Double-blind randomized proof-of-concept trial of canakinumab in patients with COVID-19 associated cardiac injury and heightened inflammation

AIMS: In coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), myocardial injury is associated with systemic inflammation and higher mortality. Our aim was to perform a proof of concept trial with canakinumab, a monoclonal antibody to interleukin-1β, in patients with COVID-19, myocardial injury, and heightened inflammation. METHODS AND RESULTS: This trial required hospitalization due to COVID-19, elevated troponin, and a C-reactive protein concentration more than 50 mg/L. The primary endpoint was time to clinical improvement at Day 14, defined as either an improvement of two points on a seven-category ordinal scale or discharge from the hospital. The secondary endpoint was mortality at Day 28. Forty-five patients were randomly assigned to canakinumab 600 mg ( CONCLUSION: There was no difference in time to clinical improvement at Day 14 in patients treated with canakinumab, and no safety concerns were identified. Future studies could focus on high dose canakinumab in the treatment arm and assess efficacy outcomes at Day 28

Characterization of Postoperative Changes in Nasal Airflow Using a Cadaveric Computational Fluid Dynamics Model: Supporting the Internal Nasal Valve

Collapse or compromise of the internal nasal valve (INV) results in symptomatic nasal obstruction; thus, various surgical maneuvers are designed to support the INV

Communication, leadership and coordination failure

We investigate the limits of communication and leadership in avoiding coordination failure in minimum effort games. Our environment is challenging, with low benefits of coordination relative to the effort cost. We consider two leader types: cheap-talk leader-communicators who suggest an effort level, and first-mover leaders who lead by example. Both types of leadership have some ability to increase effort in groups with no history, but are insufficient in groups with a history of low effort. Using the strategy method for followers’ responses, we attribute the persistence of coordination failure to the presence of followers who do not follow the leader

The potential of crowdsourcing and mobile technology to support flood disaster risk reduction

The last decade has seen a rise in citizen science and crowdsourcing for carrying out a variety of tasks across a number of different fields, most notably the collection of data such as the identification of species (e.g. eBird and iNaturalist) and the classification of images (e.g. Galaxy Zoo and Geo-Wiki). Combining human computing with the proliferation of mobile technology has resulted in vast amounts of geo-located data that have considerable value across multiple domains including flood disaster risk reduction. Crowdsourcing technologies, in the form of online mapping, are now being utilized to great effect in post-disaster mapping and relief efforts, e.g. the activities of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap, complementing official channels of relief (e.g. Haiti, Nepal and New York). Disaster event monitoring efforts have been further complemented with the use of social media (e.g. twitter for earthquakes, flood monitoring, and fire detection). Much of the activity in this area has focused on ex-post emergency management while there is considerable potential for utilizing crowdsourcing and mobile technology for vulnerability assessment, early warning and to bolster resilience to flood events. This paper examines the use of crowdsourcing and mobile technology for measuring and monitoring flood hazards, exposure to floods, and vulnerability, drawing upon examples from the literature and ongoing projects on flooding and food security at IIASA

Technologies to Support Community Flood Disaster Risk Reduction

Floods affect more people globally than any other type of natural hazard. Great potential exists for new technologies to support flood disaster risk reduction. In addition to existing expert-based data collection and analysis, direct input from communities and citizens across the globe may also be used to monitor, validate, and reduce flood risk. New technologies have already been proven to effectively aid in humanitarian response and recovery. However, while ex-ante technologies are increasingly utilized to collect information on exposure, efforts directed towards assessing and monitoring hazards and vulnerability remain limited. Hazard model validation and social vulnerability assessment deserve particular attention. New technologies offer great potential for engaging people and facilitating the coproduction of knowledge