An open-label, prospective study comparing efficacy, tolerability and cost of therapy of losartan with enalapril in stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension

Background: Hypertension is a chronic disease which insidiously affects multiple systems in the body especially the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. Also being a chronic disease the patient is required to take medications lifelong and this has financial implications. This study was attempted to evaluate drugs in two antihypertensive groups: Angiotensin II antagonist losartan v/s angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril. Methods: A total of 100 patients as per the selection criteria were enrolled in the study and allocated randomly to either group A (losartan group) or group B (enalapril group). The study period was for 12 weeks, during which regular assessments were done - first on recruitment and then at 2nd week, 4th week, 8th week, and 12th week. The assessment parameters were diastolic, systolic pressures and pulse rate. Routine investigations were performed during the 1st visit and after 12 weeks of the study period.Results: There were no significant differences between the treatment groups with respect to baseline patient demographic data and clinical characteristics like systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. The cost benefit ratio and less adverse effects (cough), can be appreciated in group A (losartan group).Conclusions: Losartan and enalapril were well tolerated after 12 weeks of treatment with notable tolerability advantages of losartan especially with respect to the respiratory system (cough). The cost of therapy for losartan group was almost half the cost of therapy for enalapril group and hence being cost effective. Thus, losartan could be preferred as a suitable alternative to enalapril as an antihypertensive agent

Paediatric acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology : a national investigation and adenoviraemia case-control study in the UK

Funding Information: This work was undertaken as part of a national enhanced incident by UK public health agencies. We thank the parents and guardians of the children who gave up their valuable time to speak to the public health investigation teams; without their support we could not have been able to undertake a thorough investigation. We are grateful to the many paediatricians and liver specialists who reported cases to us and responded to follow-up with further information. We also thank Ezra Linley and Simon Tonge of the UK Health Security Agency Seroepidemiology Unit for rapidly providing serum samples for testing. We would like to thank the Incident Management Teams of the UK nations, members of the incident cells, epidemiology, laboratory, and local Health Protection Teams who supported the investigations, in particular: Katy Sinka, Mike Gent, Suzanna Howes, Eileen Gallagher, Selene Corsini, Eleanor Clarke, Rajani Raghu, Kelsey Mowat, Iain Hayden, Matt Hibbert, Skye Firminger, Catriona Angel, Donna Haskins, Kay Ratcliffe, Hannah Emmett, Alex Elliot, Helen Hughes, Sarah Deeny, Sarah Garner, Sarah Gerver, Flora Stevens, Paula Blomquist, Gabriel Gurmail Kauffman, Kristine Cooper, Hannah Taylor, Giovanni Leonardi, Michelle Dickinson and Michelle Watson from England; Kimberly Marsh, Michael Lockhart, David Yirrell, Sandra Currie, Kate Templeton, Samantha Shepherd, Roisin Ure, Jim McMenamin, Rachel Tayler, Louisa Pollock, Antonia Ho, Chris Cunningham and Hayley Peacock from Scotland; and Katie Binley and Meg Wallace from Northern Ireland.Peer reviewe

Use of intubating laryngeal mask airway in a morbidly obese patient with chest trauma in an emergency setting

A morbidly obese male who sustained blunt trauma chest with bilateral pneumothorax was referred to the intensive care unit for management of his condition. Problems encountered in managing the patient were gradually increasing hypoxemia (chest trauma with multiple rib fractures with lung contusions) and difficult mask ventilation and intubation (morbid obesity, heavy jaw, short and thick neck). We performed awake endotracheal intubation using an intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA) size 4 and provided mechanical ventilation to the patient. This report suggests that ILMA can be very useful in the management of difficult airway outside the operating room and can help in preventing adverse events in an emergency setting

Tailoring of Electromagnetic Absorption in Substituted Hexaferrites from 8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz

Microwave absorbers are an important topic of interest to mitigate electromagnetic interference. Here, we have investigated electromagnetic absorption properties of Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxInxFe12−2xO19 hexaferrite prepared by the conventional ceramic method. M-type hexagonal structure in the compositions was confirmed from x-ray diffraction analysis. The role of Co2+ and In3+, thickness of composition and frequency on the electromagnetic absorption in the ferrite compositions has been explored from 8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz. It was found that both Co2+-In3+ increased microwave/electromagnetic absorption with broad bandwidth, decreased the thickness and enhanced impedance matching. The reflection loss of −39.99 dB was noted in the composition x = 0.2 for the thickness of 1.6 mm and a frequency of 11.14 GHz. The results conclude that investigated compositions of Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxInxFe12−2xO19 ferrite ameliorate absorber applications

Tunable microwave absorption in Co[sbnd]Al substituted M-type Ba[sbnd]Sr hexagonal ferrite

M-type hexagonal ferrites with chemical composition Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxAlxFe12-2xO19 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) have been synthesized using a standard ceramic method. The electromagnetic or microwave parameters have been measured in the frequency range of 8.2 to 12.4 GHz using a vector network analyzer. The microwave absorption or reflection loss (RL) of different compositions has been evaluated comprehensively as a function of frequency, thickness and substitution Co2 + and Al3 + ions. The frequency dependence of microwave absorption, accompanied by the observed RL peaks in compositions, is governed by the quarter wavelength and/or impedance matching mechanisms. It was observed that composition x = 0.2 possesses highest RL peak of − 40.4 and − 39.7 dB at 11.72 and 10.63 GHz with thickness of 1.4 and 1.5 mm respectively. It also exhibits − 10 dB wideband absorption bandwidth of 3.27 GHz at 1.5 mm and − 20 dB absorption bandwidth of 1.09 GHz at 1.4 mm. Composition x = 1.0 owes − 20 dB narrowband absorption bandwidth of 170 MHz at 1.7 mm. The microwave absorption can be tuned by varying frequency, thickness and substitution of Co2 + and Al3 + ions. The large RL suggests that the compositions could be a potential candidate for microwave absorbing materials

Elucidation of microwave absorption mechanisms in Co–Ga substituted Ba–Sr hexaferrites in X-band

The tunable microwave absorbers are used to combat the electromagnetic pollution created by the development of high speed electronic devices. In the present paper, we report microwave absorption characteristics of M-type Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxGaxFe12−2xO19 (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) hexagonal ferrite compositions prepared by using double sintering ceramic method. X-ray diffraction analysis of the prepared compositions revealed the formation of M-phase along with the minor traces of hematite in substituted compositions. The microwave absorption has been elucidated substantially through various mechanisms in the test frequency range from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz, which is still partially explored in literature. The substitution of Co2+ and Ga3+ ions enhances microwave absorption, bandwidth, decreases thickness and improves impedance matching. The hysteresis parameters also comply with the microwave absorption. The optimal reflection loss of − 29.74 dB is observed in the composition x = 0.2 at 8.28 GHz with 2.0 mm thickness. The investigated mechanisms of microwave absorption can be incorporated to optimize the absorption and design of the microwave absorbers

Erratum: Corrigendum to “Tunable microwave absorption in Co-Al substituted M-type Ba-Sr hexagonal ferrite” (Materials and Design (2016) 110 (749–761))

The authors regret to inform that “Sanjay R. Mishra” was published incorrectly. It should be as “Sanjay R Mishra”. The authors would like to apologize for the inconvenience caused

Structural and magnetic properties of Co\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e-W\u3csup\u3e4+\u3c/sup\u3eions doped M-type Ba-Sr hexaferrites synthesized by a ceramic method

The Co2+and W4+ions (x) doped M-type hexagonal Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxWxFe12−2xO19(x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) ferrite compositions were prepared by a standard ceramic method. The crystal structure was identified with X-ray diffraction and grain morphology was explored with scanned electron micrographs (SEM). Vibrating sample magnetometer was used to examine the hysteresis loops and magnetic parameters were calculated from the same loops. XRD analysis confirmed the existence of M-type and Spinel phases of the synthesized compositions. SEM images and hysteresis loops of all compositions showed multidomain particles. The coercivity decreased and anisotropy field increased with doping of Co2+-W4+ions from composition x = 0.2 to 1.0 whereas saturation magnetization and remanent magnetization first decreased from x = 0.2 to 0.8 and then both parameters increased in x = 1.0. The low coercivity and retentivity along with the tunable anisotropy field suggest for recording and microwave absorber applications

Microwave filter characteristics of ferrite and polyaniline composites from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz

In this work, M-type hexagonal ferrite Ba0.5Sr0.5CoxZrxFe(12−2x)O19 and Polyaniline composites have been prepared. The microwave filter characteristics were investigated from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz by measuring scattering parameter in the sample fitted waveguide. The dielectric loss tangent was dominating over magnetic loss tangent in all compositions. The doping of Co2+ and Zr4+ ions along with good electrical behavior of Polyaniline increased microwave attenuation. Composition x = 1.0 displayed maximum attenuation of − 26.94 dB at 12.4 GHz. Composition x = 0.8 and 1.0 owe good bandstop filter characteristic with narrow and wide attenuation bandwidth of 0.76 GHz and 4.20 GHz respectively. The results revealed that fabricated composites owe apt scope for bandstop filter application

Adenoviral Vector-Based Vaccine Platform for COVID-19: Current Status

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) breakout had an unimaginable worldwide effect in the 21st century, claiming millions of lives and putting a huge burden on the global economy. The potential developments in vaccine technologies following the determination of the genetic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 and the increasing global efforts to bring potential vaccines and therapeutics into the market for emergency use have provided a small bright spot to this tragic event. Several intriguing vaccine candidates have been developed using recombinant technology, genetic engineering, and other vaccine development technologies. In the last decade, a vast amount of the vaccine development process has diversified towards the usage of viral vector-based vaccines. The immune response elicited by such vaccines is comparatively higher than other approved vaccine candidates that require a booster dose to provide sufficient immune protection. The non-replicating adenoviral vectors are promising vaccine carriers for infectious diseases due to better yield, cGMP-friendly manufacturing processes, safety, better efficacy, manageable shipping, and storage procedures. As of April 2022, the WHO has approved a total of 10 vaccines around the world for COVID-19 (33 vaccines approved by at least one country), among which three candidates are adenoviral vector-based vaccines. This review sheds light on the developmental summary of all the adenoviral vector-based vaccines that are under emergency use authorization (EUA) or in the different stages of development for COVID-19 management