product state , leading to a finite probability to dissociate. The physical picture behind the product state simulation is that we turn on the light-matter interaction suddenly, which causes the system to occupy the high energy states that are directly coupled with the initial state even though the total energy of the whole system is conserved. Through a time-dependent light-matter interaction model, we show that the self-excited state will disappear if the molecule moves into the cavity more slowly, i.e. adiabatically. Our results and model highlight the importance of the initial state of polariton simulation and the direct product state is unfeasible to be the initial state to investigate the dynamics of polariton, which provides new insights into the theoretical investigation of polariton dynamics.
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