The study and solution of a corrosion problem induced by air conditioning

A recent personal investigation conducted by the writer has disclosed the extremely interesting fact that almost every large air conditioning plant in operation in St. Louis is experiencing serious difficulty in operation due to corrosion of some component part. With the ever increasing number of installations of large air conditioning plants the problem of corrosion prevention is becoming one of major economic importance --Introduction, page 7

The impact of a protein-rich breakfast on food cravings and reward in overweight/obese 'breakfast skipping' adolescent girls

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on November 2, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Heather J. LeidyIncludes bibliographical references.M.S. University of Missouri--Columbia 2012."July 2012"This study examined whether the addition of a higher-protein (HP) vs. normal-protein (NP) breakfast leads to beneficial changes in perceived appetite, food cravings, and plasma homovanillic acid (HVA), which is an index of central dopamine production, in overweight/obese 'breakfast skipping' (BS) teen girls. A randomized crossover design was incorporated in which 20 BS girls (age 19[plus or minus]1y; BMI 28.6[plus or minus]0.7kg/m2) consumed 350 kcal breakfast meals containing NP (13g protein) or HP meals (35g protein) for 7 days. On day 7, a 4h testing day was completed including the consumption of breakfast followed by perceived appetite, satiety, and food craving questionnaires and blood sampling for HVA concentration assessment throughout the morning. Breakfast, regardless of protein content, reduced perceived hunger and cravings for sweet and savory foods vs. BS (all, p<0.05). Breakfast also increased perceived fullness and overall pleasure/well-being vs. BS (all, p<0.05). Between meals, HP led to greater reductions in savory cravings vs. NP (p<0.05) and greater increases in fullness vs. NP (p=0.08). No other differences in perceived sensations were observed. Plasma HVA concentrations were greater following consumption of both breakfast meals vs. BS (both, p<0.05), with only HP exhibiting sustained increases prior to lunch vs. NP (p=0.09). Additionally, HVA concentrations were correlated with perceived fullness, breakfast palatability, and protein content at breakfast. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the daily addition of a protein-rich breakfast, containing 35g of protein, alters signals associated with food motivation and reward, and might be a beneficial strategy to combat the modern food environment in young people

Acculturation and Disparities in Telemedicine Readiness: A National Study.

Telemedicine provided older adults the ability to safely seek care during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate the potential impact of acculturation factors in telemedicine uptake between ethnic groups. As part of the National Health and Aging Trends Study 2018 survey, 303 participants (≥65 years) were interviewed. We assessed the impact of acculturation on telemedicine readiness by race and ethnicity. Compared to the white non-Hispanic immigrant population, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander (API) populations had significantly lower telemedicine readiness and uptake. Limited English proficiency or older age at the time of migration was associated with telemedicine unreadiness and uptake in the Hispanic and API populations. Our findings suggested that acculturation factors play a substantial role in telemedicine uptake among older adult immigrants in the United States. Therefore, acculturation factors should be considered when promoting and adopting telemedicine technologies in older adults

Association between antidepressant use and ED or hospital visits in outpatients with SARS-CoV-2

Antidepressants have previously been associated with better outcomes in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, but their effect on clinical deterioration among ambulatory patients has not been fully explored. The objective of this study was to assess whether antidepressant exposure was associated with reduced emergency department (ED) or hospital visits among ambulatory patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. This retrospective cohort study included adult patients (N = 25 034) with a positive SARS-CoV-2 test performed in a non-hospital setting. Logistic regression analyses tested associations between home use of antidepressant medications and a composite outcome of ED visitation or hospital admission within 30 days. Secondary exposures included individual antidepressants and antidepressants with functional inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase (FIASMA) activity. Patients with antidepressant exposure were less likely to experience the primary composite outcome compared to patients without antidepressant exposure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-0.99, p = 0.04). This association was only observed with daily doses of at least 20 mg fluoxetine-equivalent (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.99, p = 0.04), but not with daily doses lower than 20 mg fluoxetine-equivalent (aOR 0.94, 95% CI 0.80-1.11, p = 0.48). In exploratory secondary analyses, the outcome incidence was also reduced with exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.75-0.99, p = 0.04), bupropion (aOR 0.70, 95% CI 0.55-0.90, p = 0.005), and FIASMA antidepressant drugs (aOR 0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.99, p = 0.03). Antidepressant exposure was associated with a reduced incidence of emergency department visitation or hospital admission among SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, in a dose-dependent manner. These data support the FIASMA model of antidepressants\u27 effects against COVID-19

Antidepressant use and its association with 28-day mortality in inpatients with SARS-CoV-2: Support for the FIASMA model against COVID-19

To reduce Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related mortality and morbidity, widely available oral COVID-19 treatments are urgently needed. Certain antidepressants, such as fluvoxamine or fluoxetine, may be beneficial against COVID-19. We included 388,945 adult inpatients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at 36 AP-HP (Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris) hospitals from 2 May 2020 to 2 November 2021. We compared the prevalence of antidepressant use at admission in a 1:1 ratio matched analytic sample with and without COVID-19 (N = 82,586), and assessed its association with 28-day all-cause mortality in a 1:1 ratio matched analytic sample of COVID-19 inpatients with and without antidepressant use at admission (N = 1482). Antidepressant use was significantly less prevalent in inpatients with COVID-19 than in a matched control group of inpatients without COVID-19 (1.9% versus 4.8%; Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.38; 95%CI = 0.35-0.41

Combining multivariate genomic approaches to elucidate the comorbidity between autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are two highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders. Several lines of evidence point towards the presence of shared genetic factors underlying ASD and ADHD. We conducted genomic analyses of common risk variants (i.e. single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) shared by ASD and ADHD, and those specific to each disorder. METHODS: With the summary data from two GWAS, one on ASD (N = 46,350) and another on ADHD (N = 55,374) individuals, we used genomic structural equation modelling and colocalization analysis to identify SNPs shared by ASD and ADHD and SNPs specific to each disorder. Functional genomic analyses were then conducted on shared and specific common genetic variants. Finally, we performed a bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis to test whether the shared genetic risk between ASD and ADHD was interpretable in terms of reciprocal relationships between ASD and ADHD. RESULTS: We found that 37.5% of the SNPs associated with ASD (at p < 1e-6) colocalized with ADHD SNPs and that 19.6% of the SNPs associated with ADHD colocalized with ASD SNPs. We identified genes mapped to SNPs that are specific to ASD or ADHD and that are shared by ASD and ADHD, including two novel genes INSM1 and PAX1. Our bidirectional Mendelian randomization analyses indicated that the risk of ASD was associated with an increased risk of ADHD and vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Using multivariate genomic analyses, the present study uncovers shared and specific genetic variants associated with ASD and ADHD. Further functional investigation of genes mapped to those shared variants may help identify pathophysiological pathways and new targets for treatment

Association of fluvoxamine with mortality and symptom resolution among inpatients with COVID-19 in Uganda : a prospective interventional open-label cohort study

Funding: We acknowledge the funding support from the Government of the Republic of Uganda through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF).Prior research suggests that fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder, could be repurposed against COVID-19. We undertook a prospective interventional open-label cohort study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of fluvoxamine among inpatients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Uganda. The main outcome was all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were hospital discharge and complete symptom resolution. We included 316 patients, of whom 94 received fluvoxamine in addition to standard care [median age, 60 years (IQR = 37.0); women, 52.2%]. Fluvoxamine use was significantly associated with reduced mortality [AHR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.19–0.53; p < 0.001, NNT = 4.46] and with increased complete symptom resolution [AOR = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.53–5.51; p < 0.001, NNT = 4.44]. Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. These effects did not significantly differ by clinical characteristic, including vaccination status. Among the 161 survivors, fluvoxamine was not significantly associated with time to hospital discharge [AHR 0.81, 95% CI (0.54–1.23), p = 0.32]. There was a trend toward greater side effects with fluvoxamine (7.45% versus 3.15%; SMD = 0.21; χ2 = 3.46, p = 0.06), most of which were light or mild in severity and none of which were serious. One hundred mg of fluvoxamine prescribed twice daily for 10 days was well tolerated and significantly associated with reduced mortality and with increased complete symptom resolution, without a significant increase in time to hospital discharge, among inpatients with COVID-19. Large-scale randomized trials are urgently needed to confirm these findings, especially for low- and middle-income countries, where access to vaccines and approved treatments against COVID-19 is limited.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Antiviral and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Fluoxetine in a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Mouse Model

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Since a large portion of the world’s population is currently unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated and has limited access to approved treatments against COVID-19, there is an urgent need to continue research on treatment options, especially those at low cost and which are immediately available to patients, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Prior in vitro and observational studies have shown that fluoxetine, possibly through its inhibitory effect on the acid sphingomyelinase/ceramide system, could be a promising antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatment against COVID-19. In this report, we evaluated the potential antiviral and anti-inflammatory activities of fluoxetine in a K18-hACE2 mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and against variants of concern in vitro, i.e., SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain, Alpha B.1.1.7, Gamma P1, Delta B1.617 and Omicron BA.5. Fluoxetine, administrated after SARS-CoV-2 infection, significantly reduced lung tissue viral titres and expression of several inflammatory markers (i.e., IL-6, TNFα, CCL2 and CXCL10). It also inhibited the replication of all variants of concern in vitro. A modulation of the ceramide system in the lung tissues, as reflected by the increase in the ratio HexCer 16:0/Cer 16:0 in fluoxetine-treated mice, may contribute to explain these effects. Our findings demonstrate the antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties of fluoxetine in a K18-hACE2 mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and its in vitro antiviral activity against variants of concern, establishing fluoxetine as a very promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease pathogenesis