Post COVID-19 condition of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 Morioka, S.; Tsuzuki, S.; Suzuki, M. ...
Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy,
11/2022, Letnik:
28, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
To investigate the prevalence of post coronavirus disease (COVID-19) condition of the Omicron variant in comparison to other strains.
A single-center cross-sectional study.
Patients who recovered ...from Omicron COVID-19 infection (Omicron group) were interviewed via telephone, and patients infected with other strains (control group) were surveyed via a self-reporting questionnaire. Data on patients’ characteristics, information regarding the acute-phase COVID-19, as well as presence and duration of COVID-19-related symptoms were obtained. Post COVID-19 condition in this study was defined as a symptom that lasted for at least 2 months, within 3 months of COVID-19 onset. We investigated and compared the prevalence of post COVID-19 condition in both groups after performing propensity score matching.
We conducted interviews for 53 out of 128 patients with Omicron and obtained 502 responses in the control group. After matching cases with controls, 18 patients from both groups had improved covariate balance of the factors: older adult, female sex, obesity, and vaccination status. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of each post COVID-19 condition between the two groups. The number of patients with at least one post COVID-19 condition in the Omicron and control groups were 1 (5.6%) and 10 (55.6%) (p = 0.003), respectively.
The prevalence of post Omicron COVID-19 conditions was less than that of the other strains. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to investigate the precise epidemiology of post COVID-19 condition of Omicron, and its impact on health-related quality of life and social productivity.
We study the timescale of random telegraph noise (RTN) of nanomagnets in stochastic magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). From analytical and numerical calculations based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert ...and the Fokker-Planck equations, we reveal mechanisms governing the relaxation time of perpendicular easy-axis MTJs (p-MTJs) and in-plane easy-axis MTJs (i-MTJs), showing that i-MTJs can be made to have faster RTN. Superparamagnetic i-MTJs with small in-plane anisotropy and sizable perpendicular effective anisotropy show relaxation times down to 8 ns at negligible bias current, which is more than 5 orders of magnitude shorter than that of typical stochastic p-MTJs and about 100 times faster than the shortest time of i-MTJs reported so far. The findings give a new insight and foundation in developing stochastic MTJs for high-performance probabilistic computers.
Isotropic hardening models for elastic-plastic materials are often used to simulate cold forging processes, although it cannot represent the Bauschinger effect. However, the Bauschinger effect must ...be considered for precise simulation of the strength in service of cold-forged components without heat treatment, as well as their geometry. A cold-forged bolt made of stainless steel is a typical example. In this report, finite element analysis of the forming process and the strength was performed for two multi-stage cold forging processes of non-heat-treated stainless steel bolts. The Yoshida-Uemori model was used as a kinematic hardening model that takes into consideration the Bauschinger effect of a material. The Yoshida-Uemori model was modified so that they can represent the strain hardening behavior in a large strain region appropriately for applying the model to cold forging process. As a result, it was possible to account for the Bauschinger effect during the forming process. Moreover, it was possible to estimate the difference in strength between the isotropic and kinematic hardening models by analysis of the tensile test results. Furthermore, the impact of the forming process on the strength of the cold-forged bolt was also evaluated.
We employ a clinical multiphoton microscope to monitor in vivo and noninvasively the changes in reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) fluorescence of human epidermal cells during arterial ...occlusion. We correlate these results with measurements of tissue oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin concentration during oxygen deprivation using spatial frequency domain imaging. During arterial occlusion, a decrease in oxyhemoglobin corresponds to an increase in NADH fluorescence in the basal epidermal cells, implying a reduction in basal cell oxidative phosphorylation. The ischemia-induced oxygen deprivation is associated with a strong increase in NADH fluorescence of keratinocytes in layers close to the stratum basale, whereas keratinocytes from epidermal layers closer to the skin surface are not affected. Spatial frequency domain imaging optical property measurements, combined with a multilayer Monte Carlo-based radiative transport model of multiphoton microscopy signal collection in skin, establish that localized tissue optical property changes during occlusion do not impact the observed NADH signal increase. This outcome supports the hypothesis that the vascular contribution to the basal layer oxygen supply is significant and these cells engage in oxidative metabolism. Keratinocytes in the more superficial stratum granulosum are either supplied by atmospheric oxygen or are functionally anaerobic. Based on combined hemodynamic and two-photon excited fluorescence data, the oxygen consumption rate in the stratum basale is estimated to be ∼0.035 μmoles/106 cells/h.
•Sr and Sb co-doped BaSnO3 perovskite materials were prepared by a novel method.•XRD patterns revealed the structure and single phase of the pure and co-doped samples.•Valance band maximum values ...increased for co-doped sample compared to pure sample.•Thermal conductivity reduced in the co-doped sample compared to pure sample.•The high thermoelectric power factor and figure of merit was achieved for SrSb5 sample.
Display omitted
BaSnO3 (BSO) is one of the promising perovskite materials for high temperature thermoelectric applications. The pure BSO, Sr and Sb co-doped BSO materials were prepared by the polymerization complex method and annealed at 1473 K. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the cubic structure of pure BSO and Sr-Sb co-doped BSO. The addition of Sr and Sb changed the morphology of BSO from microstructures to the layered and polygonal shaped nanostructure. The valence states of each elements of the samples were confirmed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The addition of Sb5+ atom in Sn4+ site modified the electronic band structure thereby enhanced electrical conductivity. The highest power factor of 25.3 μW/(m K2) was achieved for the SrSb5(Sr: 5 mM and Sb: 5 mM in the polymerization complex method) at 578 K. The reduced thermal conductivity and increased power factor in SrSb5 resulted in the higher figure of merit of 2.1 × 10−3 at 578 K.
The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of post-COVID conditions beyond 12 months and identify factors associated with the persistence of each condition.
This was a cross-sectional ...questionnaire-based survey.
We conducted the survey among patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and visited our institute between February 2020 and November 2021. Demographic and clinical data and data regarding the presence and duration of post-COVID conditions were obtained. We identified factors associated with the persistence of post-COVID conditions using multivariable linear regression analyses.
Of 1148 surveyed patients, 502 completed the survey (response rate, 43.7%). Of these, 393 patients (86.4%) had mild disease in the acute phase. The proportion of participants with at least one symptom at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after symptom onset or COVID-19 diagnosis was 32.3% (124/384), 30.5% (71/233), 25.8% (24/93), and 33.3% (2/6), respectively. The observed associations were as follows: fatigue persistence with moderate or severe COVID-19 (β = 0.53, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.06–0.99); shortness of breath with moderate or severe COVID-19 (β = 1.39, 95% CI = 0.91–1.87); cough with moderate or severe COVID-19 (β = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.40–1.29); dysosmia with being female (β = −0.57, 95% CI = −0.97 to −0.18) and absence of underlying medical conditions (β = −0.43, 95% CI = −0.82 to −0.05); hair loss with being female (β = −0.61, 95% CI = −1.00 to −0.22), absence of underlying medical conditions (β = −0.42, 95% CI = −0.80 to 0.04), and moderate or severe COVID-19 (β = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.41–1.54); depressed mood with younger age (β = −0.02, 95% CI = −0.04 to −0.004); and loss of concentration with being female (β = −0.51, 95% CI = −0.94 to −0.09).
More than one-fourth of patients after recovery from COVID-19, most of whom had had mild disease in the acute phase, had at least one symptom at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after onset of COVID-19, indicating that not a few patients with COVID-19 suffer from long-term residual symptoms, even in mild cases.
The neurovascular unit is now well accepted as a conceptual framework for investigating the mechanisms of ischemic stroke. From a molecular and cellular perspective, three broad mechanisms may ...underlie stroke pathophysiology--excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and inflammation. To date, however, most investigations of these basic mechanisms have focused on neuronal responses. In this mini-review, we ask whether these mechanisms of excitotoxicity, oxidative stress and inflammation can also be examined in terms of non-neuronal interactions in the neurovascular unit, including the release of extracellular vesicles for cell-cell signaling.
Though nurses have frequent contact with patients, their personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance rate is low, which poses a significant challenge in infection control.
To investigate the ...relative influence of specific factors on PPE compliance.
A sequential two-stage mixed-methods design was applied. In a qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted from May to July 2018. In a quantitative study, a nationwide, cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to March 2019, in which a questionnaire was mailed to 735 nurses in 28 tertiary care hospitals in Japan.
In the quantitative study, 435 (59.2%) analysable responses were obtained. In the linear regression analysis, the lack of the knowledge that ‘standard precaution was the fundamental infection countermeasure applied when patients had signs of infections, and these countermeasures could be terminated if there was no infection found’ was significantly associated with decreased PPE adherence, whereas an antimicrobial-resistant bacteria outbreak or a ward shutdown due to an outbreak and the belief ‘I must never be the cause of spreading infection’ were significantly associated with increased PPE adherence. The β of standard coefficients and t-values of the items were –0.344, –7.784, 0.090, 2.089, 0.088, 2.018, respectively.
This survey systematically identified nursing-associated factors that contribute to PPE compliance. As a practical approach to ensure positive outcomes, we suggest educating nurses by providing adequate knowledge on appropriate PPE use and sharing outbreak or ward shutdown experiences.
B CELL DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS Hardy, Richard R; Hayakawa, Kyoko
Annual review of immunology,
01/2001, Letnik:
19, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
B cell development is a highly regulated process whereby functional
peripheral subsets are produced from hematopoietic stem cells, in the fetal
liver before birth and in the bone marrow afterward. ...Here we review progress in
understanding some aspects of this process in the mouse bone marrow, focusing
on delineation of the earliest stages of commitment, on pre-B cell receptor
selection, and B cell tolerance during the immature-to-mature B cell
transition. Then we note some of the distinctions in hematopoiesis and pre-B
selection between fetal liver and adult bone marrow, drawing a connection from
fetal development to B-1/CD5
+
B cells. Finally, focusing on
CD5
+
cells, we consider the forces that influence the
generation and maintenance of this distinctive peripheral B cell population,
enriched for natural autoreactive specificities that are encoded by particular
germline V
H
-V
L
combinations.
PDF
