Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is more sluggish in alkaline than in acidic media because of the additional energy required for water dissociation. Numerous catalysts, including NiO, that offer ...active sites for water dissociation have been extensively investigated. Yet, the overall HER performance of NiO is still limited by lacking favorable H adsorption sites. Here we show a strategy to activate NiO through carbon doping, which creates under-coordinated Ni sites favorable for H adsorption. DFT calculations reveal that carbon dopant decreases the energy barrier of Heyrovsky step from 1.17 eV to 0.81 eV, suggesting the carbon also serves as a hot-spot for the dissociation of water molecules in water-alkali HER. As a result, the carbon doped NiO catalyst achieves an ultralow overpotential of 27 mV at 10 mA cm
, and a low Tafel slope of 36 mV dec
, representing the best performance among the state-of-the-art NiO catalysts.
Developing heterogeneous catalysts involves continuous efforts in understanding and designing active sites with improved performance for various applications. In recent years, the recognition and ...appreciation of the dynamic nature of active sites has permeated the field, leading to renewed efforts in describing dynamic phenomena and exploiting them to go beyond classical barriers of catalyst performance. The challenges in this field are daunting, yet the rewards could lead to new classes of catalysts that outperform traditional systems for critical chemical transformations at the industrial scale. Furthermore, a deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of active sites can lead to fundamental knowledge of practical importance in the field. In this Perspective, we highlight this emerging area of catalysis science using recent examples to motivate the importance of understanding the dynamic nature of heterogeneous catalysts. We predict that this area of study will continue to expand, eventually allowing us to exploit dynamics to control catalytic performance in numerous applications.
Effective task-shifting interventions targeted at reducing the global cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemic in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are urgently needed.
DISHA is a cluster ...randomised controlled trial conducted across 10 sites (5 in phase 1 and 5 in phase 2) in India in 120 clusters. At each site, 12 clusters were randomly selected from a district. A cluster is defined as a small village with 250-300 households and well defined geographical boundaries. They were then randomly allocated to intervention and control clusters in a 1:1 allocation sequence. If any of the intervention and control clusters were <10 km apart, one was dropped and replaced with another randomly selected cluster from the same district. The study included a representative baseline cross-sectional survey, development of a structured intervention model, delivery of intervention for a minimum period of 18 months by trained frontline health workers (mainly Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers) and a post intervention survey in a representative sample. The study staff had no information on intervention allocation until the completion of the baseline survey. In order to ensure comparability of data across sites, the DISHA study follows a common protocol and manual of operation with standardized measurement techniques.
Our study is the largest community based cluster randomised trial in low and middle-income country settings designed to test the effectiveness of 'task shifting' interventions involving frontline health workers for cardiovascular risk reduction.
CTRI/2013/10/004049 . Registered 7 October 2013.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
HIV-2 infection: Where are we today? Ingole, Nayana; Sarkate, Purva; Paranjpe, Supriya ...
Journal of global infectious diseases,
07/2013, Letnik:
5, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Context: The choice of antiretroviral therapy for HIV-2 differs from that for HIV-1, underscoring the importance of differentiating between the two. Aims: The current study was planned to find out ...the prevalence of HIV-2 infection at our center and to find out the utility of the current diagnostic algorithm in identifying the type of HIV infection. Setting and Design: Retrospective analysis in a tertiary care teaching institute over a period of three years. Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed as HIV infected using NACO/WHO HIV testing strategy III were included in the study. They were classified as HIV-1 infected, HIV-2 infected and HIV-1 and HIV-2 co-infected based on their test results. For discordant samples, immunoblotting result from National Reference Laboratory was considered as final. Statistical Analysis Used: Comparison between HIV-1, HIV-2 and HIV-1+2 positive groups for age, gender, route of transmission was made using chi squared test. P value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Of the total of 66,708 patients tested, 5,238 (7.9%) were positive for HIV antibodies. 7.62%, 0.14%, 0.08% and 0.004% were HIV-1, HIV-2, HIV-1 and HIV-2 co-infected and HIV type indeterminate (HIV-1 Indeterminate, 2+) respectively. The current algorithm could not differentiate between the types of HIV infection (as HIV-1 or HIV-2) in 63 (1.2%) cases. Conclusion: In areas like the Indian subcontinent, where epidemic of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections are ongoing, it is important to modify the current diagnostic algorithms to diagnose and confirm HIV-2 infections.
Quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR) based Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA load estimation is crucial for the initiation of treatment and serves as a strong predictor of liver disease progression in HBV ...infected individuals. HBV DNA quantification has been ever evolving with the addition of new qPCR based kits on a regular basis. The study was carried with an objective to evaluate the performance characteristics of a commercially available qPCR kit (TRUPCR
®
, 3B Black Bio Biotech, India Ltd.) and compare with CE approved qPCR kit (Artus HBV Real-time PCR, Qiagen, Germany). 121 HBV infected patients were prospectively enrolled from July to December 2016. Aliquots of serum samples were tested in parallel by TRUPCR
®
and Artus for HBV DNA levels. Genotype D was most predominant genotype in 36.9% (38/121) of patients followed by genotype A in 14.6% (15/121) patients. Median viral load as seen by Artus was log
10
IU/ml 3.37 (interquartile range log
10
IU/ml 2.10–10.89) as compared to TRUPCR
®
where it was log
10
IU/ml 3.54 (interquartile range log
10
IU/ml 2.67–11.52). A very good correlation was seen between the two assays (R
2
= 0.964) with a concordance rate of 92.6% (112/121). The TRUPCR
®
qPCR HBV kit is capable of providing reliable and rapid HBV DNA quantitation and together with its much lower costs, presents itself as a good alternative.
•Secondary infections can complicate the course of 10% of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019.•Elderly, diabetic and severely ill patients are at greatest risk of secondary ...infections.•Length of hospital stay of patients with secondary infections was almost twice as long as that of patients without secondary infections.•Patients with secondary infections had higher requirements for oxygen and intensive care unit care.•The most common type of secondary infection was urinary tract infection, followed by bloodstream infection.
To gain better insight into the extent of secondary bacterial and fungal infections in hospitalized patients in India, and to assess how these alter the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so that control measures can be suggested.
In this retrospective, multicentre study, the data of all patients who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), admitted to hospital between March 2020 and July 2021, were accessed from the electronic health records of a network of 10 hospitals across five states in North India.
Of 19,852 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR and admitted to the study hospitals during the study period, 1940 (9.8%) patients developed secondary infections (SIs). Patients with SIs were, on average, 8 years older than patients without SIs (median age 62.6 vs 54.3 years; P<0.001). The risk of SIs was significantly (P<0.001) associated with age, severity of disease at admission, diabetes, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and ventilator use. The most common site of infection was urine (41.7%), followed by blood (30.8%) and sputum/bronchoalveolar lavage/endotracheal fluid (24.8%); the least common was pus/wound discharge (2.6%). Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) were the most common organisms (63.2%), followed by Gram-positive cocci (GPC) (19.6%) and fungi (17.3%). Most patients with SIs were on multiple antimicrobials. The most commonly used antibiotics against GNB were beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors (76.9%), carbapenems (57.7%), cephalosporins (53.9%), and antibiotics against carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (47.1%). Empirical use of antibiotics against GPC was seen in 58.9% of patients with SIs, and empirical use of antifungals was observed in 56.9% of patients with SIs. The average length of hospital stay for patients with SIs was almost twice as long as that of patients without SIs (median 13 vs 7 days). Overall mortality among patients with SIs (40.3%) was more than eight times higher than that among patients without SIs (4.6%). Only 1.2% of patients with SIs with mild COVID-19 at admission died, compared with 17.5% of those with moderate COVID-19 at admission and 58.5% of those with severe COVID-19 at admission (P<0.001). The mortality rate was highest in patients with bloodstream infections (49.8%), followed by those with hospital-acquired pneumonia (47.9%), urinary tract infections (29.4%), and skin and soft tissue infections (29.4%). The mortality rate in patients with diabetes with SIs was 45.2%, compared with 34.3% in those without diabetes (P<0.001).
SIs complicate the course of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. These patients tend to have a much longer hospital stay, a higher requirement for oxygen and ICU care, and a significantly higher mortality rate compared with those without SIs. The groups most vulnerable to SIs are patients with more severe COVID-19, elderly patients and patients with diabetes. Judicious empirical use of combination antimicrobials in these groups of vulnerable patients can save lives. It is desirable to have region- or country-specific guidelines for appropriate use of antibiotics and antifungals to prevent their overuse.
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