Introduction: Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection is causing mortality in considerable proportion of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients, however, evidence for ...the association of sex, age, and comorbidities on the risk of mortality is not well-aggregated yet. It was aimed to assess the association of sex, age, and comorbidities with mortality in COVID-2019 patients. Methods: Literatures were searched using different keywords in various databases. Relative risks (RRs) were calculated by RevMan software where statistical significance was set as p < 0.05. Results: COVID-19 male patients were associated with significantly increased risk of mortality compared to females (RR 1.86: 95% confidence interval CI 1.67–2.07; p < 0.00001). Patients with age ≥50 years were associated with 15.4-folds significantly increased risk of mortality compared to patients with age <50 years (RR 15.44: 95% CI 13.02–18.31; p < 0.00001). Comorbidities were also associated with significantly increased risk of mortality; kidney disease (RR 4.90: 95% CI 3.04–7.88; p < 0.00001), cereborovascular disease (RR 4.78; 95% CI 3.39–6.76; p < 0.00001), cardiovascular disease (RR 3.05: 95% CI 2.20–4.25; p < 0.00001), respiratory disease (RR 2.74: 95% CI 2.04–3.67; p < 0.00001), diabetes (RR 1.97: 95% CI 1.48–2.64; p < 0.00001), hypertension (RR 1.95: 95% CI 1.58–2.40; p < 0.00001), and cancer (RR 1.89; 95% CI 1.25–2.84; p = 0.002) but not liver disease (RR 1.64: 95% CI 0.82–3.28; p= 0.16). Conclusion: Implementation of adequate protection and interventions for COVID-19 patients in general and in particular male patients with age ≥50 years having comorbidities may significantly reduce risk of mortality associated with COVID-19.
Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Shrestha, Nabin K; Burke, Patrick C; Nowacki, Amy S ...
PloS one,
11/2023, Letnik:
18, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The CDC recently defined being "up-to-date" on COVID-19 vaccination as having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 bivalent vaccine. The purpose of this study was to compare the risk of COVID-19 ...among those "up-to-date" and "not up-to-date". Employees of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, in employment when the COVID-19 bivalent vaccine first became available, and still employed when the XBB lineages became dominant, were included. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 since the XBB lineages became dominant was compared across the"up-to-date" and "not up-to-date" states, by treating COVID-19 bivalent vaccination as a time-dependent covariate whose value changed on receipt of the vaccine. Risk of COVID-19 by vaccination status was also evaluated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression adjusting for propensity to get tested for COVID-19, age, sex, most recent prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, and number of prior vaccine doses. COVID-19 occurred in 1475 (3%) of 48 344 employees during the 100-day study period. The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was lower in the "not up-to-date" than the "up-to-date" state. On multivariable analysis, being "up-to-date" was not associated with lower risk of COVID-19 (HR, 1.05; 95% C.I., 0.88-1.25; P-value, 0.58). Results were very similar when those 65 years and older were only considered "up-to-date" after 2 doses of the bivalent vaccine. Since the XBB lineages became dominant, adults "up-to-date" on COVID-19 vaccination by the CDC definition do not have a lower risk of COVID-19 than those "not up-to-date", bringing into question the value of this risk classification definition.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The majority of drug candidates exhibit weakly basic characteristics with high lipophilicity. The risk of intraluminal compound precipitation has been studied in vivo and extensively in vitro using ...advanced dissolution transfer setups mimicking drug transfer from the stomach to the small intestine. The present investigation aims to evaluate the usefulness of the recently introduced Artificial Stomach-Duodenum in silico tool in the DDDPlus.sup.TM platform (ASD-D+) to simulate intraluminal drug behavior. The weakly basic drugs ketoconazole and dipyridamole were used as model drugs within the ASD-D+ model at two dose levels. The simulated amounts per volume were compared to intraluminal data collected from fasted healthy adults. Four different in silico transfer models running on a continuous or a stepwise mode were utilized for the simulations. Each transfer model exhibited different capabilities to simulate observed intraluminal drug presence. Three out of the four in silico models overestimated the total drug amount measured in vivo (dissolved and precipitated drug), while only two of the four models matched the intraluminal drug concentrations. The stepwise model enabled adequate simulations of both drug concentration and total drug amount. The present investigation highlighted the importance of simulating drug transfer appropriately within the applied methodology prior to estimating precipitation kinetics. As a future step, optimization of ASD-D+ model would enable evaluations of solid/semi-solid dosage form simulations. Lastly, prediction of drug precipitation kinetics following simulation of gastrointestinal transfer may provide mechanistic understanding of drug absorption and appropriate justification of drug-formulated parameters within physiologically based pharmacokinetic models. Graphical
BACKGROUND: Advanced stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) result in muscle weakness and the inability to generate an effective cough. Several factors influence the effectiveness of cough in ...patients with DMD. The aim of this study was to assess whether differences in positioning affect cough peak flow (CPF) and muscular electromyographic activation in subjects with DMD compared with paired healthy subjects. METHODS: Optoelectronic plethysmography and surface electromyography were used to assess chest wall volumes, chest wall inspiratory capacity, CPF, breathing pattern, and electromyographic activity of sternocleidomastoid, scalene, rectus abdominis, and external oblique muscles during inspiratory and expiratory cough phases in the supine position, supine position with headrest raised at 45degrees, and sitting with back support at 80degrees in 12 subjects with DMD and 12 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Subjects with DMD had lower CPF (P < .01) in comparison to control subjects in all positions; the DMD group also exhibited lower CPF (P = .045) in the supine position versus 80degrees. Moreover, the relative volume contributions of the rib cage and abdominal compartments to tidal volume modified significantly with posture. The electromyographic activity during inspiratory and expiratory cough phases was lower in subjects with DMD compared to healthy subjects for all evaluated muscles (P < .05), but no significant differences were observed with posture change. CONCLUSIONS: In subjects with DMD, posture influenced CPF and the relative contribution of the rib cage and abdominal compartments to tidal volume. However, muscular electromyographic activation was not influenced by posture in subjects with DMD and healthy subjects. Key words: Duchenne muscular dystrophy; cough; plethysmography; respiratory muscles; electromyography. Respir Care 2020;65(11): 1668-1677. c 2020 Daedalus Enterprises
Inulin is a renewable and cheap carbon source used in microbial fermentations. Bacillus licheniformis 24 is known as an excellent 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD) producer from fructose; therefore, the ...cloning and expression of a robust heterologous inulinase could enhance its 2,3-BD production from inulin. The inu gene of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei DSM 23505 encoding fructan-β-fructosidase (EC 3.2.1.80) was chosen for the purpose. PCR fragments containing the complete inu (3.6 kb) and its truncated variant inu-tr (2.2 kb, lacking Big3 cell wall attachment domains) were cloned into Escherichia coli Stellarsup.TM and B. licheniformis 24. The high quality of the recombinant constructs was confirmed by restriction analysis, PCR, sequencing, and phenotypic tests. The results showed that the inulinase activity of B. licheniformis cells harboring the full-length inu variant (T26) was eightfold higher compared to the wild type, retaining cell wall attachment in the B. licheniformis host. In contrast, the truncated variant inu-tr (T14) showed mostly extracellular but weak activity, thus suggesting that the Big3 domains are also important for the enzyme's function. During flask-batch fermentation of 100 g/L raw chicory flour (containing 90% inulin), T26 produced acetoin and 2,3-BD from inulin. Contrariwise, T14 and the wild type formed products only from the mono- and disaccharides naturally found in the chicory flour. In the fermenter, from 200 g/L of raw chicory flour, the recombinant T26 degraded approximately 140 g/L of the inulin. However, the final concentrations of the produced 2,3-BD and acetoin were 18.5 g/L and 8.2 g/L, respectively, because of the accumulation of unconverted sucrose. To conclude, further strain improvement is necessary to make the process efficient for obtaining 2,3-BD from inulin by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF).
Employing the ability–motivation–opportunity model, this study proposes that knowledge acquired from business schools by students, students' intrinsic motivation, and innovative culture of business ...organizations are factors that affect the transfer of knowledge from business schools to business organizations through in-service training students. Using a sample of 843 in-service training business students in Vietnam, the results from SEM (structural equation modeling) support the hypotheses, except for the impact of innovative culture on knowledge transfer. However, the results from fsQCA (fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis) with the same data set reveal that none of the above-mentioned factors are sufficient conditions for knowledge transfer. Instead, combinations of these three factors are. Overall, it is believed that the study findings shed light on a new channel of knowledge transfer, that is, in-service training students, not investigated by prior research.
•Currently HEFA is the most economic SAF pathway, followed by Fischer-Tropsch and Alcohol to Jet.•More incentives and grants needed for promoting SAF growth.•Using second and third-generation ...feedstock for sustainable SAF production.•Adopting Co-processing pathways to offset higher capital cost for SAF production.
A worldwide shift towards environmentally friendly renewable fuels is required to mitigate the environmental impacts of fossil fuel use in the aviation industry. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), derived from renewable bio-based resources, has recently received considerable interest as a viable alternative to non-renewable fossil fuels. In addition, the SAF offers a considerably smaller CO2 emission footprint compared to fossil fuels. However, despite the environmental benefits, SAF has high production costs and is not currently economically competitive. Therefore, various organizational initiatives, government incentives, and effective policies are required to promote the widespread use of SAF by the aviation sector. The incentives are also necessary to make SAF competitive with fossil fuels by improving the technical understanding of the production processes, exploring the supply chain needs, and reducing the uncertainties and risks associated with starting commercial-scale biorefinery projects. This review examines the current techno-economic status of SAF technology worldwide. It also explores past and present organizational initiatives and policies implemented for the aviation industry's broader acceptance of SAF. The environmental aspects of SAF use, such as carbon offset and water use, are also critically analyzed in this work. A comprehensive comparative analysis of several bio-conversion methods using various feedstocks is also explored. This review also identifies several hurdles and areas that need further research to shift towards SAF from conventional fuels successfully. While technical, economic, and policy challenges remain, SAF can significantly reduce the CO2 emissions from the aviation sector and contribute substantially to climate change solutions.
The coherent photoproduction of Formula omitted and Formula omitted mesons was measured in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy Formula omitted TeV with the ALICE detector. ...Charmonia are detected in the central rapidity region for events where the hadronic interactions are strongly suppressed. The Formula omitted is reconstructed using the dilepton ( Formula omitted) and proton-antiproton decay channels, while for the Formula omitted the dilepton and the Formula omitted decay channels are studied. The analysis is based on an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 233 Formula omitted. The results are compared with theoretical models for coherent Formula omitted and Formula omitted photoproduction. The coherent cross section is found to be in a good agreement with models incorporating moderate nuclear gluon shadowing of about 0.64 at a Bjorken-x of around Formula omitted, such as the EPS09 parametrization, however none of the models is able to fully describe the rapidity dependence of the coherent Formula omitted cross section including ALICE measurements at forward rapidity. The ratio of Formula omitted to Formula omitted coherent photoproduction cross sections was also measured and found to be consistent with the one for photoproduction off protons.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose: The concept of clinical-core mismatch is applied to determine eligibility for endovascular therapy (ET) in the extended time window after large vessel occlusion (LVO), using the admission ...NIHSS as clinical surrogate for the total tissue-at-risk. It is however known that the NIHSS for an infarct of a given volume is higher in left compared to right-hemispheric stroke. We aimed to determine the effects of LVO side on final infarct volume and clinical outcome after ET with regards to admission NIHSS score. Methods: We retrospectively identified anterior circulation LVO stroke patients that received ET and had follow-up MRI. Using a multivariate voxel-wise general linear model, we assessed the post-thrombectomy infarct distribution in relation to admission NIHSS, post-thrombectomy reperfusion success (mTICI) and discharge modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score. We identified independent predictors for final infarct volume and clinical outcome using multivariate regression models. Results: We included a total of 469 patients (254 left, 215 right). Admission NIHSS was significantly lower among patients with right (median 11: IQR 8-16) versus left-sided LVO (16: 10-22, p> 0.001). In voxel-wise analysis, lower mTICI, lower admission NIHSS, and poor discharge outcome (mRS >2) were associated with right-hemispheric infarct lesions. Right-sided LVO was an independent predictor of larger final infarct volume (ss = 18.3, p = 0.003). There was a significant three-way interaction between admission stroke severity (based on NIHSS), LVO side, and mTICI regarding final infarct volume (F(7-440) = 2.11 p = 0.041). Specifically, in patients with moderate stroke (NIHSS 6-15), incomplete reperfusion (mTICI 0-2b) was associated with larger infarct volume (55.5 + or - 76.6 ml vs. 30.0 + or - 47.2 ml, p < 0.001) and worse discharge mRS (4: 2-4 vs. 3: 1-4, p = 0.022) in right compared to left-sided LVO. We found no differences in outcomes of patients with moderate stroke and complete reperfusion (mTICI 3). Discussion: Incomplete reperfusion in the context of right-sided LVO was associated with larger loss of eloquent brain tissue, which led to worse clinical outcome for patients. These results likely represent larger tissue-at-risk in patients with right-sided LVO for a given admission NIHSS score. Conclusion: Using admission NIHSS as clinical surrogate of tissue-at-risk may lead to underestimation and consequently undertreatment among patients with right-sided LVO. This highlights the need for more nuanced eligibility criteria for ET in the extended time window.
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![Coherent [Formula omitted] ...](http://api.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/image/issn/XR4PS5YY4K/1434-6044/small "Coherent [Formula omitted] and [Formula omitted] photoproduction at midrapidity in ultra-peripheral Pb-Pb collisions at [Formula omitted] TeV")
