Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

Structural and electrochemical characterisation of Pt and Pd nanoparticles electrodeposited at the liquid/liquid interface

Structural and electrochemical characterisation of Pt and Pd nanoparticles electrodeposited at the liquid/liquid interfac

Electrodeposition of palladium nanoparticles at the liquid-liquid interface using porous alumina templates

Electrodeposition of palladium nanoparticles at the liquid-liquid interface using porous alumina template

Voltammetry with liquid/liquid microarrays: characterization of membrane materials

A simple nondestructive method is presented to characterize the physical properties of ultrafiltration membranes. The technique utilizes voltammetry at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) and has been applied to commercially available γ-alumina membranes. Upon the application of a potential difference across the ITIES, the voltammetric response resulting from an ion transfer is a direct measure of the membrane porosity. The technique has been applied to the measurement of the fractional porous area (porosity) and the membrane thickness. The reported technique offers advantages over existing methods such as being easy to use, reproducible, inexpensive, and nondestructive. Furthermore, unlike many optical techniques, this method is not limited by a minimum nominal pore size and has thus been used to make measurements when the reported nominal pore diameter is as small as 20 nm

Structural and electrochemical characterisation of Pt and Pd nanoparticles electrodeposited at the liquid/liquid interface

Structural and electrochemical characterisation of Pt and Pd nanoparticles electrodeposited at the liquid/liquid interfac

Editorial 'Spain-France Special Collection: Current Trends in Electrochemistry'

The Meeting of the Electrochemistry Group of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) is an annual event that has taken place since the late 1970s. The meeting brings together the entire Spanish electrochemistry community at a single event to discuss the latest advances in our field, and normally takes place in different Spanish cities. Over the last decade, mainly due to the deep economic crisis experienced in Spain, the number of electrochemists trained in Spain who have emigrated and today lead important groups in other European countries and in the USA has grown significantly. Thus, the XLI Meeting of the Electrochemistry Group was organized in Paris (France) in 2021, and served to regroup all electrochemists trained in Spain, both emigrants and residents. By holding the meeting outside of Spain, the Electrochemistry Group aimed to internationalize the group's meetings and to strengthen collaborations with the French electrochemistry community

Wastewater treatment by multi-stage batch adsorption and electrochemical regeneration

The removal and destruction of a tri-phenyl methane dye, Acid Violet 17 (AV17), from aqueous solution by adsorption and electrochemical regeneration was studied using a graphite intercalation compound (GIC) adsorbent. It was demonstrated that the adsorbent could be regenerated by anodic oxidation of the adsorbed dye in a simple electrochemical cell. The GIC adsorbent recovered its initial adsorption capacity after 40 to 60 min of treatment at a current density of 10 mA cm-2, corresponding to a charge of 12 to 18 C g-1 of adsorbent. The charge passed is consistent with that expected for mineralisation of the dye, suggesting that the dye was removed and destroyed with high charge efficiency. The energy cost of the regeneration was found to be around 120 J per g of adsorbent regenerated or 115 J per mg of the AV17 dye removed and destroyed. A model describing the process of wastewater treatment by multiple cycles of adsorption and electrochemical regeneration, based on adsorption isotherm data, has been deve-loped and validated. It was found that relatively modest improvements in the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent material could significantly improve the process performance

Removal of tyrosol from water by adsorption on carbonaceous materials and electrochemical advanced oxidation processes

This work compares the ability of physical and chemical treatments, namely adsorption and electrochemical advanced oxidation processes, to remove tyrosol from aqueous medium. Adsorption on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) performed much better than a graphite intercalation compound. Adsorption isotherm fit with Freundlich model (R2 = 0.96), which is characteristic of a chemisorption process. Successful electrochemical regeneration enables 5 successive adsorption/regeneration cycles before corrosion of GNPs occurs. Other typical aromatic contaminants that may coexist with tyrosol can be also adsorbed on GNPs. Percentage of regeneration efficiency of GNPs showed a higher affinity towards Lewis acids group compounds and a lower one towards Lewis base. The treatment of 100 mL of 0.723 mM tyrosol solutions in non-chlorinated and chlorinated matrices at pH 3.0 was carried out by electrochemical oxidation with electrogenerated H2O2 (EO-H2O2), electro-Fenton (EF) and UVA photoelectro-Fenton (PEF). Trials were made with a BDD anode and an air-diffusion cathode at 10-30 mA cm-2. Hydroxyl radicals formed at the anode from water oxidation and/or in the bulk from Fenton's reaction between added Fe2+ and generated H2O2, along with active chlorine produced in chlorinated medium, were the main oxidants. Tyrosol concentration always decayed following a pseudo-first-order kinetics and its mineralization rose as EO-H2O2 < EF < PEF, more rapidly in the chlorinated matrix. The potent photolysis of intermediates under UVA radiation explained the almost total mineralization achieved by PEF in the latter medium. The effect of current density and tyrosol content on the performance of all processes was examined

All-iron redox flow battery in flow-through and flow-over set-ups: the critical role of cell configuration

Significant differences in performance between the two prevalent cell configurations in all-soluble, all-iron redox flow batteries are presented, demonstrating the critical role of cell architecture in the pursuit of novel chemistries in non-vanadium systems. Using a ferrocyanide-based posolyte, and a negolyte containing a hydroxylamine-based iron complex, higher maximum power density, energy efficiency, and electrolyte utilisation were observed with a flow-over cell that incorporated a carbon paper, compared with a flow-through configuration that used a graphite felt. Capacity fade was lower in the flow-over case, likely the result of a set-up with lower overpotentials, as indicated by polarisation curve analysis. Capacity fade in the flow-through case increased upon lowering current density, suggesting a different degradation pathway, dominated instead by electrolyte cross-over. These findings highlight the potential of novel non-vanadium chemistries in both flow-through and flow-over cells, prompting further research exploration of cell architectures.</p