Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is associated with thromboembolism. Antiphospholipid antibody (APLa) formation is one of the mechanisms. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with thrombosis ...in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. Measure APLa and vitamin D in hospitalized COVID-19 patients with and without thrombosis to evaluate if thromboembolism is associated with concomitant APLa and vitamin D deficiency. Case-control study. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with a thromboembolic event (ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, deep venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, Cases n = 20). Controls (n = 20): Age, sex-matched without thromboembolic events. Patients with autoimmune disorders, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, thrombophilia, anticoagulation therapy, prior thromboembolism, chronic kidney disease 3b, 4, end-stage renal disease, and malignancy were excluded. Given the limited current literature on the role of concomitant antiphospholipid antibodies and vitamin D deficiency in causing venous and/or arterial thrombosis in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, we enrolled 20 patients in each arm. Anti-cardiolipin IgG/IgM, beta-2 glycoprotein-1 IgG/IgM, lupus anticoagulant and vitamin D levels were measured in both groups. Cases were 5.7 times more likely to be vitamin D deficient (OR:5.7, 95% CI:1.3-25.6) and 7.4 times more likely to have any one APLa (OR:7.4, 95% CI: 1.6-49.5) while accounting for the effects of sex. Patients with both APLa and vitamin D deficiency had significantly more thrombosis compared to patients who were antibody positive without vitamin D deficiency (100% vs 47.4%; p = 0.01). Thrombosis in COVID-19 was associated with concomitant APLa and vitamin D deficiency. Future studies in COVID-19 should assess the role of vitamin D in reducing thrombosis.
To better understand and quantify soiling rates on solar panels, we are investigating the adhesion mechanisms between dust particles and solar glass. In this work, we report on two of the fundamental ...adhesion mechanisms: van der Waals and capillary adhesion forces. The adhesion was determined using force versus distance (F-z) measurements performed with an atomic force microscope (AFM). To emulate dust interacting with the front surface of a solar panel, we measured how oxidized AFM tips, SiO2 glass spheres, and real dust particles adhered to actual solar glass. The van der Waals forces were evaluated by measurements performed with zero relative humidity in a glove box, and the capillary forces were measured in a stable environment created inside the AFM enclosure with relative humidity values ranging from 18% to 80%. To simulate topographic features of the solar panels caused by factors such as cleaning and abrasion, we induced different degrees of surface roughness in the solar glass. We were able to 1) identify and quantify both the van der Waals and capillary forces, 2) establish the effects of surface roughness, relative humidity, and particle size on the adhesion mechanisms, and 3) compare adhesion forces between well-controlled particles (AFM tips and glass spheres) and real dust particles.
•Determination of the initial soiling mechanisms on solar glass: van der Waals, capillary forces.•Measurements using simulated dust particles, AFM tips and glass spheres, and real dust particles.•Study of the influence of surface roughness, humidity, particle size on the soiling mechanisms.•Results explain report that hurricane-speed wind is not able to remove small particles from glass.•Theoretical model provides good agreement with the van der Waals interaction.
Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematologic cancer characterized by the clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells within the bone marrow. Numerous studies suggest that the myeloma plasma cells ...occupy and alter the stromal tissue of the bone marrow as a means of enhancing their survival and growth. However, the nature and magnitude of the changes to the stromal cell tissue remain to be determined. In this study, we used mesenchymal stromal cell and osteoblast-related cell surface marker expression (STRO-1 and alkaline phosphatase, respectively) and flow cytometry to enumerate mesenchymal stromal cell and osteoblast numbers in bone marrow recovered from myeloma patients at the time of diagnosis. Using this approach, we identified an increase in the number of STRO-1 positive colony forming mesenchymal stromal cells and a concomitant decrease in alkaline phophatase osteoblasts. Notably, this increase in mesenchymal stromal cell numbers correlated closely with plasma cell burden at the time of diagnosis. In addition, in comparison with the osteoblast population, the STRO-1+ mesenchymal stromal cell population was found to express higher levels of plasma cell- and osteoclast-activating factors, including RANKL and IL-6, providing a mechanism by which an increase in mesenchymal stromal cells may promote and aid the progression of myeloma. Importantly, these findings were faithfully replicated in the C57BL/KaLwRij murine model of myeloma, suggesting that this model may present a unique and clinically relevant system in which to identify and therapeutically modulate the bone microenvironment and, in turn, alter the progression of myeloma disease.
Litter pollution is a global environmental problem that occurs in virtually all ecosystems. Scientific research on anthropogenic litter and its environmental impacts focusses predominantly on ...plastics and the marine environment. Little empirical knowledge exists about the distribution and ecological impacts of litter in terrestrial environments, where most litter is produced. To start closing that knowledge gap, we investigated the distribution of litter in a cultural landscape in central Norway and in relation to land cover types. We registered and collected litter in 110 survey plots that were randomly stratified across various land cover types. Our results show that land cover type modulates the occurrence, abundance, fragments size, and that litter is most present and abundant in or near land cover types associated with high human activities. Plastic was by far the most common litter material type, although the litter community (in terms of materials type) was not independent from land cover type. This knowledge can help to inform and optimize litter management and clean-up activities in terrestrial landscapes. How and to what extent the spatial structure of the litter community mediates ecological effects across various land cover types remains unknown to a large extent and warrants further study.
Electrochromic materials change optical properties (darken/lighten) in the presence of a small electric potential difference, making them suitable for many applications. By fabricating porous films ...from crystalline WO3 nanoparticles (see figure), this state‐of‐the‐art technology has been profoundly advanced. Significantly enhanced durability, increased charge insertion, and better kinetics have been demonstrated with an economical deposition process suitable for large‐area applications.
This article examines the aerodynamic performance increase of an Airbus A320 aerofoil thanks to morphing of the near-trailing-edge region in transonic regime corresponding to cruise conditions. The ...study has been carried out by numerical simulation at Reynolds number Re=2.06×106 and Mach number of 0.78, by using the NSMB code (Navier–Stokes MultiBlock) including adapted turbulence modelling approaches sensitised in capturing coherent structures development. It has been shown that transonic buffet occurs at angle of incidence 1.8° and in a more pronounced way at angle of 5°. The interactions among the shock-boundary layer area, the shear layers vortices and those of the near wake have been analysed by spectral analysis and streakline dynamics. Strong feedback effects have been shown from the near trailing-edge region towards the SWBLI (Shock Wave Boundary Layer Interaction) up to the upstream of the shock area. By taking benefit from these feedback effects, it has been obtained that morphing applied as a slight upwards deflection of the near-trailing-edge region by 2° is able to practically attenuate the buffet instability and to increase lift-to-drag ratio by 10.4 percent. The trailing-edge’s area vibration at low amplitudes simulating the motion of piezo-patches of MFC type (Macro-Fibre Composites) applied experimentally in the context of the H2020 European research project www.smartwing.org/SMS/EU) has shown a lock-in effect of the buffet’s frequency. Therefore, a conditioning of the shock’s motion by means of these actuations can be reached, although a relative increase of the rms of the aerodynamic forces is produced in this case. The study of a combined upwards slight deflection and of trailing-edge area vibrations allowed obtaining decrease of drag and increase of lift-to-drag ratio with simultaneous decrease of rms. These effects have been studied for a wide frequency range from 200 to 500 Hz.
•Development of coring procedures applied to Si, CIGS, and CdTe solar panels.•Two different coring processes were developed: Full and partial coring.•Structural and electro-optical properties of ...samples are preserved during coring.•Essential step to correlate macroscopic and microscopic properties in solar panels.
Most of the research on the performance and degradation of photovoltaic modules is based on macroscale measurements of device parameters such as efficiency, fill factor, open-circuit voltage, and short-circuit current. Our goal is to develop the capabilities to allow us to study the degradation of these parameters in the micro- and nanometer scale and to relate our results to performance parameters. To achieve this objective, the first step is to be able to access small samples from specific areas of the solar panels without changing the properties of the material. In this paper, we describe two coring procedures that we developed and applied to Si, CIGS, and CdTe solar panels. In the first procedure, we cored full samples, whereas in the second we performed a partial coring that keeps the tempered glass intact. The cored samples were analyzed by different analytical techniques before and after coring, at the same locations, and no damage during the coring procedure was observed.
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