Association between vitamin D hypovitaminosis and severe forms of COVID-19

Objective: Hypovitaminosis D may be associated with an increased susceptibility to infection, more severe COVID-19 forms, and a higher risk of death. The objective of this study was to investigate any possible connections between vitamin D status [as measured by serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels] and COVID-19 severity. Patients and methods: In 2021, a cross-sectional study of consecutive adult COVID-19 patients was conducted. Anthropometric data, comorbidities, hospital setting, length of stay, respiratory support, outcome data, and vitamin D status were all evaluated. Results: The length of hospitalization among participants (n = 74; mean age 57.64 ± 17.83 years, 55.4% male) was 18.58 ± 10 days, the majority of the hospital setting was a medical ward (67.6%), and the respiratory support in the form of mechanical ventilation was represented by 12.2%. Hypertension (54.1%), obesity (64.9%), and overweight (64.9%) were the most common cardiometabolic risk factors. In the study group, 44.6% of participants had severe vitamin D deficiency (< 30 nmol/l), while 8.1% had vitamin D insufficiency (50 - 74.9 nmol/l). Furthermore, patients with severe COVID-19 (semi-intensive care unit, intensive care unit) had significantly lower serum 25(OH)D levels (32.9 vs. 20.5 nmol/l; p = 0.007). Participants with severe vitamin D deficiency were older and had more prevalent hypertension, requiring mechanical ventilation; 24.2% experienced a fatal outcome. Conclusions: Severe vitamin D deficiency may contribute significantly to the influence of other cardiometabolic risk factors in COVID-19

The Functional Renormalization Group and O(4) scaling

The critical behavior of the chiral quark-meson model is studied within the Functional Renormalization Group (FRG). We derive the flow equation for the scale dependent thermodynamic potential at finite temperature and density in the presence of a symmetry-breaking external field. Within this scheme, the critical scaling behavior of the order parameter, its transverse and longitudinal susceptibilities as well as the correlation lengths near the chiral phase transition are computed. We focus on the scaling properties of these observables at non-vanishing external field when approaching the critical point from the symmetric as well as from the broken phase. We confront our numerical results with the Widom-Griffiths form of the magnetic equation of state, obtained by a systematic epsilon-expansion of the scaling function. Our results for the critical exponents are consistent with those recently computed within Lattice Monte-Carlo studies of the O(4) spin system.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

The LRP1 gene polymorphism is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome prevalence in the Serbian population

The determination of genetic background in metabolic syndrome (MetS) represents one of the necessary steps to prevent the disorder, thus reducing the cost of medical treatments and helping to design targeted therapy. The study explores the association between individual alleles of the LRP1 gene and the diagnosis of MetS to find correlation between the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related (LRP1) gene polymorphism and each individual anthropometric and biochemical parameter. The study included 93 males and females, aged from 19 to 65, divided into two groups. The genotype of each person was determined from the restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) profile. Results indicated the association of the T allele form of exon 3 LRP1 gene with development and progression of MetS that further pointed out its negative impact on tested anthropometric and biochemical parameters. The presence of the T allele in patients multiplies the chance of occurrence of deviations from the reference values of body mass index (BMI), (4.24-fold) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (20.26-fold) compared to C allele carriers. The results showed that T allele presence multiplies the chance (4.76 fold) for the occurrence of MetS in comparison to C allele carriers. Correlation found that the T allele of the LRP1 gene with MetS determinants is not negligible, therefore, the T allele may be considered as a risk factor for MetS development

Risk characterization for mercury, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and polychlorinated biphenyls associated with fish consumption in Serbia

The aim of this work was to assess the risk due to mercury (Hg), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (ndl PCBs) intake via fish consumption in Serbia. We have developed 24 scenarios using four concentration levels (mean, maximum, 50th and 95th percentile) of contaminants, determined in 521 samples of fish products available on Serbian market; two consumption levels (Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization data and recommendation of American Heart Association); and three body weights (5th, 50th and 95th percentile). All the values concerning the intake of DDT are below the corresponding health based guidance value. Calculated weekly intake of Hg using maximal concentration, intake of 340 g/week and 5th percentile of body weight exceeded the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI). When maximal and 95th percentile concentration of ndl PCBs was used, weekly intakes exceeded a "guidance value" with one exception Le., when 95th percentile of concentration along with 95th percentile of body weight were used. Concerning Hg and ndl PCBs, when extreme concentrations were used, HIs exceeded the value of 1, indicating that fish and fishery products may pose a threat to consumer's health