Identifying the extent of environmental contamination of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is essential for infection control and prevention. The extent of environmental ...contamination has not been fully investigated in the context of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.
To investigate environmental SARS-CoV-2 contamination in the isolation rooms of severe COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation or high-flow oxygen therapy.
Environmental swab samples and air samples were collected from the isolation rooms of three COVID-19 patients with severe pneumonia. Patients 1 and 2 received mechanical ventilation with a closed suction system, while patient 3 received high-flow oxygen therapy and non-invasive ventilation. Real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (rRT–PCR) was used to detect SARS-CoV-2; viral cultures were performed for samples not negative on rRT–PCR.
Of the 48 swab samples collected in the rooms of patients 1 and 2, only samples from the outside surfaces of the endotracheal tubes tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by rRT–PCR. However, in patient 3's room, 13 of the 28 environmental samples (fomites, fixed structures, and ventilation exit on the ceiling) showed positive results. Air samples were negative for SARS-CoV-2. Viable viruses were identified on the surface of the endotracheal tube of patient 1 and seven sites in patient 3's room.
Environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 may be a route of viral transmission. However, it might be minimized when patients receive mechanical ventilation with a closed suction system. These findings can provide evidence for guidelines for the safe use of personal protective equipment.
Menopause, a dramatical estrogen-deficient condition, is considered the most significant milestone in women's health.
To investigate the metabolite changes attributed to estrogen deficiency using ...random forest (RF)-based machine learning (ML) modeling strategy in ovariectomized (OVX) mice as well as determine the clinical relevance of selected metabolites in older women.
Untargeted and targeted metabolomic analyses revealed that metabolites related to TCA cycle, sphingolipids, phospholipids, fatty acids, and amino acids, were significantly changed in the plasma and/or muscle of OVX mice. Subsequent ML classifiers based on RF algorithm selected alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG), arginine, carnosine, ceramide C24, phosphatidylcholine (PC) aa C36:6, and PC ae C42:3 in plasma as well as PC aa 34:1, PC aa C34:3, PC aa C36:5, PC aa C32:1, PC aa C36:2, and sphingosine in muscle as top featured metabolites that differentiate the OVX mice from the sham-operated group. When circulating levels of AKG, arginine, and carnosine, which showed the most significant changes in OVX mice blood, were measured in postmenopausal women, higher plasma AKG levels were associated with lower bone mass, weak grip strength, poor physical performance, and increased frailty risk.
Metabolomics- and ML-based methods identified the key metabolites of blood and muscle that were significantly changed after ovariectomy in mice, and the clinical implication of several metabolites was investigated by looking at their correlation with body composition and frailty-related parameters in postmenopausal women. These findings provide crucial context for understanding the diverse physiological alterations caused by estrogen deficiency in women.
A series of epoxy-functionalized inorganic-organic hybrid ladder-like structured polysilsesquioxanes were synthesized in one-batch
via
a base-catalyzed co-solvent system. Two types of epoxy ...functionalities were examined: aliphatic and cycloaliphatic. Obtained polymeric epoxy-functionalized ladder-like polysilsesquioxanes were cationically photopolymerized under UV irradiation over glass and plastic substrates. Obtained cross-linked films were examined as hardcoating materials as their thermal, optical, mechanical, and barrier properties were studied. These materials showed superior thermal properties (
T
d
> 400 °C), high optical transparency (>95%), high pencil hardness (4H-9H), low dielectric constant (3.0-3.6), and good barrier properties (WVTR < 10
1
g m
−2
day
−1
, OTR < 10
2
g m
−2
day
−1
).
A series of cationically photopolymerizable inorganic-organic hybrid epoxy-functionalized thermoplastic polysilsesquioxanes were synthesized and their thermal, mechanical, optical, and barrier properties investigated.
The Multigap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC) is a gaseous detector that has low building costs and excellent timing performances. It is usually operated using a mixture of C2F4H2 and SF6, which have ...very high Global Warming Potential (GWP) values (1430 and 23,900 respectively). The ecological HFO-1234ze (C3F4H2), GWP <7, was investigated if it could be a viable alternative to the standard gas mixture. In this work, we present the performances of an MRPC with 10 gaps of 235μm width, built using 0.5 mm thick plates of low resistive glass. This detector was also operated using the standard gas mixture for comparison. At low particle rate, this detector reaches an efficiency of 98% and a time resolution of around 70 ps for the two mixtures of gases. We observed no degradation of its performances when a limited size of its active area is exposed to particle rates up to 63 kHz/cm2.
The cannabinoid (CB2) receptor type 2 has been proposed to prevent the degeneration of dopamine neurons in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated mice. However, the mechanisms ...underlying CB2 receptor-mediated neuroprotection in MPTP mice have not been elucidated. The mechanisms underlying CB2 receptor-mediated neuroprotection of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) were evaluated in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD) by immunohistochemical staining (tyrosine hydroxylase, macrophage Ag complex-1, glial fibrillary acidic protein, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and CD3 and CD68), real-time PCR and a fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled albumin assay. Treatment with the selective CB2 receptor agonist JWH-133 (10 μg kg(-1), intraperitoneal (i.p.)) prevented MPTP-induced degeneration of dopamine neurons in the SN and of their fibers in the striatum. This JWH-133-mediated neuroprotection was associated with the suppression of blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage, astroglial MPO expression, infiltration of peripheral immune cells and production of inducible nitric oxide synthase, proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines by activated microglia. The effects of JWH-133 were mimicked by the non-selective cannabinoid receptor WIN55,212 (10 μg kg(-1), i.p.). The observed neuroprotection and inhibition of glial-mediated neurotoxic events were reversed upon treatment with the selective CB2 receptor antagonist AM630, confirming the involvement of the CB2 receptor. Our results suggest that targeting the cannabinoid system may be beneficial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD, that are associated with glial activation, BBB disruption and peripheral immune cell infiltration.
Study of a large strip-type MRPC with single-ended readout Baek, Y.W.; Williams, M.C.S.
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2019, Letnik:
940
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A double stack MRPC has been built and equipped with long pickup strips for its readout. It is a double stack design, with each stack having three gas gaps; the gap size is 250μm. It has a sensitive ...area of 85×85cm2. Particularly, this MRPC was equipped with readout cards on only one end of the chamber. On the other end, the strips were connected to other strips with 50Ω coaxial cables. The gas mixture C2F4H2∕SF6 was used during the beam test period.
Although there is an increasing trend of dietary supplement (DS) use, few researches have evaluated nutrient intake from DS. This study aimed to establish a nutrient database (NDB) for DS and ...estimate the effect of DS on total nutrient intake by Korean adults.
The NDB for DS was established using the label information of products reported in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) IV. Of the 16,031 participants who were ≥20 years old, 2053 products were reported as being taken by 5606 subjects. But nutrient composition could be identified by searching product name only in 1158 products consumed by 3844 subjects (DS users). Total nutrient intake of DS users was obtained by combining intakes from diet and DS.
Dietary supplement use was higher in women, in middle-aged people and in those with higher education and low smoking and drinking preferences. Nutrients obtained from food were higher in DS users than in nonusers for most nutrients, particularly in women. When total nutrient intake was evaluated in DS users, the percentage of subjects whose intake was below the estimated average requirement for Koreans decreased for several vitamins and minerals, but the percentage of subjects whose intake was above the tolerable upper intake levels increased for vitamin A, vitamin C and iron.
The newly developed NDB for DS will be an important resource for more accurate assessment of nutrient intake as well as evaluation of the relationship between nutrition and health. Further research is needed to update a more comprehensive NDB applicable to diverse populations.
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