Older patients, frequently with multiple comorbidities, have a high mortality from COVID-19 infection. Convalescent plasma (CP) is a therapeutic option for these patients. Our objective is to ...retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and adverse events of CP treatment in this population group.
Forty one patients over 80 years old with COVID-19 pneumonia received CP added to standard treatment, 51.2% with high anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers and 48.8% with low titers. Median time between the onset of symptoms and the infusion of plasma was 7 days (IQR 4-10). A similar group of 82 patients who received only standard treatment, during a period in which CP was not available, were selected as a control group.
In-hospital mortality was 26.8% for controls and 14.6% for CP patients (P = 0.131) and ICU admission was 8.5% for controls and 4.9% for CP patients (P = 0.467). Mortality tended to be lower in the high-titer group (9.5%) than in the low-titer group (20%), and in patients transfused within the first 7 days of symptom onset (10%) than in patients transfused later (19.1%), although the differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.307 and P = 0.355 respectively). There was no difference in the length of hospitalization. No significant adverse events were associated with CP treatment.
Convalescent plasma treatment in patients over 80 years old with COVID-19 pneumonia was well tolerated but did not present a statistically significant difference in hospital mortality, ICU admission, or length of hospitalization. The results should be interpreted with caution as only half the patients received high-titer CP and the small number of patients included in the study limits the statistical power to detect significant differences.
CEIm Cantabria # 2020.127.
Analytical expressions for the normalized transmittance of a thin material with simultaneous nonlocal nonlinear change in refraction and absorption are reported. Gaussian decomposition method was ...used to obtain the formulas that are adequate for any magnitude of the nonlinear changes. Particular cases of no locality are compared with the local case. Experimental results are reproduced (fitted) with the founded expressions.
Previous observations in Barcelona and other cities showed that approximately 40% of the food ingested by adult Monk Parakeets Myiopsitta monachus is of anthropogenic origin. Here we show that this ...type of food source is also used for feeding nestlings.
To quantify the proportion of anthropogenic food within the diet of nestling Monk Parakeets, a non-native species in Barcelona.
We analysed stable isotopes of
13
C and
15
N in feathers of Monk Parakeet nestlings collected in the Barcelona city area. We also sampled potential food sources ingested by Monk Parakeets to reconstruct the nestling diet using Bayesian mixing models with MixSIAR.
Almost 30% of the nestlings' diet was composed of anthropogenic food.
Since food availability is a major factor regulating population growth, we propose educating the general public to reduce the food supply for the species and ultimately limit its population growth.
In this contribution, we numerically demonstrate the generation of plasmonic transparency windows in the transmission spectrum of an integrated metaphotonic device. The hybrid photonic-plasmonic ...structure consists of two rectangular-shaped gold nanoparticles fully embedded in the core of a multimode dielectric optical waveguide, with their major axis aligned to the electric field lines of transverse electric guided modes. We show that these transparencies arise from different phenomena depending on the symmetry of the guided modes. For the TE0 mode, the quadrupolar and dipolar plasmonic resonances of the nanoparticles are weakly coupled, and the transparency window is due to the plasmonic analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency. For the TE1 mode, the quadrupolar and dipolar resonances of the nanoparticles are strongly coupled, and the transparency is originated from the classical analogue of the Autler-Townes effect. This analysis contributes to the understanding of plasmonic transparency windows, opening new perspectives in the design of on-chip devices for optical communications, sensing, and signal filtering applications.
Abu Bakkar Siddique, Yasaman Jamshidi-Naeini, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, David B Allison Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, ...Bloomington, IN, USA Correspondence: David B Allison, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, 1025 E 7th St, PH 111, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA, Tel +1 812 855-1250, Email email protected Abu Bakkar Siddique, Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, 1025 E 7th St, SPH 394, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA, Tel +1 571 274-5328, Email email protected View the original paper by Dr Siraneh and colleagues
Through interpretations of remote-sensing data and/or theoretical propositions, the idea that forest and savanna represent "alternative stable states" is gaining increasing acceptance. Filling an ...observational gap, we present detailed stratified floristic and structural analyses for forest and savanna stands located mostly within zones of transition (where both vegetation types occur in close proximity) in Africa, South America and Australia. Woody plant leaf area index variation was related to tree canopy cover in a similar way for both savanna and forest with substantial overlap between the two vegetation types. As total woody plant canopy cover increased, so did the relative contribution of middle and lower strata of woody vegetation. Herbaceous layer cover declined as woody cover increased. This pattern of understorey grasses and herbs progressively replaced by shrubs as the canopy closes over was found for both savanna and forests and on all continents. Thus, once subordinate woody canopy layers are taken into account, a less marked transition in woody plant cover across the savanna-forest-species discontinuum is observed compared to that inferred when trees of a basal diameter > 0.1 m are considered in isolation. This is especially the case for shrub-dominated savannas and in taller savannas approaching canopy closure. An increased contribution of forest species to the total subordinate cover is also observed as savanna stand canopy closure occurs. Despite similarities in canopy-cover characteristics, woody vegetation in Africa and Australia attained greater heights and stored a greater amount of above-ground biomass than in South America. Up to three times as much above-ground biomass is stored in forests compared to savannas under equivalent climatic conditions. Savanna-forest transition zones were also found to typically occur at higher precipitation regimes for South America than for Africa. Nevertheless, consistent across all three continents coexistence was found to be confined to a well-defined edaphic-climate envelope with soil and climate the key determinants of the relative location of forest and savanna stands. Moreover, when considered in conjunction with the appropriate water availability metrics, it emerges that soil exchangeable cations exert considerable control on woody canopy-cover extent as measured in our pan-continental (forest + savanna) data set. Taken together these observations do not lend support to the notion of alternate stable states mediated through fire feedbacks as the prime force shaping the distribution of the two dominant vegetation types of the tropical lands.
Background
Duodenitis‐proximal jejunitis (DPJ) is an acute sporadic gastrointestinal disorder of horses of unknown cause.
Hypothesis/Objectives
We hypothesize that Clostridium difficile toxins are ...involved in the pathogenesis of DPJ in horses. The objective of this study was to determine whether experimentally delivered C. difficile toxins cause clinical signs and histologic lesions similar to those of naturally occurring DPJ.
Animals
Six healthy mature mixed breed horses.
Methods
Experimental study: animal model of animal disease. Fasted horses were administered crude C. difficile toxins via gastroscopy and monitored for up to 48 hour. Blood was collected for complete blood cell count, biochemistry profile, and plasma fibrinogen assay, and abdominal fluid was collected for cytologic analysis and total solids before and after toxin administration. Physical examination and abdominal ultrasonography were performed throughout the study period. Tissues were collected from the gastrointestinal tract and processed for routine histologic analysis, and lesions were scored.
Results
Clinical signs were observed in 2 of 6 horses that are typical although not specific for horses with naturally occurring DPJ. Histopathologic lesions were observed in 6 of 6 horses and were similar to those reported in horses with naturally occurring DPJ. Two horses were severely affected.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance
Duodenitis‐proximal jejunitis is likely a syndrome with multiple causes that result in the same clinical and pathologic findings, and our data suggest that the toxins of C. difficile represent one cause of this syndrome. Toxin dose and variation in individual animal susceptibility might affect the clinical signs and lesions after administration of C. difficile toxins.
A model to characterize the response of a thin media that can exhibit more than one nonlocal nonlinear response when it is illuminated with a Gaussian beam in a z-scan experiment is proposed. The ...model considers that these nonlocal contributions can be treated as independent contributions in the refractive or absorptive nonlinear response. Numerical results for two nonlocal nonlinear contributions with different magnitudes between them are presented. Experimental results obtained from a hydrogenated amorphous silicon sample are used to corroborate this model.
Visitation of hospitalized people by dogs is becoming commonplace, but little is known about the potential health risks of introducing dogs to healthcare settings. This cross-sectional study ...evaluated the prevalence of zoonotic agents in a group of 102 visitation dogs from a variety of sources across Ontario. Between May and July 2004, owners were interviewed by a standardized questionnaire while dogs underwent a standardized physical examination. One specimen of faeces, hair-coat brushings and one rectal, aural, nasal, oral and pharyngeal swab were collected from each dog and tested for 18 specific pathogens. All dogs were judged to be in good health. Zoonotic agents were isolated from 80 out of 102 (80%) dogs. The primary pathogen was Clostridium difficile, which was isolated from 58 (58%) faecal specimens. Seventy-one percent (41/58) of these isolates were toxigenic. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Escherichia coli was isolated from one (1%) dog, extended-spectrum cephalosporinase E. coli was isolated from three (3%) dogs, and organisms of the genus Salmonella were isolated from three (3%) dogs. Pasteurella multocida or Pasteurella canis was isolated from 29 (29%) oral swabs, and Malassezia pachydermatis was isolated from eight (8%) aural swabs. Giardia antigen was present in the faeces of seven (7%) dogs, while Toxocara canis and Ancylostoma caninum were detected in two (2%) dogs and one (1%) dog, respectively. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Campylobacter spp., Microsporum canis, group A streptococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Cryptosporidium spp. were not detected. Further information is needed before the full implications of these findings for infection control can be assessed properly.
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