Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Towards an electronic grade nanoparticle-assembled silicon thin film by ballistic deposition at room temperature: the deposition method, and structural and electronic properties

High-throughput plasma synthesis of highly crystalline nanoparticle-assembled silicon thin films.</p

Hematopoietic stem cell function in β-thalassemia is impaired and is rescued by targeting the bone marrow niche

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are regulated by signals from the bone marrow (BM) niche, which tune hematopoiesis at steady state and in hematologic disorders. To understand the HSC-niche interactions in altered non-malignant homeostasis, we elected as a paradigm β-thalassemia, a hemoglobin disorder. In this severe congenital anemia, secondary alterations to the primary hemoglobin defect have a potential impact on HSC-niche crosstalk. Here we report that HSCs in thalassemic mice (th3) have an impaired function, caused by the interaction with an altered BM niche. The HSC self-renewal defect is rescued upon transplantation into a normal microenvironment, thus proving the active role of BM stroma. Consistently with the common finding of osteoporosis in patients, we found reduced bone deposition with decreased levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH), which is a key regulator of bone metabolism but also of HSC activity. In vivo activation of PTH signaling through the reestablished Jagged1 and osteopontin levels correlates with the rescue of the functional pool of th3 HSCs by correcting HSC-niche crosstalk. Reduced HSC quiescence is confirmed in thalassemic patients, along with altered features of the BM stromal niche. Our findings uncover a defect of HSCs in β-thalassemia induced by an altered BM microenvironment and provide new relevant insight for improving transplantation and gene therapy approaches

Efficacy and Safety of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antiviral Agents and Monoclonal Antibodies in Patients with SLE: A Case-Control Study

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-related disease (COVID-19) has spread pandemically with high rates of morbidity and mortality. COVID-19 has also posed unprecedented challenges in terms of rapid development of pharmacological countermeasures to prevent or contrast SARS-CoV-2 pathogenicity. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antiviral agents and monoclonal antibodies have been specifically designed to attenuate COVID-19 morbidity and prevent mortality in vulnerable subjects, such as patients with immune-mediated diseases, but evidence for the safe and effective use of these drugs in this latter population group is scarce. Therefore, we designed a retrospective, multicentre, observational, case-control study to analyse the impact of these treatments in COVID-19 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a paradigmatic, multi-organ autoimmune disease. We identified 21 subjects treated with antivirals and/or monoclonal antibodies who were matched with 42 untreated patients by age, sex, SLE extension and duration. Treated patients had higher baseline SLE disease activity index 2000 scores [SLEDAI-2K median (interquartile range) = 4 (1–5) vs. 0 (0–2); p = 0.009], higher prednisone doses [5 (0–10) mg vs. 0 (0–3) mg; p = 0.002], and more severe COVID-19 symptoms by a five-point World Health Organisation-endorsed analogue scale [1 (0–1) vs. 0 (0–1); p < 0.010] compared to untreated patients. There was no difference between groups in terms of COVID-19 outcomes and sequelae, nor in terms of post-COVID-19 SLE exacerbations. Three subjects reported mild adverse events (two with monoclonal antibodies, one with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir). These data suggest that anti-SARS-CoV-2 antivirals and monoclonal antibodies might be safely and effectively used in patients with SLE, especially with active disease and more severe COVID-19 symptoms at presentation

New insight into structure-activity of furan-based salicylate synthase (MbtI) inhibitors as potential antitubercular agents

Starting from the analysis of the hypothetical binding mode of our previous furan-based hit (I), we successfully achieved our objective to replace the nitro moiety, leading to the disclosure of a new lead exhibiting a strong activity against MbtI. Our best candidate 1 h displayed a K i of 8.8 µM and its antimycobacterial activity (MIC 99 = 250 µM) is conceivably related to mycobactin biosynthesis inhibition. These results support the hypothesis that 5-phenylfuran-2-carboxylic derivatives are a promising class of MbtI inhibitors