Conductive textiles for signal sensing and technical applications

Conductive textiles have found notable applications as electrodes and sensors capable of detecting biosignals like the electrocardiogram (ECG), electrogastrogram (EGG), electroencephalogram (EEG), and electromyogram (EMG), etc; other applications include electromagnetic shielding, supercapacitors, and soft robotics. There are several classes of materials that impart conductivity, including polymers, metals, and non-metals. The most significant materials are Polypyrrole (PPy), Polyaniline (PANI), Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), carbon, and metallic nanoparticles. The processes of making conductive textiles include various deposition methods, polymerization, coating, and printing. The parameters, such as conductivity and electromagnetic shielding, are prerequisites that set the benchmark for the performance of conductive textile materials. This review paper focuses on the raw materials that are used for conductive textiles, various approaches that impart conductivity, the fabrication of conductive materials, testing methods of electrical parameters, and key technical applications, challenges, and future potential

Antimicrobial Resistance, Virulence Factors and Genetic Diversity of Escherichia coli Isolates from Household Water Supply in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background: Unsafe water supplies continue to raise public health concerns, especially in urban areas in low resource countries. To understand the extent of public health risk attributed to supply water in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, Escherichia coli isolated from tap water samples collected from different locations of the city were characterized for their antibiotic resistance, pathogenic properties and genetic diversity. Methodology/Principal Findings: A total of 233 E. coli isolates obtained from 175 tap water samples were analysed for susceptibility to 16 different antibiotics and for the presence of genes associated with virulence and antibiotic resistance. Nearly 36% (n = 84) of the isolates were multi-drug(≥3 classes of antibiotics) resistant (MDR) and 26% (n = 22) of these were positive for extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). Of the 22 ESBL-producers, 20 were positive for blaCTX-M-15, 7 for blaOXA-1-group(all had blaOXA-47) and 2 for blaCMY-2. Quinolone resistance genes, qnrS and qnrB were detected in 6 and 2 isolates, respectively. Around 7% (n = 16) of the isolates carried virulence gene(s) characteristic of pathogenic E. coli; 11 of these contained lt and/or st and thus belonged to enterotoxigenic E. coli and 5 contained bfp and eae and thus belonged to enteropathogenic E. coli. All MDR isolates carried multiple plasmids (2 to 8) of varying sizes ranging from 1.2 to >120 MDa. Ampicillin and ceftriaxone resistance were co-transferred in conjugative plasmids of 70 to 100 MDa in size, while ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline resistance were co-transferred in conjugative plasmids of 50 to 90 MDa. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed diverse genetic fingerprints of pathogenic isolates. Significance: Multi-drug resistant E. coli are wide spread in public water supply in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Transmission of resistant bacteria and plasmids through supply water pose serious threats to public health in urban areas

PCR primers used in the study.

<p>PCR primers used in the study.</p

Antibiotic resistance pattern, presence of antibiotic resistance genes and plasmid patterns of ESBL-producing <i>E. coli</i> isolated from water samples.

a<p>Amp, Ampicillin; Atm, Aztreonam; C, Cholramphenicol; Caz, Ceftazidime; Cfm, Cefixime; Cip, Ciprofloxacin; Cn, Gentamycin; Cro, Ceftriaxone; Ctx, Cefotaxime; E, Erythromycin; Fox, Cefoxitin; Imp, Imipenem; K, Kanamycin; Mel, Mecillinam; Mem, Meropenem; NA, Nalidixic acid; Nor, Norfloxacin; Sxt, Sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim; Te, Tetracycline; and Tzp, Piperacillin-Tazobactam; All S, Sensitive to all antibiotics tested in the study.</p

Dendrogram of PFGE fingerprints from pathogenic <i>E. coli</i> isolates isolated from water samples.

<p>The percentage of genetic homology between banding patterns is indicated. Presence of virulence genes, pathotypes, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and plasmid pattern are plotted next to dendrogram.</p

Efficacy of colchicine in patients with moderate COVID-19: A double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may cause severe life-threatening diseases called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) owing to cytokine storms. The mortality rate of COVID-19-related ARDS is as high as 40% to 50%. However, effective treatment for the extensive release of acute inflammatory mediators induced by hyperactive and inappropriate immune responses is very limited. Many anti-inflammatory drugs with variable efficacies have been investigated. Colchicine inhibits interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and its subsequent inflammatory cascade by primarily blocking pyrin and nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain containing receptor 3 (NLRP3) activation. Therefore, this cheap, widely available, oral drug might provide an added benefit in combating the cytokine storm in COVID-19. Here, we sought to determine whether adding colchicine to other standards of care could be beneficial for moderate COVID-19 pneumonia in terms of the requirement for advanced respiratory support and mortality. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This blinded placebo-controlled drug trial was conducted at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 300 patients with moderate COVID-19 based on a positive RT-PCR result were enrolled based on strict selection criteria from June 2020 to November 2020. Patients were randomly assigned to either treatment group in a 1:1 ratio. Patients were administered 1.2 mg of colchicine on day 1 followed by daily treatment with 0.6 mg of colchicine for 13 days or placebo along with the standard of care. The primary outcome was the time to clinical deterioration from randomization to two or more points on a seven-category ordinal scale within the 14 days post-randomization. Clinical outcomes were also recorded on day 28. The primary endpoint was met by 9 (6.2%) patients in the placebo group and 4 (2.7%) patients in the colchicine group (P = 0.171), which corresponds to a hazard ratio (95% CI) of 0.44 (0.13–1.43). Additional analysis of the outcomes on day 28 revealed significantly lower clinical deterioration (defined as a decrease by two or more points) in the colchicine group, with a hazard ratio [95%CI] of 0.29 [0.098–0.917], (P = 0.035). Despite a 56% reduction in the need for mechanical ventilation and death with colchicine treatment on day 14, the reduction was not statistically significant. On day 28, colchicine significantly reduced clinical deterioration measured as the need for mechanical ventilation and all-cause mortality. CONCLUSION: Colchicine was not found to have a significant beneficial effect on reducing mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation. However, a delayed beneficial effect was observed. Therefore, further studies should be conducted to evaluate the late benefits of colchicine. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical trial registration no: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04527562 https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&amp;q=NCT04527562

Post-discharge quality of life of COVID-19 patients at 1-month follow-up: A cross-sectional study in the largest tertiary care hospital of Bangladesh.

There is increasing evidence of the post-COVID-19 suffering and decreased quality of life in the COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to assess the quality of life and associated factors of COVID-19 patients at one month after discharge from the hospital. This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted at the post-covid clinic of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where RT-PCR-confirmed adult COVID-19 recovered patients were enrolled one month after discharge from the same hospital. They were consecutively selected from January 01 to May 30. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used for the data collection for clinical variables. The generic multi-attributable utility instrument EQ-5D-5L was used for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A total of 563 patients were enrolled in the study. The patients had a mean age with standard deviation (±SD) of 51.18 (±13.49) years and 55.95% were male. The mean (SD) EQ-5D-5L index score and EQ-VAS scores were 0.78 (±0.19) and 70.26 (±11.13), respectively. Overall, 45.77%, 50.99%, 52.79%, 55.14% and 62.16% had problems (slight to extreme) in the mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression dimensions, respectively. Patients aged ≥60 years had significant problem in mobility (odds ratio [OR] 3.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-9.77). Female participants were 5.50 times (95% CI: 2.22-13.62) more likely to have problems in their usual activities. In comparison to urban area, living in a peri-urban setting was significantly associated with problems in mobility (OR 1.89, 95% CI: 1.13-3.20), pain/discomfort (OR 1.82, 95% CI: 1.04-3.12) and anxiety/depression (OR 2.16, 95% CI: 1.22-3.84). Comorbid patients were 1.75 times (95% CI: 1.07-2.85) more likely to report problems in the pain/discomfort dimension. Presence of symptom(s) was associated with problems in self-care (OR 3.27, 95%CI: 1.31-8.18), usual-activity (OR 3.08, 95%CI: 1.21-7.87), pain/discomfort dimensions (OR 2.75, 95%CI: 1.09-6.96) and anxiety/depression (OR 3.35, 95%CI: 1.35-8.30). Specific management strategies should be planned to address the factors associated with low health-related quality of life in post-acute care of COVID-19 patients

Dataset.

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Supplementary tables.

(PDF)</p