Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for detailed and broad insights on global health trends and emerging challenges. GBD 2019 incorporates data from 281 586 sources and provides more than 3.5 billion estimates of health outcome and health system measures of interest for global, national, and subnational policy dialogue. All GBD estimates are publicly available and adhere to the Guidelines on Accurate and Transparent Health Estimate Reporting. From this vast amount of information, five key insights that are important for health, social, and economic development strategies have been distilled. These insights are subject to the many limitations outlined in each of the component GBD capstone papers.Peer reviewe

Films based on crosslinked TEMPO-oxidized cellulose and predictive analysis via machine learning

We systematically investigated the effect of film-forming polyvinyl alcohol and crosslinkers, glyoxal and ammonium zirconium carbonate, on the optical and surface properties of films produced from TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNFs). In this regard, UV-light transmittance, surface roughness and wetting behavior of the films were assessed. Optimization was carried out as a function of film composition following the "random forest" machine learning algorithm for regression analysis. As a result, the design of tailor-made TOCNF-based films can be achieved with reduced experimental expenditure. We envision this approach to be useful in facilitating adoption of TOCNF for the design of emerging flexible electronics, and related platforms.Peer reviewe

Comparative screening of the structural and thermomechanical properties of FDM filaments comprising thermoplastics loaded with cellulose, carbon and glass fibers

| openaire: EC/H2020/788489/EU//BioELCellAdditive manufacturing (AM) has been rapidly growing for a decade in both consumer and industrial products. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), one of the most widely used additive manufacturing methods, owes its popularity to cost effectiveness in material and equipment investment. Current efforts are aimedtowardhighload-bearingcapacityat lowmaterial costs. However, themechanical reliability of end-products derived from these compositions and their dependence on microstructural effects, have remained as major limitations. This is mainly owing to the unknown mechanics of the materials, including the reinforcing or filler components and their interphase/interface compatibility. For this reason, here we investigate the most relevant commercial polymeric materials used in composite filaments, associated phases and the characterization protocols that can guide component selection, screening and troubleshooting. We first present thermal analyses (thermogravimetric, TGAand differential scanning calorimetry, DSC) in relation to the constituent fractions and identify the type of polymer for uses in filaments production. The influence of various fillers is unveiled in terms of the crystallization behavior of derived 3D-printed parts. To understand the microstructural effects on the material strength, we carry out a series of tensile experiments on 3-D printed dog-bone shaped specimens following ISO standards. Simultaneously, real-time thermal energy dissipation and damage analyses are applied by using infraredmeasurements at fast frame rates (200 Hz) and high thermal resolution (50mK). The failure regions of each specimen are examined via optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The results are used to reveal new insights into the size, morphology and distribution of the constituents and interphases of polymer filaments for FDM. The present study represents advancement in the field of composite filament fabrication, with potential impact in the market of additive manufacturing.Peer reviewe

Guiding Bacterial Activity for Biofabrication of Complex Materials via Controlled Wetting of Superhydrophobic Surfaces

| openaire: EC/H2020/788489/EU//BioElCellSuperhydrophobic surfaces are promising for preventing fouling and the formation of biofilms, with important implications in the food chain, maritime transport, and health sciences, among others. In this work, we exploit the interplay between wetting principles of superhydrophobic surfaces and microbial fouling for advanced three-dimensional (3D) biofabrication of biofilms. We utilize hydrostatic and capillary pressures to finely control the air-water interface and the aerotaxis-driven biofabrication on superhydrophobic surfaces. Superhydrophobic 3D molds are produced by a simple surface modification that partially embeds hydrophobic particles in silicone rubber. Thereafter, the molds allow the templating of the air-water interface of the culture medium, where the aerobic nanocellulose-producing bacteria (Komagataeibacter medellinensis) are incubated. The biofabricated replicas are hollow and seamless nanofibrous objects with a controlled morphology. Gradients of thickness, topographical feature size, and fiber orientation on the biofilm are obtained by controlling wetting, incubation time, and nutrient availability. Furthermore, we demonstrate that capillary length limitations are overcome by using pressurized closed molds, whereby a persistent air plastron allows the formation of 3D microstructures, regardless of their morphological complexity. We also demonstrate that interfacial biofabrication is maintained for at least 12 days without observable fouling of the mold surface. In summary, we achieve controlled biofouling of the air-water interface as imposed by the experimental framework under controlled wetting. The latter is central to both microorganism-based biofabrication and fouling, which are major factors connecting nanoscience, synthetic biology, and microbiology.Peer reviewe

A global priority list of the TOp TEn resistant Microorganisms (TOTEM) study at intensive care: a prioritization exercise based on multi-criteria decision analysis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a global priority pathogen list (PPL) of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Our current objective was to provide global expert ranking of the most serious MDR bacteria present at intensive care units (ICU) that have become a threat in clinical practice. A proposal addressing a PPL for ICU, arising from the WHO Global PPL, was developed. Based on the supporting data, the pathogens were grouped in three priority tiers: critical, high, and medium. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) was used to identify the priority tiers. After MCDA, mortality, treatability, and cost of therapy were of highest concern (scores of 19/20, 19/20, and 15/20, respectively) while dealing with PPL, followed by healthcare burden and resistance prevalence. Carbapenem-resistant (CR) Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenemase-expressing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC), and MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa were identified as critical organisms. High-risk organisms were represented by CR Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae. Finally, ESBL Serratia marcescens, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, and TMP-SMX-resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were identified as medium priority. We conclude that education, investigation, funding, and development of new antimicrobials for ICU organisms should focus on carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms.The study was funded in part by Centro de Investigacion Biomedica en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain and Observership Programme from ESCMID, Basel, Switzerland