The host response to SARS-CoV-2 infection provide insights into both viral pathogenesis and patient management. The host-encoded microRNA (miRNA) response to SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, remains ...poorly defined. Here we profiled circulating miRNAs from ten COVID-19 patients sampled longitudinally and ten age and gender matched healthy donors. We observed 55 miRNAs that were altered in COVID-19 patients during early-stage disease, with the inflammatory miR-31-5p the most strongly upregulated. Supervised machine learning analysis revealed that a three-miRNA signature (miR-423-5p, miR-23a-3p and miR-195-5p) independently classified COVID-19 cases with an accuracy of 99.9%. In a ferret COVID-19 model, the three-miRNA signature again detected SARS-CoV-2 infection with 99.7% accuracy, and distinguished SARS-CoV-2 infection from influenza A (H1N1) infection and healthy controls with 95% accuracy. Distinct miRNA profiles were also observed in COVID-19 patients requiring oxygenation. This study demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces a robust host miRNA response that could improve COVID-19 detection and patient management.
Functional Nanofibers and Their Applications Lou, Lihua; Osemwegie, Odia; Ramkumar, Seshadri S
Industrial & engineering chemistry research,
04/2020, Volume:
59, Issue:
13
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The methods to provide functions to nanofiber webs and applications, characterization, evaluation methods, market value, and future directions of nanofiber webs are summarized and presented in this ...review. Incorporating drugs, nanoparticles, functional matters, or arranging special surface structures are customarily used methods to furnish the performance of nanofibers. The promising application areas of nanofiber webs include drug delivery, water filtration, biomedical application, energy storage protective clothing, and air/gas filtration. The characterization of nanofiber webs includes general and functional properties. The market values of nanofiber products are summarized and analyzed based on the reports conducted by BBC Research.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) demonstrates potential for COVID-19 community transmission monitoring; however, data on the stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater are needed to interpret WBE ...results. The decay rates of RNA from SARS-CoV-2 and a potential surrogate, murine hepatitis virus (MHV), were investigated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in untreated wastewater, autoclaved wastewater, and dechlorinated tap water stored at 4, 15, 25, and 37 °C. Temperature, followed by matrix type, most greatly influenced SARS-CoV-2 RNA first-order decay rates (k). The average T90 (time required for 1-log10 reduction) of SARS-CoV-2 RNA ranged from 8.04 to 27.8 days in untreated wastewater, 5.71 to 43.2 days in autoclaved wastewater, and 9.40 to 58.6 days in tap water. The average T90 for RNA of MHV at 4 to 37 °C ranged from 7.44 to 56.6 days in untreated wastewater, 5.58–43.1 days in autoclaved wastewater, and 10.9 to 43.9 days in tap water. There was no statistically significant difference between RNA decay of SARS-CoV-2 and MHV; thus, MHV is suggested as a suitable persistence surrogate. Decay rate constants for all temperatures were comparable across all matrices for both viral RNAs, except in untreated wastewater for SARS-CoV-2, which showed less sensitivity to elevated temperatures. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 RNA is likely to persist long enough in untreated wastewater to permit reliable detection for WBE application.
•Temperature most greatly influenced SARS-CoV-2 RNA first-order decay rates.•SARS-CoV-2 and MHV RNA decay characteristics were similar.•MHV is suggested as suitable persistence surrogate.•SARS-CoV-2 RNA is likely to persist long enough in wastewater to permit detection.
Membrane technology proved to be the most promising method for water treatment because of functionality, high efficiency, low cost and stability of smart membrane. In this study, novel effective ...PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber webs for oil/water separation are produced by incorporation of rGO/TiO2 nanoparticles in the electrospun solution. GO is prepared by Brodie's method while rGO/TiO2 is synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The morphology of PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber is tested by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscope. Moreover, the mechanical properties, water contact angle, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and oil-water separation property of these nanofiber webs are also tested. The results show PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofibers with rGO/TiO2 concentration of 3% have uniform diameter and diameter distribution. Additionally, the mean roughness (Ra) shows an increasing trend with rGO/TiO2 concentration from 0% to 20%. The mechanical properties of PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber webs are affected by the rGO/TiO2 concentration. FTIR results indicate the existence of GO and TiO2 peaks in the nanofiber webs. In addition, from the oil-water removal experiment, it can be observed that PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber webs with a rGO/TiO2 concentration of 3% has the highest oil removal efficiency at 98.46%. Overall, the hydrophobic PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber webs turned out to be promising materials for separating oil/water mixture.
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•This paper is on the production of the reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide (rGO/TiO2) coated functional PVDF/rGO/TiO2 nanofiber webs for oil/water separation.•The results in this study indicate the combination of rGO sheet and one dimensional TiO2 with hydrophobic PVDF nanofiber webs could obtain higher oil separation property.•We believe the as-prepared smart nanofiber webs with excellent controllable permeability have enormous potential in oil recovery and water purification fields.
Our aim was to test the association of vascular risk factor exposure in midlife with progression of MRI markers of brain aging and measures of cognitive decline.
A total of 1,352 participants without ...dementia from the prospective Framingham Offspring Cohort Study were examined. Multivariable linear and logistic regressions were implemented to study the association of midlife vascular risk factor exposure with longitudinal change in white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV), total brain volume (TBV), temporal horn volume, logical memory delayed recall, visual reproductions delayed-recall (VR-d), and Trail-Making Test B-A (TrB-A) performance a decade later.
Hypertension in midlife was associated with accelerated WMHV progression (p < 0.001) and worsening executive function (TrB-A score; p = 0.012). Midlife diabetes and smoking were associated with a more rapid increase in temporal horn volume, a surrogate marker of accelerated hippocampal atrophy (p = 0.017 and p = 0.008, respectively). Midlife smoking also predicted a more marked decrease in total brain volume (p = 0.025) and increased risk of extensive change in WMHV (odds ratio = 1.58 95%confidence interval 1.07-2.33, p = 0.021). Obesity in midlife was associated with an increased risk of being in the top quartile of change in executive function (1.39 1.02-1.88, p = 0.035) and increasing waist-to-hip ratio was associated with marked decline in TBV (10.81 1.44-81.01, p = 0.021). Longitudinal changes in brain structure were significantly correlated with decline in memory and executive function.
Midlife hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and obesity were associated with an increased rate of progression of vascular brain injury, global and hippocampal atrophy, and decline in executive function a decade later.
Electroless nickel (EN) plating has received attention as a hard coating for industrial applications due to its high hardness, uniform thickness as well as excellent corrosion and wear resistance. ...The electroless Ni–P deposit is a supersaturated alloy in as-deposited state, and can be strengthened by precipitation of nickel phosphide crystallites with suitable heat treatments. However, the hardness of Ni–P films degrades with excessive annealing due to grain coarsening. An alternative to Ni–P coatings is the ternary alloy coating with the addition of a third element to the binary Ni–P system. The ternary Ni–M–P alloy, where M is typically a transition metal such as W, Co, Mn, Re and Mo has superior properties compared to the binary Ni–P alloy, and therefore, could extend its range of applications. The present paper discusses the synthesis and tribological behavior of Ni–P and Ni–W–P deposits. Deposition is done from an acidic electroless bath. Deposits with varying tungsten content were synthesized. Chemical analysis shows that tungsten incorporation reduces the phosphorus content in the deposit. Phosphorus content varied from 5 to 12
wt.% depending upon the tungsten incorporation in the deposit which in turn varied between 2 and 14
wt.%. Coatings with high tungsten content exhibit very good wear resistance compared to binary Ni–P as well as low tungsten ternary alloy deposits.
The Environmental concern and awareness around the globe have led to the development of sustainable bio composites which are derived from renewable resources. Biodegradable polymers and natural ...fibers derived from different renewable resources have played a vital role in the manufacture of bio composites. Poly lactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is one of the versatile aliphatic linear thermoplastic biodegradable polymers obtained from fully renewable sources such as wheat, corn, rice and sweet potato, and it has unique characteristics like renewable, sustainable, biocompatible and compostable. PLA has distinct advantages like low energy consumption and emission of low greenhouse gas during production and suitable for 3D printing applications. It also has some demerits such as low gas and water barrier properties, poor toughness, low glass transition temperature and is hydrophilic in nature, which limit its use in commercial applications. To overcome this, PLA is blended with various natural fibers in order to improve the thermal, water barrier, crystallization, mechanical, antimicrobial and degradability properties. Moreover, inclusion of natural fibers not only decreases the cost of PLA products but also helps in producing good competitive commercial products which are used in different industries. Hence, this review focuses on the synthesis and degradation of PLA, its applications in various sectors and manufacturing methods involved in PLA composites. Moreover, this review discusses about the different types of natural fibers and their influence on the unique properties of PLA based natural fiber reinforced composites. The overall aim of this paper is to provide a holistic idea about PLA based bio composites to academicians, industry personnel and researchers.
•Comprehensive review on the natural fibers and its PLA composites.•Various manufacturing process available for producing natural fiber/PLA composites.•Focused on properties of natural fiber reinforced PLA composites.•Importance of natural fiber/PLA composites for various applications.
The utilization of sustainable natural fibers as green filler/reinforcement material for producing polymeric composites is substantially improved due to increase in the perception of ecological ...safety and usage of biodegradable and renewable materials toward a green environment. These natural fibers are obtained from various sources and are reinforced in the polymer matrices to produce polymer matrix composites. However, the overall properties of these composites are low when compared to that of the synthetic fiber‐based composites due to poor interfacial bonding between the hydrophilic natural fiber and hydrophobic polymers. This deficiency can be addressed by incorporating the nano‐clay in the natural fiber composites. The nano‐clay added composites offer improved properties because of enrichment in the interfacial bonding between the matrix and reinforcement materials. Furthermore, the nano‐clay has the ability to increase both flexibility and rigidity of the natural fiber in a single step. This review article presents the information about different varieties and properties of natural fibers, polymers, nano‐clays, and nano‐clay added natural fiber composites with specific concern to their mechanical properties. This article also focuses on possible future paths for this emerging area of research.
Assisted conception in women of advanced maternal age Seshadri, S.; Morris, G.; Serhal, P. ...
Best practice & research. Clinical obstetrics & gynaecology,
January 2021, 2021-Jan, 2021-01-00, 20210101, Volume:
70
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
A delay in childbearing to later in life has increased the number of women of advanced maternal age (AMA) opting for assisted reproduction. Women should be made aware that there are age-related ...changes to fertility, including a decline in oocyte reserve and quality, in addition to an increase in the number of oocyte chromosomal aberrations. Success rates of assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles decrease with advanced maternal age. There are different fertility options for women of AMA, including fertility preservation (oocyte or embryo freezing), in vitro fertilisation (IVF treatment) with or without preimplantation genetic screening and oocyte or embryo donation. Detailed counselling needs to be offered to these women with regard to the risks, success rates, ethical and legal implications of these fertility treatment options. Women of AMA should be screened for underlying medical conditions that could have an impact on maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
•Success rates of ART cycles are maternal age-dependent, reducing above of 35 years of age.•There is a natural decline in ovarian reserve and quality in women of AMA.•In women over 40 years, more than 50% of cycles of IVF result in poor ovarian response or cancellation.•Social egg freezing may be offered to women at an earlier age provided they are counselled about the pregnancy rates using frozen eggs.•PGT-A with IVF may be cost-effective, reduce the risk of clinical miscarriage, failed ART cycles, and may increase pregnancy rates in women above the age of 35.
Abstract A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between the extent of sperm DNA damage and live birth rate (LBR) per couple and the influence of the method ...of fertilization on treatment outcome. Searches were conducted on MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library. Six studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Overall, LBR increased signficantly in couples with low sperm DNA fragmentation compared with those with high sperm DNA fragmentation (RR 1.17, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.28; P = 0.0005). After IVF and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), men with low sperm DNA fragmentation had significantly higher LBR (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.52; P = 0.01) and (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.23, P = 0.04), respectively. A sensitivity analysis showed no statistically significant difference in LBR between low and high sperm DNA fragmentation when ICSI treatment was used (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.39 to 2.96; P = 0.88). High sperm DNA fragmentation in couples undergoing assisted reproduction techniques is associated with lower LBR. Well-designed randomized studies are required to assess the role of ICSI over IVF in the treatment of men with high sperm DNA fragmentation.
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