Poor Pre-Operative Emotional Health Limits Gain in Function after Total Hip Replacement

Introduction: While total joint replacement surgery successfully reduce joint pain and is associated with a low complication rate, patients experience a wide variation in functional improvement. Pre-surgery emotional state correlates with post-surgical functional improvement in total knee replacement patients. We tested this concept against a national cohort of total hip replacement (THR) patients. Materials & methods: Patients undergoing primary THR from 7/1/11 through 12/6/13 with postoperative outcomes at 6 months were identified from FORCE-TJR, a US national research consortium. We obtained data on patient demographics, underlying type of arthritis, body mass index (BMI), Charlson Comorbidity Index, arthritic pain in contralateral hip and bilateral knees, back pain, Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS), global function based on the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Physical Component Score (PCS) and emotional health using the SF-36 Mental Component Score (MCS). We performed descriptive statistics and multivariable linear regression models to identify factors associated with 6-month postoperative PCS global function scores. Results: The 1,426 THR patients identified were 60.7% female, 95.0% white, mean age 65.3 years, mean BMI of 29.0. Mean preoperative surgical joint pain, stiffness and function was 50.1 (± 19.2), 38.7 (± 21.9), 46.4 (±19.2) respectively. MCS was 51.56 (± 12.2) and PCS 31.6 (± 8.9). Pre-operative and post-operative functioning differed based on emotional health (MCS ≥50). In multivariable models, lower MCS levels were associated with worse PCS at 6 months (coefficient of 0.18. 95% CI 0.14-0.22) after controlling for demographics, medical comorbidity, baseline PCS and burden of musculoskeletal disease. Conclusion: Poorer emotional health is associated with poorer global function following surgery and a key factor in the recovery and rehabilitation following THR. Better emotional health screening for THR surgical candidates, and interventions to provide additional emotional support to those who need it, are necessary to ensure optimal functional gain

Modern optical astronomy: technology and impact of interferometry

The present `state of the art' and the path to future progress in high spatial resolution imaging interferometry is reviewed. The review begins with a treatment of the fundamentals of stellar optical interferometry, the origin, properties, optical effects of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere, the passive methods that are applied on a single telescope to overcome atmospheric image degradation such as speckle interferometry, and various other techniques. These topics include differential speckle interferometry, speckle spectroscopy and polarimetry, phase diversity, wavefront shearing interferometry, phase-closure methods, dark speckle imaging, as well as the limitations imposed by the detectors on the performance of speckle imaging. A brief account is given of the technological innovation of adaptive-optics (AO) to compensate such atmospheric effects on the image in real time. A major advancement involves the transition from single-aperture to the dilute-aperture interferometry using multiple telescopes. Therefore, the review deals with recent developments involving ground-based, and space-based optical arrays. Emphasis is placed on the problems specific to delay-lines, beam recombination, polarization, dispersion, fringe-tracking, bootstrapping, coherencing and cophasing, and recovery of the visibility functions. The role of AO in enhancing visibilities is also discussed. The applications of interferometry, such as imaging, astrometry, and nulling are described. The mathematical intricacies of the various `post-detection' image-processing techniques are examined critically. The review concludes with a discussion of the astrophysical importance and the perspectives of interferometry.Comment: 65 pages LaTeX file including 23 figures. Reviews of Modern Physics, 2002, to appear in April issu

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Niclosamide as a chemical probe for analyzing SARS-CoV-2 modulation of host cell lipid metabolism

SARS-CoV-2 subverts host cell processes to facilitate rapid replication and dissemination, and this leads to pathological inflammation. We used niclosamide (NIC), a poorly soluble anti-helminth drug identified for repurposed treatment of COVID-19, which activates the cells' autophagic and lipophagic processes as a chemical probe to determine if it can modulate the host cell's total lipid profile that would otherwise be either amplified or reduced during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Through parallel lipidomic and transcriptomic analyses we observed massive reorganization of lipid profiles of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells, especially with triglycerides, which were elevated early during virus replication, but decreased thereafter, as well as plasmalogens, which were elevated at later timepoints during virus replication, but were also elevated under normal cell growth. These findings suggested a complex interplay of lipid profile reorganization involving plasmalogen metabolism. We also observed that NIC treatment of both low and high viral loads does not affect virus entry. Instead, NIC treatment reduced the abundance of plasmalogens, diacylglycerides, and ceramides, which we found elevated during virus infection in the absence of NIC, resulting in a significant reduction in the production of infectious virions. Unexpectedly, at higher viral loads, NIC treatment also resulted in elevated triglyceride levels, and induced significant changes in phospholipid metabolism. We posit that future screens of approved drugs should prioritize compounds that effectively counter SARS-CoV-2 subversion of lipid metabolism, thereby reducing virus replication, egress, and the subsequent regulation of key lipid mediators of pathological inflammation

Indacaterol-Glycopyrronium versus Salmeterol-Fluticasone for COPD

Most guidelines recommend either a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) plus an inhaled glucocorticoid or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) as the first-choice treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have a high risk of exacerbations. The role of treatment with a LABA-LAMA regimen in these patients is unclear.status: publishe

Data_Sheet_1_Niclosamide as a chemical probe for analyzing SARS-CoV-2 modulation of host cell lipid metabolism.zip

IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 subverts host cell processes to facilitate rapid replication and dissemination, and this leads to pathological inflammation.MethodsWe used niclosamide (NIC), a poorly soluble anti-helminth drug identified initially for repurposed treatment of COVID-19, which activates the cells’ autophagic and lipophagic processes as a chemical probe to determine if it can modulate the host cell’s total lipid profile that would otherwise be either amplified or reduced during SARS-CoV-2 infection.ResultsThrough parallel lipidomic and transcriptomic analyses we observed massive reorganization of lipid profiles of SARS-CoV-2 infected Vero E6 cells, especially with triglycerides, which were elevated early during virus replication, but decreased thereafter, as well as plasmalogens, which were elevated at later timepoints during virus replication, but were also elevated under normal cell growth. These findings suggested a complex interplay of lipid profile reorganization involving plasmalogen metabolism. We also observed that NIC treatment of both low and high viral loads does not affect virus entry. Instead, NIC treatment reduced the abundance of plasmalogens, diacylglycerides, and ceramides, which we found elevated during virus infection in the absence of NIC, resulting in a significant reduction in the production of infectious virions. Unexpectedly, at higher viral loads, NIC treatment also resulted in elevated triglyceride levels, and induced significant changes in phospholipid metabolism.DiscussionWe posit that future screens of approved or new partner drugs should prioritize compounds that effectively counter SARS-CoV-2 subversion of lipid metabolism, thereby reducing virus replication, egress, and the subsequent regulation of key lipid mediators of pathological inflammation.</p

Indacaterol/glycopyrronium or salmeterol/fluticasone for COPD exacerbations

BACKGROUND Most guidelines recommend either a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) plus an inhaled glucocorticoid or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) as the firstchoice treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have a high risk of exacerbations. The role of treatment with a LABA–LAMA regimen in these patients is unclear. METHODS We conducted a 52-week, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, noninferiority trial. Patients who had COPD with a history of at least one exacerbation during the previous year were randomly assigned to receive, by inhalation, either the LABA indacaterol (110 μg) plus the LAMA glycopyrronium (50 μg) once daily or the LABA salmeterol (50 μg) plus the inhaled glucocorticoid fluticasone (500 μg) twice daily. The primary outcome was the annual rate of all COPD exacerbations. RESULTS A total of 1680 patients were assigned to the indacaterol–glycopyrronium group, and 1682 to the salmeterol–fluticasone group. Indacaterol–glycopyrronium showed not only noninferiority but also superiority to salmeterol–fluticasone in reducing the annual rate of all COPD exacerbations; the rate was 11% lower in the indacaterol– glycopyrronium group than in the salmeterol–fluticasone group (3.59 vs. 4.03; rate ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.96; P=0.003). The indacaterol– glycopyrronium group had a longer time to the first exacerbation than did the salmeterol–fluticasone group (71 days [95% CI, 60 to 82] vs. 51 days [95% CI, 46 to 57]; hazard ratio, 0.84 [95% CI, 0.78 to 0.91], representing a 16% lower risk; P<0.001). The annual rate of moderate or severe exacerbations was lower in the indacaterol–glycopyrronium group than in the salmeterol–fluticasone group (0.98 vs. 1.19; rate ratio, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.75 to 0.91; P<0.001), and the time to the first moderate or severe exacerbation was longer in the indacaterol–glycopyrronium group than in the salmeterol–fluticasone group (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.86; P<0.001), as was the time to the first severe exacerbation (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00; P=0.046). The effect of indacaterol–glycopyrronium versus salmeterol– fluticasone on the rate of COPD exacerbations was independent of the baseline blood eosinophil count. The incidence of adverse events and deaths was similar in the two groups. The incidence of pneumonia was 3.2% in the indacaterol–glycopyrronium group and 4.8% in the salmeterol–fluticasone group (P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS Indacaterol–glycopyrronium was more effective than salmeterol–fluticasone in preventing COPD exacerbations in patients with a history of exacerbation during the previous year. (Funded by Novartis; FLAME ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01782326.