Chemochromic Detector for Sensing Gas Leakage and Process for Producing the Same

A chemochromic sensor for detecting a combustible gas, such as hydrogen, includes a chemochromic pigment and a textile polymer. The textile material includes a chemochromic pigment operably responsive to a combustible gas. The combustible gas sensing textile material can be made by melt spinning, solution spinning, or other similar techniques. In a preferred embodiment carbon nanotubes are used with the textile material which will increase the material strength and alter the thermal and/or electrical properties. These textiles woven into fabrics can provide garments not only with hydrogen sensing capabilities but the carbon nanotubes will allow for a range of sensing capabilities to be embedded (i.e. gas, health, and electronic monitors) within the garments

Chemochromic Detector for Sensing Gas Leakage and Process for Producing the Same

A chemochromic sensor for detecting a combustible gas, such as hydrogen, includes a chemochromic pigment mechanically mixed with a polymer and molded into a rigid or pliable shape. In a preferred embodiment, the chemochromic detector is within the material which is molded into a manufactured part, said part becoming the detector itself. The detector is robust and easily modifiable for a variety of applications and environmental conditions, such as atmospheres of inert gas, hydrogen gas, or mixtures of gases, or in environments that have variable temperature, including high temperatures such as above 100 C. and low temperatures such as below -196 C

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Keeping It Fresh With Hip-Hop Teens: Promising Targeting Strategies for Delivering Public Health Messages to Hard-to-Reach Audiences

Despite overall declines in youth cigarette use, tobacco use inequities exist by race/ethnicity. Health communication campaigns can be effective in changing tobacco-related attitudes, intentions, and behaviors and can be used to address tobacco use inequities by targeting young people who are at high risk for tobacco use. In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched Fresh Empire, the first tobacco public education campaign designed to reach primarily African American, Hispanic, and/or Asian American/Pacific Islander youth ages 12 to 17 years who identify with the Hip-Hop peer crowd. This article presents an overview of two targeting strategies—(a) influencers on social media and (b) paid digital and social media advertisements—that Fresh Empire uses to reach its audience and increase message credibility that can inform future campaigns targeting hard-to-reach populations. These strategies help the campaign expand its reach, be authentic, and increase engagement with the target audience. Microinfluencers are selected for their alignment with Hip-Hop values and high engagement rates; local influencers are teens recruited to promote the campaign in their communities; and digital and social ads are purchased with a minimum number of in-target guaranteed impressions. Across both strategies, metrics have met or exceeded expectations, including a sentiment analysis that revealed 87.3% of comments on microinfluencer posts were positive. Initial findings suggest that the tobacco prevention messages have reached the target population and resonated positively, which may help to increase message credibility and improve receptivity to tobacco prevention messages. </jats:p

CONSORT extension for reporting N-of-1 trials (CENT) 2015 Statement

AbstractN-of-1 trials provide a mechanism for making evidence-based treatment decisions for an individual patient. They use key methodological elements of group clinical trials to evaluate treatment effectiveness in a single patient, for situations that cannot always accommodate large-scale trials: rare diseases, comorbid conditions, or in patients using concurrent therapies. Improvement in the reporting and clarity of methods and findings in N-of-1 trials is essential for reader to gauge the validity of trials and to replicate successful findings. A Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) extension for N-of-1 trials (CENT 2015) provides guidance on the reporting of individual and series of N-of-1 trials. CENT provides additional guidance for 14 of the 25 items of the CONSORT 2010 checklist, recommends a diagram for depicting an individual N-of-1 trial, and modifies the CONSORT flow diagram to address the flow of a series of N-of-1 trials. The rationale, development process, and CENT 2015 checklist and diagrams are reported in this document