Therapeutic Interventions for COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus, is currently represented a major public health concern. The high transmission rate of this virus increases the mortality rate worldwide. To date, significant efforts and restricted regulations were performed around the world to control this crisis effectively, but unfortunately, there is no specific and successful therapy for COVID-19. Many approaches have been repurposed for SARS-CoV-2 treatment such as antivirals and anti-inflammatories. Furthermore, antibody therapies are one of the main and important approaches of SARS-CoV-2 infection treatment. In recent trials, various immunotherapeutic interventions such as convalescent plasma therapy and monoclonal antibodies, as well as immunomodulatory agents are being proposed. However, the development of a vaccine that provides durable protective immunity will be the most effective therapy for controlling possible epidemics of this virus. The current review summarized all the proposed therapeutic approaches together with information on their safety and efficacy in treating COVID-19, as well as the vaccine candidates. The provided comprehensive information regarding the applied therapeutic strategies against COVID-19 might help the scientific community in any progress toward the treatment of COVID-19 infection

Potential-pH Diagrams of Iron in Concentrated Aqueous LiBr Solutions at 25°C

[EN] Potential-pH diagrams of iron are developed in aqueous LiBr solutions with concentrations of 400 g/L, 700 g/L, 850 g/L, and 992 g/L LiBr at 25 degrees C, which are common concentrations in different parts of absorption machines. Comparison of the potential-pH diagrams of iron in the absence and the presence of concentrated aqueous LiBr solutions shows that the corrosion area at acid, neutral, and weak alkaline pH extends to lower potentials and higher pH values with the increase of LiBr concentration, as a result of formation of the aqueous species FeBr2(aq) and FeBr3(aq) and destabilization of the solid species Fe, Fe(OH)(2)(s), Fe3O4, and Fe2O3.The authors acknowledge the "Programa de Apoyo a la Investigacion y Desarrollo (PAID-06-10) de la UPV" for the support of this work, Antonio Juncos for his assistance in plotting the diagrams, and Dr. M. Asuncion Jaime for her translation assistance.Muñoz-Portero, M.; Nachiondo Farinós, TDM.; Blasco-Tamarit, E.; Vicent-Blesa, A.; Garcia-Anton, J. (2018). Potential-pH Diagrams of Iron in Concentrated Aqueous LiBr Solutions at 25°C. Corrosion. 74(10):1102-1116. https://doi.org/10.5006/2865S11021116741

Passivation behaviour of Alloy 31 (UNS N08031) in polluted phosphoric acid at different temperatures

The influence of temperature (20–80 °C) and chloride concentration (0.06–0.42 wt.% KCl) on the electrochemical behaviour of the UNS N08031 was studied in 40 wt.% polluted phosphoric acid solution. Passivation behaviour was investigated by using potentiostatic tests at different potentials. From the linear regions of the log i vs. log t transients, the parameter n was obtained. The results showed that the applied potential hardly affects on the passivation rate n. However, n values decreased when temperature increased. The values of n demonstrated that the passive film formed on Alloy 31 was compact and highly protective.The authors express their gratitude to the MAEC of Spain (PCI Mediterraneo C/8196/07, C/018046/08, D/023608/09 and D/030177/10), to Programa de Apoyo a la Investigacion y Desarrollo de la UPV (PAID-06-09) and to the Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2011/093) for the financial support and to Dr. Asuncion Jaime for her translation assistance.Escrivá Cerdán, C.; Blasco Tamarit, ME.; García García, DM.; García Antón, J.; Guenbour, A. (2012). Passivation behaviour of Alloy 31 (UNS N08031) in polluted phosphoric acid at different temperatures. Corrosion Science. 56:114-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2011.11.014S1141225

Effect of temperature on passive film formation of UNS N08031 Cr-Ni alloy in phosphoric acid contaminated with different aggressive anions

tThe influence of temperature and the effect of aggressive anions on the electrochemical behaviour of UNSN08031 stainless steel in a contaminated phosphoric acid solution were evaluated. Stabilisation of thepassive film was studied by potentiodynamic polarisation curves, potentiostatic tests, electrochemicalimpedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements, Mott Schottky analysis and X-ray photoelectron spec-troscopy (XPS). The stability of the passive film was found to decrease as temperature increases. The filmformed on the stainless steel surface was a n-type semiconductor and the XPS spectrum revealed thepresence of fluoride ions.Authors express their gratitude to the Ministry of Education of Spain (MHE2011-00202) for its financial support during the stay at University of Manchester, to MAEC of Spain (PCI Mediterraneo C/8196/07, C/018046/08, D/023608/09 and D/030177/10) and to the Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2011/093) for the financial support. The authors would also like to acknowledge the support of the School of Materials at the University of Manchester for providing analytical and technical support for the study.Escrivá Cerdán, C.; Blasco Tamarit, ME.; García García, DM.; García Antón, J.; Akid, R.; Walton, J. (2013). Effect of temperature on passive film formation of UNS N08031 Cr-Ni alloy in phosphoric acid contaminated with different aggressive anions. Electrochimica Acta. 111:552-561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2013.08.040S55256111

Passive and transpassive behaviour of Alloy 31 in a heavy brine LiBr solution

The passive and transpassive behaviour of Alloy 31, a highly alloyed austenitic stainless steel (UNS N08031), has been investigated in a LiBr heavy brine solution (400 g/l) at 25 °C using potentiostatic polarisation combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky analysis. The passive film formed on Alloy 31 has been found to be p-type and/or n-type in electronic character, depending on the film formation potential. The thickness of the film formed at potentials within the passive region increases linearly with applied potential. The film formed at transpassive potentials is thinner and more conductive than the film formed within the passive region. These observations are consistent with the predictions of the Point Defect Model for passive and transpassive films on metals and alloys

Unconstrained facial expression recognition in still images and video sequences using Random Forest classifiers

The aim of this project is to construct and implement a comprehensive facial expression detection and classification framework through the use of a proprietary face detector (PittPatt) and a novel classifier consisting of a set of Random Forests paired with either support vector machine or k-nearest neighbour labellers. The system should perform at real-time rates under unconstrained image conditions, with no intermediate human intervention. The still-image Binghamton University 3D Facial Expression database was used for training purposes, while a number of other expression-labelled video databases were used for testing. Quantitative evidence for qualitative and intuitive facial expression recognition constitutes the main theoretical contribution to the field.L'objectif de ce projet est de construire et mettre en œuvre un cadre complète de détection de l'expression du visage par l'utilisation d'un détecteur de visage exclusif (PittPatt) et un nouveau classificateur composé d'un ensemble de 'Random Forests' a accompagné d'un étiqueteur 'support vector machine' ou 'k-nearest neighbour'. Le système doit effectuer au temps réel, dans des conditions sans contrainte, sans aucune intervention humaine intermédiaires. La base de données d'images fixes 'Binghamton University 3D Facial Expressions' était utilisé à des fins de formation. Un nombre de bases de données d'expression d'images fixes et de vidéo ont été utilisés pour l'évaluation. Des données quantitatives pour l'analyse qualitative, et parfois intuitive, les sujets liés à l'expression faciale constituaient la contribution principale et théorique sur le terrain

Heavily doped bulk unipolar structures

Transport properties of bulk unipolar (barrier) devices are investigated in the steady-state mode. This has entailed the study of heavily doped silicon characteristic which comprises important regions of the multilayer bulk unipolar devices. The devices covered are Camel diodes, P-plane barrier diodes and open-base bipolar transistors. Two operating modes are distinguished: the punchthrough mode, and the non punch-through (bipolar) mode. A combination of thermionic and diffusion mechanisms is used in the current - voltage analysis. Minority carrier transport at the polysilicon - monosilicon interface is also studied in polysilicon emitter bulk unipolar diodes with the emphasis having been placed on the influence of heavy doping; the aim being the development of a useful predictive tool for the study of these structures in which transistor action can be obtained due to the mechanism of barrier height modulation via minority-carrier injection. The validity of the analysis is evaluated by comparison with available experimental results. A new form of multigrain - barrier bulk unipolar diode structure has been proposed and analyzed using the carrier trapping model at the grain boundary of the polysilicon. Heavy doping effects / parameters are included in the developed analysis. As it stands, the present model helps in fulfilling the purpose of giving an insight into the physical mechanism of charge carrier transport with heavy doping at a fundamental level and providing a tool for the examination of the behaviour of alternative device configurations. However, heavy doping effects are revealed as being of profound importance in the determination of bulk unipolar device characteristics