To assess the role of in-flight transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we investigated a cluster of cases among passengers on a 10-hour commercial flight. ...Affected persons were passengers, crew, and their close contacts. We traced 217 passengers and crew to their final destinations and interviewed, tested, and quarantined them. Among the 16 persons in whom SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected, 12 (75%) were passengers seated in business class along with the only symptomatic person (attack rate 62%). Seating proximity was strongly associated with increased infection risk (risk ratio 7.3, 95% CI 1.2-46.2). We found no strong evidence supporting alternative transmission scenarios. In-flight transmission that probably originated from 1 symptomatic passenger caused a large cluster of cases during a long flight. Guidelines for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among air passengers should consider individual passengers' risk for infection, the number of passengers traveling, and flight duration.
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Graphene aerogels (GAs) were synthesized from GO by chemical reduction in which ethylenediamine (EDA) was used as a reducing agent. The suitable conditions of GA synthesis were 30 μL ...of EDA, reaction temperature of 90 °C, and time of 6 h. The suitable GA was used as an adsorbent for removal of cadmium ions (Cd2+) from water. The adsorption data fitted well to a pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with the maximum adsorption capacity of 149.25 mg/g.
In this study, graphene oxide (GO) was prepared from graphite by improved Hummers method. Graphene aerogels (GAs) were synthesized from GO by chemical reduction in which ethylenediamine (EDA) was used as a reducing agent. Influences of conditions on GA synthesis including content of EDA, reduction temperature and time were investigated. The structure and morphology of GAs were studied by density, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area. It was found that the suitable conditions of GA synthesis were 30 μL of EDA, reduction temperature of 90 °C, and time of 6 h. The density and BET specific surface area of suitable GA were determined to be 4.57 mg/cm3 and 845 m2/g, respectively. FTIR, XRD, and Raman results showed the oxygen-containing groups on the GO surface were partially reduced and self-assembly of reduced GO formed three-dimensional framework. SEM images presented the interconnected porous structure of GA with the pore size of 50 μm. The suitable GA was used as an adsorbent for removal of cadmium ions (Cd2+) from water. Effects of factors including pH, contact time, and initial Cd2+ concentration on the adsorption capacity of GA were studied. The adsorption data fitted well to a pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with the maximum adsorption capacity of 149.25 mg/g. Accordingly, GA could be used as a potential adsorbent for removal of Cd2+ ions from water.
A review of the literature reveals a dearth of works on functionally graded material sandwich shells having an auxetic core layer. This study contributes an analytical approach for the free vibration ...analysis of doubly curved stiffened sandwich shells with the face sheets of functionally graded materials and the core layer of the auxetic honeycomb material. The theoretical formulation is established based on first-order shear deformation theory associated with the smeared stiffener method. The free vibration solution of simply supported shallow shells with the rectangular platform is derived using Navier’s form. The proposed methodology is general and can be applied to examine the natural frequencies of various shell types, including flat, cylindrical, spherical, and hyperbolic paraboloidal panels. Numerical results indicate that the fundamental frequency is largely influenced by the relative proportion of the constituent materials of the face layers, the geometrical parameters of the auxetic honeycomb core layer, as well as the stiffeners. Additionally, a simple optimization technique based on Rao algorithms is introduced to obtain the maximum fundamental frequency of the shell. It is shown that the shell parameters, particularly the thickness of the auxetic core and the number of stiffeners, can be tailored to maximize the natural frequency. Moreover, the optimal solutions are fully dependent on the material proportion of the functionally graded material, the geometry of the shell, and the geometrical parameters of the auxetic honeycomb core.
•Free vibration of doubly curved stiffened sandwich shells with FGM faces and auxetic core is freshly addressed•Simple optimization technique based on Rao algorithms is introduced to obtain the maximum fundamental frequency of the shell•New parametric studies on the frequencies of doubly curved stiffened auxetic sandwich FGM shells are examined
Osteoporosis is a common bone health disorder in hemodialysis patients that is linked with a higher morbidity and mortality rate. While previous studies have explored the associated factors of ...osteoporosis, there is a lack of studies investigating the impacts of health literacy (HL) and digital healthy diet literacy (DDL) on osteoporosis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the associations of HL, DDL, and other factors with osteoporosis among hemodialysis patients. From July 2020 to March 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 675 hemodialysis patients in eight hospitals in Vietnam. The data were collected by using the osteoporosis self-assessment tool for Asians (OSTA) and the 12-item short form of the health literacy questionnaire (HLS-SF12) on digital healthy diet literacy (DDL) and hemodialysis dietary knowledge (HDK). In addition, we also collected information about the socio-demographics, the clinical parameters, the biochemical parameters, and physical activity. Unadjusted and adjusted multinomial logistic regression models were utilized in order to investigate the associations. The proportion of patients at low, medium, and high levels of osteoporosis risk was 39.6%, 40.6%, and 19.8%, respectively. In the adjusted models, women had a higher likelihood of osteoporosis risk than men (odds ratio, OR, 3.46; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI, 1.86, 6.44; p < 0.001; and OR, 6.86; 95% CI, 2.96, 15.88; p < 0.001). The patients with rheumatoid arthritis (OR, 4.37; 95% CI, 1.67, 11.52; p = 0.003) and stomach ulcers (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.01, 3.77; p = 0.048) were more likely to have a higher likelihood of osteoporosis risk than those without. The patients who had a higher waist circumference (WC), HL, and DDL were less likely to have a medium level of osteoporosis risk (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92, 0.98; p = 0.004; OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.88, 0.96; p < 0.001; OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93, 0.99; p = 0.017, respectively) and a high level of osteoporosis risk (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89, 0.97; p = 0.001; OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84, 0.94; p < 0.001; OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91, 0.99; p = 0.008, respectively) compared with a low level of osteoporosis risk and to those with a lower WC, HL, and DDL. In addition, higher levels of hemoglobin (Hb) (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66, 0.95; p = 0.014), hematocrit (Hct) (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.92, 0.99; p = 0.041), albumin (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.83, 0.99; p = 0.030), and education (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.16, 0.88; p = 0.025) were associated with a lower likelihood of a high level of osteoporosis risk. In conclusion, osteoporosis risk is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients. Improved HL, DDL, education, WC, albumin, Hb, and Hct levels should be considered in preventing hemodialysis patients from developing osteoporosis.
Treatment adherence (TA) is a critical issue and is under-investigated in hemodialysis patients. A multi-center study was conducted from July 2020 to March 2021 on 972 hemodialysis patients in eight ...hospitals in Vietnam to explore the factors associated with TA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected, including socio-demographics, an End-Stage Renal Disease Adherence Questionnaire (ESRD-AQ), 12-item short-form health literacy questionnaire (HLS-SF12), 4-item digital healthy diet literacy scale (DDL), 10-item hemodialysis dietary knowledge scale (HDK), 7-item fear of COVID-19 scale (FCoV-19S), and suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID19-S). Bivariate and multivariate linear regression models were used to explore the associations. Higher DDL scores were associated with higher TA scores (regression coefficient, B, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 95%CI, 0.59, 2.12;
= 0.001). Higher FCoV-19S scores were associated with lower TA scores (B, -1.78; 95%CI, -3.33, -0.24;
= 0.023). In addition, patients aged 60-85 (B, 24.85; 95%CI, 6.61, 43.11;
= 0.008) with "very or fairly easy" medication payment ability (B, 27.92; 95%CI, 5.89, 44.95;
= 0.013) had higher TA scores. Patients who underwent hemodialysis for ≥5 years had a lower TA score than those who received <5 years of hemodialysis (B, -52.87; 95%CI, -70.46, -35.28;
< 0.001). These findings suggested that DDL and FCoV-19S, among other factors, should be considered in future interventions to improve TA in hemodialysis patients.
We report a superspreading event of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection initiated at a bar in Vietnam with evidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission, based on ...ministry of health reports, patient interviews, and whole-genome sequence analysis. Crowds in enclosed indoor settings with poor ventilation may be considered at high risk for transmission.
For most Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, embedded processors typically execute lightweight tasks such as sensing and communication. The typical IoT program senses some information and sends ...them via a channel, usually a wireless channel with an RF circuit. These IoT nodes often require a system with networking capabilities and a low-power harvester implementation. This brief presents a sub-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">\mu \text{W} </tex-math></inline-formula> 8-bit processor which is suitable for such IoT applications. The processor implements the Open8 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) with an 8-bit datapath and 16-bit bus addressing. The chip contains the processor and a 4-KB of Static Random-Access-Memory (SRAM), and is fabricated by the 65-nm Silicon-On-Thin-Box (SOTB) process. The SOTB process is one of the Fully-Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) technology. Hence, the ability to control biasing voltages is one of its key advantages to achieve low-power. The experimental results show that the power consumption at the reverse-body bias can reach down to 50-nW with 0.5-V supply voltage and 32-KHz operating clock frequency. The completed microcontroller consists of the Open8 processor, 32-KB of Read-Only-Memory (ROM), 4-KB of SRAM, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), SPI programmer, debug module, General-Purpose In-Outs (GPIOs), and UART. The system was tested using an XC7A100T Xilinx Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA); it yielded 1.8% of the total FPGA utilization.
•Graphene oxide aerogel (GOA) was synthesized by ISISA method.•The obtained GOA was applied as an adsorbent for removal of dyes from water.•The adsorption mechanism of GOA for MB, MO adsorption was ...studied.
In this work, graphene oxide aerogel (GOA) was synthesized by ice segregation induced self-assembly method. The characterization of GOA was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscope, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area. Effects of contact time, pH, and initial concentration on the adsorption capacity of GOA were studied. The adsorption process fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models with the maximum adsorption capacities for methylene blue and methyl orange of 480.76 and 55.56 mg/g, respectively.
A simple approach was developed for the rapid and accurate estimation of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD
5
) in food processing wastewater. Immobilization of the natural microbial consortium ...that was collected from an aerobic compartment of a food processing wastewater treatment plant was simply performed by adhesion using a low-cost porous carrier.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Bacillus cereus
, and
Streptomyces
, whose salt-tolerance and ability to break down organic compounds have been widely reported, were found to be predominant. These microorganisms may cause an enhancement of the bioreactor response in the presence of sodium chloride. Consequently, a modified glucose-glutamic acid (GGA) calibration standard was proposed in which an appropriate amount of NaCl was added; this solution was found to be more effective in terms of accuracy and practicality than both conventional GGA and the synthetic wastewater recipe from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The calibrated self-built packed-bed bioreactor exhibited good precision of 3% or less in predicting BOD
5
in influent, which is similar to the performance of the most common commercial biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) bioreactors. There was a statistical agreement between the results obtained from this rapid BOD biosensor and the conventional methods, even when testing treated wastewater samples.
This study is aimed at studying the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions by nickel ferrite/graphene oxide (NGO) nanocomposite. The nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier ...transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller-specific surface area, and vibrating sample magnetometer analyses. The interactive effects of critical variables including pH, initial concentration, and contact time on the adsorption capacity of NGO for MB were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) according to composite central design. In RSM models, the predicted values agreed well with verification experiments, with a high correlation coefficient of 0.9887. The adsorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. The maximum capacity for adsorption of MB onto NGO was found to be 476.19 mg/g. Based on these results, NGO has the potential as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of MB from water.
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