Features of Chronic Bronchitis in Different Age Groups

Background: Lung diseases are assuming greater relevance and importance today. Chronic bronchitis is a self-nosology, which may precede the development of COPD, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated. The main problem in this disease is caused by late diagnosis and treatment due to the delay by patients in seeking medical help. The aim of the work was to study the distribution and exposure to tobacco smoke, especially chronic bronchitis, depending on various factors, including age. Methods: We examined 1779 persons, including 855 men and 924 women. The mean age of the population was 35.83±8.3 years. We conducted surveys and spirometry. The outcome was assessed after a bronchodilation test was performed with salbutamol 400 mcg. We performed all statistical analysis using software package Statistica 10. Results: We identified chronic bronchitis in 9.2% of the cases in the group of younger individuals and in 14.9% of the cases in the group of older individuals, during the active detection of chronic bronchitis using questionnaires. The prevalence of cigarette smoking was slightly higher among the younger (39.5%) than the older persons (33.6%); the frequency of smoking in a group of chronic bronchitis was reliably higher. Also, in this group, the performance spirometry reliably decreased. Conclusions: Outpatient survey is an effective method of identifying chronic bronchitis. Smoking is a major risk factor in the group of young respondents and the prevalence of smoking is inversely related to the education level of the respondents, regardless of age. As the decline in the Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1 and FEV1/FVC) is the main criterion diagnosis of COPD, it revealed significant declines in the FEV1 of the younger smoking individuals, which may help to predict the development of COPD in the older age group

Non-Abelian braiding of graph vertices in a superconducting processor

Indistinguishability of particles is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics. For all elementary and quasiparticles observed to date - including fermions, bosons, and Abelian anyons - this principle guarantees that the braiding of identical particles leaves the system unchanged. However, in two spatial dimensions, an intriguing possibility exists: braiding of non-Abelian anyons causes rotations in a space of topologically degenerate wavefunctions. Hence, it can change the observables of the system without violating the principle of indistinguishability. Despite the well developed mathematical description of non-Abelian anyons and numerous theoretical proposals, the experimental observation of their exchange statistics has remained elusive for decades. Controllable many-body quantum states generated on quantum processors offer another path for exploring these fundamental phenomena. While efforts on conventional solid-state platforms typically involve Hamiltonian dynamics of quasi-particles, superconducting quantum processors allow for directly manipulating the many-body wavefunction via unitary gates. Building on predictions that stabilizer codes can host projective non-Abelian Ising anyons, we implement a generalized stabilizer code and unitary protocol to create and braid them. This allows us to experimentally verify the fusion rules of the anyons and braid them to realize their statistics. We then study the prospect of employing the anyons for quantum computation and utilize braiding to create an entangled state of anyons encoding three logical qubits. Our work provides new insights about non-Abelian braiding and - through the future inclusion of error correction to achieve topological protection - could open a path toward fault-tolerant quantum computing

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Synthesis of Porous Biomimetic Composites: A Sea Urchin Skeleton Used as a Template

The paper presents an original method for the template synthesis of biomimetic porous composites using polyferrophenylsiloxane (PFPS) and the skeleton of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius as a structuring template. The study aimed to form an organosilicon base of a composite with an inverted structure relative to the original structure of the sea urchin shell with a period of structure movement of about 20 µm and ceramic composites fabrication with the silicate base with an average pore size distribution of about 10 μm obtained by the reaction of PFPS with the inorganic base of the sea urchin test under conditions of calcination at 1000 °C followed by acid etching. The composition and morphology of the obtained composites were investigated by IR, XRD, XPS, EDX, and SEM techniques and by mercury porosimetry; the parameters of the porous structures depend on the selected methods of their synthesis. The proposed method is of fundamental importance for developing methods for the chemical synthesis of new biomimetics with a unique porosity architecture based on environmentally friendly natural raw materials for a vast practical application

Prevalence of chromosomal alterations in first-trimester spontaneous pregnancy loss

Pregnancy loss is often caused by chromosomal abnormalities of the conceptus. The prevalence of these abnormalities and the allocation of (ab)normal cells in embryonic and placental lineages during intrauterine development remain elusive. In this study, we analyzed 1,745 spontaneous pregnancy losses and found that roughly half (50.4%) of the products of conception (POCs) were karyotypically abnormal, with maternal and paternal age independently contributing to the increased genomic aberration rate. We applied genome haplarithmisis to a subset of 94 pregnancy losses with normal parental and POC karyotypes. Genotyping of parental DNA as well as POC extra-embryonic mesoderm and chorionic villi DNA, representing embryonic and trophoblastic tissues, enabled characterization of the genomic landscape of both lineages. Of these pregnancy losses, 35.1% had chromosomal aberrations not previously detected by karyotyping, increasing the rate of aberrations of pregnancy losses to 67.8% by extrapolation. In contrast to viable pregnancies where mosaic chromosomal abnormalities are often restricted to chorionic villi, such as confined placental mosaicism, we found a higher degree of mosaic chromosomal imbalances in extra-embryonic mesoderm rather than chorionic villi. Our results stress the importance of scrutinizing the full allelic architecture of genomic abnormalities in pregnancy loss to improve clinical management and basic research of this devastating condition

Neutronic analysis of JET external neutron monitor response

The power output of fusion devices is measured in terms of the neutron yield which relates directly to the fusion yield. JET made a transition from Carbon wall to ITER-Like Wall (Beryllium/Tungsten/Carbon) during 2010–11. Absolutely calibrated measurement of the neutron yield by JET neutron monitors was ensured by direct measurements using a calibrated 252Cf neutron source (NS) deployed by the in-vessel remote handling system (RHS) inside the JET vacuum vessel. Neutronic calculations were required in order to understand the neutron transport from the source in the vacuum vessel to the fission chamber detectors mounted outside the vessel on the transformer limbs of the tokamak. We developed a simplified computational model of JET and the JET RHS in Monte Carlo neutron transport code MCNP and analyzed the paths and structures through which neutrons reach the detectors and the effect of the JET RHS on the neutron monitor response. In addition we performed several sensitivity studies of the effect of substantial massive structures blocking the ports on the external neutron monitor response. As the simplified model provided a qualitative picture of the process only, some calculations were repeated using a more detailed full 3D model of the JET tokamak

Radiation damage and nuclear heating studies in selected functional materials during the JET DT campaign

A new Deuterium-Tritium campaign (DTE2) is planned at JET in the next years, with a proposed 14MeV neutron budget of 1.7×1021, which is nearly an order of magnitude higher than any previous DT campaigns. The neutron and gamma ray fields inside the JET device during DT plasma operations at specific locations have previously been evaluated. It is estimated that a total neutron fluence on the first wall of JET of up to 1020 n/m2 could be achieved, which is comparable to the fluence occurring in ITER at the end of life in the rear part of the port plug, where several diagnostic components will be located.The purpose of the present work is to evaluate the radiation damage and nuclear heating in selected functional materials to be irradiated at JET during DT plasma operation. These quantities are calculated with the use of the MCNP6 code and the FISPACT II code. In particular the neutron and gamma ray fields at specific locations inside the JET device, dedicated to material damage studies, were characterized. The emphasis is on a potential long term irradiation station located close to the first wall at outboard midplane, offering the opportunity to irradiate samples of functional materials used in ITER diagnostics, to assess the degradation of the physical properties. The radiation damage and the nuclear heating were calculated for selected materials irradiated in these positions and for the neutron flux and fluence expected in DTE2. The studied candidate functional materials include, among others, Sapphire, YAG, ZnS, Spinel, Diamond. In addition the activation of the internal irradiation holder itself was calculated with FISPACT. Damage levels in the range of 10-5 dpa were found