1,024 research outputs found
The gut microbiome as a biomarker of differential susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to exact a devastating global toll. Ascertaining the factors underlying differential susceptibility and prognosis following viral exposure is critical to improving public health responses. We propose that gut microbes may contribute to variation in COVID-19 outcomes. We synthesise evidence for gut microbial contributions to immunity and inflammation, and associations with demographic factors affecting disease severity. We suggest mechanisms potentially underlying microbially mediated differential susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). These include gut microbiome-mediated priming of host inflammatory responses and regulation of endocrine signalling, with consequences for the cellular features exploited by SARS-CoV-2 virions. We argue that considering gut microbiome-mediated mechanisms may offer a lens for appreciating differential susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, potentially contributing to clinical and epidemiological approaches to understanding and managing COVID-19
Evaluation of a Vancomycin Dosing Protocol and Pharmacokinetic Parameters in Burn Patients
Published abstract from the 47th American Burn Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL April 2015
6R instrumented spatial linkages for anatomical joint motion measurement—part 2: calibration
The six-revolute-joint instrumented spatial linkage (6R ISL ) Introduction As with any measuring system, an instrumented spatial linkage (ISL) must be tested and calibrated before it can be used with confidence. This paper details the calibration technique developed for improving the measurement resolution of a 6R ISL-a serial ISL design where the links are interconnected by six revolute joints. With a 6R ISL, determination of anatomical joint position is based upon a mathematical function that approximates what is actually occurring with the physical model. The independent variables of this function are six voltages, each relating to a different linkage joint angle; the dependent variables are the six anatomical position parameters. In measuring the anatomical joint position of one bony coordinate frame relative to the other, this function contains twenty-four fixed mechanical parameters and generally twelve additional fixed electrical parameters that relate linkage joint angles to the voltages output by the devices that monitor the linkage joints, typically potentiometers The goal of the calibration procedure is to adjust the nominal mechanical and electrical parameters of the ISL to optimize the accuracy of the ISL within the calibration space. Although tolerances of the electrical devices are variable and cannot be completely calibrated out, Sommer and Miller [7] have demonstrated that the adjustment of the mechanical and electrical parameters can greatly improve positional measurement accuracy. They used a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm to refine typically nineteen of the fixed ISL parameters. Their algorithm attempted to minimize the squared difference between known and calculated sets of three Euler angles and three orthogonal translations that related one linkage end to the other. The objective function was nonweighted and used centimeters and radians as the units in measuring translation and rotation, respectively. The value of this procedure depends on the accuracy and range of the "known" calibration data. Most calibration devices referenced in the literatur
Jejunal Perforation following Screening Colonoscopy
Colonoscopy is rarely associated with complications such as colonic perforation. Perforation of the small bowel is extremely rare, especially if the procedure is done without therapeutic interventions. Several factors are associated with this entity. Perforation of the ileum has been reported, but proximal jejunal perforation secondary to rupture of jejunal diverticulum during colonoscopy has not been reported. We present the case of an 88-year-old patient who developed abdominal pain after undergoing colonoscopy without any additional interventions. Urgent exploration revealed perforation of the proximal jejunum secondary to rupture of a jejunal diverticulum. No therapy or biopsies were undertaken during the colonoscopy, which are known predisposing factors
Anhedonia is associated with poor health status and more somatic and cognitive symptoms in patients with coronary artery disease
Purpose: The effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is moderated by negative emotions and clinical factors, but no studies evaluated the role of positive emotions. This study examined whether anhedonia (i.e. the lack of positive affect) moderated the effectiveness of CR on health status and somatic and cognitive symptoms. Methods: CAD patients (n = 368) filled out the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to assess anhedonia at the start of CR, and the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Health Complaints Scale (HCS) at the start of CR and at 3 months to assess health status and somatic and cognitive symptoms, respectively. Results: Adjusting for clinical and demographic factors, health status improved significantly during the follow-up (F(1,357) = 10.84, P = .001). Anhedonic patients reported poorer health status compared with non-anhedoni
Does wage rank affect employees' well-being?
How do workers make wage comparisons? Both an experimental study and an analysis of 16,000 British employees are reported. Satisfaction and well-being levels are shown to depend on more than simple relative pay. They depend upon the ordinal rank of an individual's wage within a comparison group. “Rank” itself thus seems to matter to human beings. Moreover, consistent with psychological theory, quits in a workplace are correlated with pay distribution skewness
CODE-1 : moored array and large-scale data report
The Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment
(CODE) was undertaken to identify and study
the important dynamical processes which
govern the wind-driven motion of coastal
water over the continental shelf. The
initial effort in this multi-year, multi-institutional
research program was to obtain
high-quality data sets of all the
relevant physical variables needed to construct
accurate kinematic and dynamic descriptions
of the response of shelf water
to strong wind forcing in the 2 to 10 day
band. A series of two small-scale, densely-instrumented
field experiments of approximately
four months duration (called CODE-1
and CODE-2) were designed to explore and
to determine the kinematics and momentum
and heat balances of the local wind-driven
flow over a region of the northern California shelf which is characterized by both
relatively simple bottom topography and
large wind stress events in both winter
and summer. A more lightly instrumented,
long-term, large-scale component was designed
to help separate the local wind-driven
response in the region of the small-scale
experiments from motions generated either offshore by the California Current
system or in some distant region along the
coast, and also to help determine the seasonal
cycles of the atmospheric forcing,
water structure, and coastal currents over
the northern California shelf.
The first small-scale experiment
(CODE-1) was conducted between April and
August, 1981 as a pilot study in which
primary emphasis was placed on characterizing
the wind-driven "signal" and the
"noise" from which this signal must be
extracted. In particular, CODE-1 was
designed to identify the key features of
the circulation and its variability over
the northern California shelf and to
determine the important time and length
scales of the wind-driven response. This
report presents a basic description of the
moored array data and some other Eulerian
data collected during CODE-1. A brief
description of the CODE-1 field program is
presented first, followed by a description
of the common data analysis procedures used
to produce the various data sets presented
here. Then basic descriptions of the following
data sets are presented: (a) the
coastal and moored meteorological measurements,
(b) the moored current measurements,
(c) the moored temperature and conductivity
observations, (d) the bottom pressure measurements,
and (e) the wind and adjusted
coastal sea level observations obtained as
part of the CODE-1 large-scale component.Prepared for the National Science
Foundation under Grant OCE 80-14941
Topological Defects and Interactions in Nematic Emulsions
Inverse nematic emulsions in which surfactant-coated water droplets are
dispersed in a nematic host fluid have distinctive properties that set them
apart from dispersions of two isotropic fluids or of nematic droplets in an
isotropic fluid. We present a comprehensive theoretical study of the
distortions produced in the nematic host by the dispersed droplets and of
solvent mediated dipolar interactions between droplets that lead to their
experimentally observed chaining. A single droplet in a nematic host acts like
a macroscopic hedgehog defect. Global boundary conditions force the nucleation
of compensating topological defects in the nematic host. Using variational
techniques, we show that in the lowest energy configuration, a single water
droplet draws a single hedgehog out of the nematic host to form a tightly bound
dipole. Configurations in which the water droplet is encircled by a
disclination ring have higher energy. The droplet-dipole induces distortions in
the nematic host that lead to an effective dipole-dipole interaction between
droplets and hence to chaining.Comment: 17 double column pages prepared by RevTex, 15 eps figures included in
text, 2 gif figures for Fig. 1
Significance of Residual Organisms in Foods after Substerilizing Doses of Gamma Radiation: A Review
The nature of the flora surviving substerilizing irradiation of foods is dependent on the dose applied and the conditions of applications as well as the microenvi¬ronment of the food. At a dose level low enough to preserve acceptable sensory properties of fresh food, few if any of the common contaminants of public health significance survive irradiation. Survivors are weakened and present no unique problem of acquired resistance through recycling. Those bacteria surviving a low dose treatment of a relatively contaminated product like ground beef can grow under normal storage conditions and cause obvious sensory spoilage. Thus, low dose irradiation extends the shelf-life of fresh foods and reduces public health hazards, but foods so treated require normal care in production and distribution
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