Gas hydrate formation experiments were performed using methane in the presence of tetrahydrofuran (THF) in aqueous solution in a transparent bubble column in which a single pipe or a sintered plate ...was used to produce bubbles. The mole fraction of THF in aqueous solution was fixed at 6%. The hydrate formation kinetic behaviors on the surface of the rising bubble, the mechanical stability of hydrate shell formed on the surface of the bubble, the interactions among the bubbles with hydrate shell were observed and investigated morphologically. The rise velocities of individual bubbles with hydrate shells of different thickness and the consumption rates of methane gas were measured. A kinetic model was developed to correlate the experimentally measured gas consumption rate data. It was found that the hydrate formation rate on the surface of the moving bubble was high, but the formed hydrate shell was not very easy to be broken up. The bubbles with hydrate shells tended to agglomerate rather than merge into bigger bubble. This kind of characteristic of hydrate shell hindered the further formation of hydrate and led to the lower consumption rate of methane. The consumption rate of methane was found to increase with the decrease of temperature or increase of pressure. The increase of gas flux led to a linear increase in consumption rate of methane. It was demonstrated that the developed kinetic model could be used to correlate the consumption rate satisfyingly.
The initial cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)-infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and January 2020. We analyzed data on the first 425 confirmed ...cases in Wuhan to determine the epidemiologic characteristics of NCIP.
We collected information on demographic characteristics, exposure history, and illness timelines of laboratory-confirmed cases of NCIP that had been reported by January 22, 2020. We described characteristics of the cases and estimated the key epidemiologic time-delay distributions. In the early period of exponential growth, we estimated the epidemic doubling time and the basic reproductive number.
Among the first 425 patients with confirmed NCIP, the median age was 59 years and 56% were male. The majority of cases (55%) with onset before January 1, 2020, were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, as compared with 8.6% of the subsequent cases. The mean incubation period was 5.2 days (95% confidence interval CI, 4.1 to 7.0), with the 95th percentile of the distribution at 12.5 days. In its early stages, the epidemic doubled in size every 7.4 days. With a mean serial interval of 7.5 days (95% CI, 5.3 to 19), the basic reproductive number was estimated to be 2.2 (95% CI, 1.4 to 3.9).
On the basis of this information, there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019. Considerable efforts to reduce transmission will be required to control outbreaks if similar dynamics apply elsewhere. Measures to prevent or reduce transmission should be implemented in populations at risk. (Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and others.).
To investigate the value of dual-energy spectral computed tomography (DESCT) for evaluating the histological subtypes of solid-dominant invasive lung adenocarcinoma (SILADC).
Sixty-seven patients ...with SILADC were enrolled. All patients underwent DESCT and were divided into Group I (those with a lepidic/acinar/papillary predominant pattern) and Group II (those with a solid/micropapillary predominant pattern) based on their correlation with prognosis. Patient clinicopathological characteristics, DESCT morphological features, and quantitative parameters of the tumours were compared between both groups. Multiparametric analysis was performed using binary logistic regression with DESCT findings. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic performance of single-parameter and multiparametric analysis.
Patient gender, lymph nodes status, pathological TNM stage, and histological differentiation significantly differed between the two groups (all p<0.05). Moreover, significant differences were observed between both groups in DESCT morphological features including tumour size, necrosis, calcification, air bronchogram, and vascular convergence sign, and quantitative parameters including K40–65 keV, effective atomic number, and water concentration on unenhanced CT and iodine concentration in the arterial and venous phases (all p<0.05). Multiparametric analysis showed that tumour size, air bronchogram, K40–65 keV and effective atomic number on unenhanced CT were the most effective variations for predicting the histological subtypes of SILADC and obtained an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.906.
DESCT was useful for differentiating histological subtypes with different prognosis of SILADC.
•Histological subtypes of SILADC are closely related to patients' prognosis.•Histological subtypes of SILADC correlate with DESCT morphologic features.•Histological subtypes of SILADC correlate with DESCT quantitative parameters.•Spectral CT is useful to differentiate the histological subtypes of SILADC.
Abstract
According to the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) data, antibiotic resistance escalates more challenges in treatment against communicable diseases ...worldwide. Henceforth, the use of combinational antimicrobial therapy and metal-conjugated phytoconstituents composites are considered as alternatives. The present study explored the efficacy of mercuric-sulfide-based metallopharmaceutical,
Sivanar Amirtham
for anti-bacterial, anti-tuberculosis, anti-HIV therapeutics and toxicity profile by haemolytic assay, first of its kind. The anti-bacterial study was performed against both gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens including
Staphylococcus aureus
(ATCC 29213)
,
Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA: ATCC 43300),
Enterococcus faecalis
(ATCC 29212)
, Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(PA14) and
Vibrio cholerae
(MTCC 3905) by agar well diffusion assay, wherein the highest zone of inhibition was identified for MRSA (20.7 mm) and
V. cholerae
(34.3 mm) at 25 mg/mL. Furthermore, the anti-tuberculosis activity experimented by microtitre alamar blue assay against
M. tuberculosis
(ATCC 27294) demonstrated significant activity at the concentration range of 12.5–100 µg/mL. Additionally, the anti-HIV efficacy established by the syncytia inhibition method using C8166 cell lines infected with HIV-1
IIIB
, showed a significant therapeutic effect. The in-vitro toxicity assay proved
Sivanar Amirtham
to be non-haemolytic and haemocompatible. The physicochemical characterization studies revealed the nano-sized particles with different functional groups and the distinctive metal–mineral complex could be attributed to the multi-site targeting ability. The rationale evidence and scientific validation for the efficacy of
Sivanar Amirtham
ensures that it could be proposed as an alternative or adjuvant for both prophylactics and therapeutics to overcome HIV infection and antimicrobial resistance as well as the multi-drug resistance challenges.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in millions of patients infected worldwide and indirectly affecting even more individuals through disruption of daily living. Long-term ...adverse outcomes have been reported with similar diseases from other coronaviruses, namely Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Emerging evidence suggests that COVID-19 adversely affects different systems in the human body. This review summarizes the current evidence on the short-term adverse health outcomes and assesses the risk of potential long-term adverse outcomes of COVID-19. Major adverse outcomes were found to affect different body systems: immune system (including but not limited to Guillain-Barré syndrome and paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome), respiratory system (lung fibrosis and pulmonary thromboembolism), cardiovascular system (cardiomyopathy and coagulopathy), neurological system (sensory dysfunction and stroke), as well as cutaneous and gastrointestinal manifestations, impaired hepatic and renal function. Mental health in patients with COVID-19 was also found to be adversely affected. The burden of caring for COVID-19 survivors is likely to be huge. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to develop comprehensive strategies in providing resources and capacity in the healthcare system. Future epidemiological studies are needed to further investigate the long-term impact on COVID-19 survivors.
► Complex nanoparticles have spherical shape with particle size around 100nm. ► Carboxymethyl chitosan coating improves encapsulation and controlled release. ► Encapsulation inhibits the ...oligomerization of indole-3-carbinol. ► Encapsulation significantly enhanced thermal- and photo-stabilities of I3C and DIM.
Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) are two bioactive compounds from Cruciferous vegetables. The stability of these compounds is a major challenge for their pharmaceutical applications. In this study, zein and zein/carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) nanoparticles were prepared to encapsulate I3C and DIM by a combined liquid–liquid phase separation and ionic gelation method. After zein nanoparticles were coated with CMCS, the zeta potential was decreased from around −10 to −20mV, and encapsulation efficiency was greatly improved. Both nanoparticle formulations provided controlled release of I3C and DIM in PBS medium. Zein and zein/CMCS nanoparticles demonstrated similar protection for both I3C and DIM against ultraviolet (UV) light, attributed mainly to the contribution of the zein protein. Compared with zein nanoparticles, zein/CMCS nanoparticles exhibited better protection of I3C against degradation and better inhibition against its oligomerization to DIM under thermal condition (37°C). Based on our results, the encapsulation of hydrophobic bioactives in zein/CMCS nanoparticles is a promising approach to improve their stability against harsh conditions and provide controlled release for food/pharmaceutical applications.
The cross section of the process e+e−→K+K− is measured at a number of center-of-mass energies s from 2.00 to 3.08 GeV with the BESIII detector at the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPCII). The ...results provide the best precision achieved so far. A resonant structure around 2.2 GeV is observed in the cross section line shape. A Breit-Wigner fit yields a mass of M=2239.2±7.1±11.3 MeV/c2 and a width of Γ=139.8±12.3±20.6 MeV, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second ones are systematic. In addition, the timelike electromagnetic form factor of the kaon is determined at the individual center-of-mass energy points.
To analyze the oncologic effect of post–kidney transplantation (KT) immunosuppressive status for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with superficial urothelial carcinoma.
From 2010 to 2015, ...there were 106 ESRD patients with superficial urinary bladder urothelial carcinoma (UB-UC) and 68 ESRD patients with superficial upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UT-UC) in a single institution. Oncologic outcomes including bladder cancer recurrences and systemic disease recurrences within 5 years were compared between patients with and without KT. Superficial urothelial carcinoma was defined as Tis/Ta/T1 without nodal disease or distant metastasis. All the patients underwent standard transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) for superficial UB-UC and radical nephroureterectomy for superficial UT-UC.
Patients with KT were younger according to our observation. Female predominance was noted in patients with UT-UC and post-KT UB-UC. Pathological stages were distributed similarly in UB-UC and UT-UC groups whether they underwent KT or not. More bladder cancer recurrences within 5 years were found in ESRD patients with KT after TURBT for superficial UB-UC compared with those without KT (77.7% vs 38%, P = .032). However, systemic disease recurrences were similar in the 2 groups (11% vs 1%, P = .163). For superficial UT-UC, there were no differences in bladder cancer recurrences and systemic disease recurrences in the 2 groups (25% vs 39%, P = .513 and 16% vs 3.5%, P = .141).
For post-KT superficial urothelial carcinoma, radical surgery seems to result in better oncologic outcome. However, radical cystectomy is not a standard treatment choice for superficial bladder cancer. A higher incidence of bladder cancer recurrence after TURBT was found in ESRD patients with KT than those without KT.
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