Occupational Therapists and COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Survey in Europe

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a health care emergency in Europe since the first wave in 2020. Several challenges have arisen for occupational therapists, as well as all the health care professionals. The aim of this study was to determine what occupational therapists have changed to adapt their therapeutic processes for this catastrophic situation. Method: An online survey was developed and sent in conjunction with the Council of Occupational Therapy for European Countries (COTEC) to European national associations of occupational therapists. Results: The study was based on a sample of 65 occupational therapists who worked with people with COVID-19. More than half of the occupational therapists (54.8%) had changed departments. The main needs patients expressed (n = 136) during hospitalization were to have social contacts (30.9%), and the main clinical complaints (n = 144) were motor impairment and fatigue (35.4%) and depression (25.7%). The most frequently reported goal (n = 141) was recovery of physical performance and fatigue management (32.6%). Among the emotions mentioned by occupational therapists, negative emotions (76%) were the most common. Conclusion: European occupational therapists demonstrated flexibility and resilience to deal with clinical and organizational challenges during the COVID-19 emergency

Obtención de “Snacks” de piña (Ananas Comosus) mediante las técnicas combinadas de Ventana de Refractancia y Fritura con Aire Caliente

Refractance Window (WR) and Hot Air-Frying (HAF) dried techniques, allows to obtain high nutritional and physicochemical quality fruit snacks. The aim of this work consisted on evaluating WR-AF dry techniques to obtain dehydrated pineapple snacks. MD2 variety pineapple pieces were cut into triangular shapes with 40 mm by side and 4 mm in thickness.For WR drying, three temperatures were set (70, 80 and 90 °C). For each one, a dry-out kinetics model was applied adopting 4 math models (Newton, Page; Wang & Singh, and Midilli). Also, color as in Luminosity (L*), total color changes (ΔΕ), water activity (aw), diffusion coefficient, and activation energy were determined. On dried samples under WR-HAF mixed method, drying curves were determined, as well as, L*, ΔΕ, aw and vitamin C. In total, four treatments were evaluated in the AF process at 100 °C; three of which were treated samples (TS) under WR, and one sample left untreated (UNTS). Results showed that the higher the drying temperature under WR, the greater the diffusion coefficient and lower the drying time. To reach 9 % (d.b) of humidity, treatments at 90, 80 and 70 °C required 90, 110 and 130 min, respectively. Midilli model adjusted better to drying kinetics. WR-HAF techniques allowed less drying time, higher vitamin C, and color retention compared to UNTS. Results demonstrated that combined WR-HAF is a feasible alternative to obtain pineapple snacks in shorter time while preserving high quality characteristics.Las técnicas de secado de Ventana de Refractancia (VR) y Fritura con Aire Caliente (AF), permiten obtener snacks de frutas de alta calidad nutricional y fisicoquímica. El propósito de este trabajo fue evaluar las técnicas de secado de WR-AF para obtener “snacks” de piña deshidratada. Se emplearon trozos de piña de la variedad MD2 con geometría triangular (40 mm de lado y 4 mm de espesor). En el secado por WR se emplearon tres temperaturas (70, 80 y 90 °C). Para cada temperatura se modeló la cinética de secado mediante cuatro modelos matemáticos (Newton, Page; Wang & Singh, y Midilli). Se determinó: color, en términos de Luminosidad (L*) y cambio total de color (ΔΕ), actividad de agua (aw), coeficientes de difusión y energía de activación. Para las muestras secadas en la combinación de las técnicas VR-AF, se determinaron las curvas de secado, L*, ΔΕ, aw y vitamina C. En total se realizaron 4 tratamientos en el secado con AF a 100 °C; tres de las cuales fueron muestras tratadas (MT) previamente por WR, y el otro fue muestra no tratada (MNT). Los resultados mostraron que, a mayor temperatura de secado por WR mayor fue el coeficiente de difusión y menor fue el tiempo de secado. Para un contenido de humedad de 9 % (d.b), los tratamientos a 90, 80 y 70 °C requirieron 90, 110 y 130 min de secado, respectivamente. El modelo de Midilli fue el que mejor ajustó las cinéticas de secado. Se observó que las técnicas de VR-AF permitieron obtener menor tiempo de secado, mayor retención de vitamina C y de color respecto a las MNT. Estos resultados indican que la técnica WR-AF es una alternativa viable para producir “snacks” de piña en tiempos mas cortos y con mayor conservación de las características de calidad.As técnicas de secagem de janela refrativa (JR) e fritura com ar quente (FAQ) permitem obter snacks de fruta de alta qualidade nutricional e físico-química. O propósito deste trabalho foi avaliar as técnicas de secagem JR-FAQ para a obtenção de “snacks” de abacaxi desidratado. Foram utilizadas peças de abacaxi da variedade MD2 com geometria triangular de (40 mm de lado e 4 mm de espessura). Na secagem JR, foram utilizadas três temperaturas (70, 80 e 90 ° C); para cada temperatura a cinética de secagem foi modelada por quatro modelos (Newton, Page, Wang & Singh e Midilli), a cor foi determinada em termos de Luminosidade (L *) e mudança total de cor (ΔE), atividade de água (aw), coeficientes de difusão e energia de ativação. Nas amostras secas na combinação JR-FAQ foram determinadas as curvas de secagem L, ΔE, aw e vitamina C. 4 tratamentos foram utilizados na secagem por FAQ a 100 °C, três tratamentos foram as amostras tratadas (MT) anteriormente por JR e o outro tratamento foi a amostra não tratada (MNT). Os resultados mostraram que quanto maior a temperatura de secagem por VR, maior o coeficiente de difusão e menor o tempo de secagem; para um conteúdo de umidade de 9% (bs) o tratamento de 90 ° C atingiu 90 min, a 80 ° C 110 min e a 70 ° C 130 min. O modelo Midilli foi o que melhor ajustou a cinética de secagem. Foi constatado que as técnicas JR-FAQ permitiram obter um menor tempo de secagem, maior retenção da vitamina C e da cor em relação ao MNT. Esses resultados indicam que a combinação JR-FAQ é uma alternativa viável para a produção de snacks de abacaxi com retenção de características de qualidade em tempos curtos.curtos. &nbsp

Occupational Therapists and COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Survey in Europe

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a health care emergency in Europe since the first wave in 2020. Several challenges have arisen for occupational therapists, as well as all the health care professionals. The aim of this study was to determine what occupational therapists have changed to adapt their therapeutic processes for this catastrophic situation. Method: An online survey was developed and sent in conjunction with the Council of Occupational Therapy for European Countries (COTEC) to European national associations of occupational therapists. Results: The study was based on a sample of 65 occupational therapists who worked with people with COVID-19. More than half of the occupational therapists (54.8%) had changed departments. The main needs patients expressed (n = 136) during hospitalization were to have social contacts (30.9%), and the main clinical complaints (n = 144) were motor impairment and fatigue (35.4%) and depression (25.7%). The most frequently reported goal (n = 141) was recovery of physical performance and fatigue management (32.6%). Among the emotions mentioned by occupational therapists, negative emotions (76%) were the most common. Conclusion: European occupational therapists demonstrated flexibility and resilience to deal with clinical and organizational challenges during the COVID-19 emergenc

Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma metastatic to bone marrow presenting with disseminated intravascular coagulation and acute tumour lysis syndrome: review of the literature apropos of two cases

The paper presents diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties in two adolescents with widespread rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) presenting with severe haemorrhages resulting from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and with laboratory features of acute tumour lysis syndrome (ATLS). Other published cases of childhood RMS with DIC at admission have been listed and reviewed. It has been concluded that the clinical picture of a widespread RMS in children may resemble acute hematologic malignancy and pose a big diagnostic problem. That is why the presence of small blue round cells morphologically similar to lymphoblasts and/or myeloblasts in bone marrow (BM), lacking hematopoietic makers, should prompt the pathologist to consider possible diagnosis of RMS. Inclusion of desmin, MyoD1 and myogenin Myf4 to the immunohistochemical panel is obligatory in such cases. When the representative histopathological tumour specimens are difficult to obtain, the flow cytometric immunophenotyping of BM metastases could help the standard morphological/immunohistological diagnostic procedures and advance the diagnosis. Recently, the flow cytometric CD45− CD56+ immunophenotype together with Myf4 transcript has been assigned to RMS cells infiltrating BM. In children with disseminated RMS complicated with DIC rapid polychemotherapy aimed at diminishing the malignancy-triggered procoagulant activity should be initiated. However, in cases with concomitant ATLS the initial doses of chemotherapy should be reduced and the metabolic disorders and renal function monitored. The prognosis in children with RMS metastatic to BM with signs of DIC or ATLS at admission depends on the response to chemotherapy, however generally it is highly disappointing

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Measurement of b jet shapes in proton-proton collisions at root s=5.02 TeV

We present the first study of charged-hadron production associated with jets originating from b quarks in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV. The data sample used in this study was collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 27.4 pb(-1). To characterize the jet substructure, the differential jet shapes, defined as the normalized transverse momentum distribution of charged hadrons as a function of angular distance from the jet axis, are measured for b jets. In addition to the jet shapes, the per-jet yields of charged particles associated with b jets are also quantified, again as a function of the angular distance with respect to the jet axis. Extracted jet shape and particle yield distributions for b jets are compared with results for inclusive jets, as well as with the predictions from the pythia and herwig++ event generators.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons in PbPb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

The second-order Fourier coefficients (v(2)) characterizing the azimuthal distributions of Y(1S) and Y(2S) mesons produced in PbPb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV are studied. The Y mesons are reconstructed in their dimuon decay channel, as measured by the CMS detector. The collected data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 nb(-1). The scalar product method is used to extract the v2 coefficients of the azimuthal distributions. Results are reported for the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.4, in the transverse momentum interval 0 < pT < 50 GeV/c, and in three centrality ranges of 10-30%, 30-50% and 50-90%. In contrast to the J/psi mesons, the measured v(2) values for the Y mesons are found to be consistent with zero. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe