237 research outputs found
Imaging manifestations from critically-ill patients during early spread of COVID-19
Background. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) started in December 2019 in Wuhan. This study evaluated clinical characteristics, and imaging manifestations in Ezhou, an early locked down city, about 36 miles east of Wuhan where the outbreaks started.
Methods. We analyzed data from 98 confirmed severe COVID-19 patients in Ezhou Central Hospital between February 1st and March 22nd, 2020. We compared patients’ laboratory results, imaging manifestations and treatments between survival and death groups.
Results. Of these 98 confirmed COVID-19 patients, 24 individuals (24.6%) had chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disease. The main symptoms of critically ill patients were fever (86.7%), cough (83.7%), and dyspnea (59.1%). Common complications were acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS; 49%), acute kidney injury (AKI; 37.7%), and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS; 32.6%) CT scans displayed ground-glass-opacity (GGO), at subpleural regions that were associated with interlobular septal thickening. Within 28 days, 39 COVID-19 patients died. Compared to survivors, the death group had a higher median age (69.8 vs. 61.3, p \u3c 0.05), and were more prone to ARDS (100% vs. 15.2%) and MODS (76% vs. 3.4%) than survivors. Our report showed that in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, there was a high mortality rate in critically ill patients. Elderly patients (\u3e 65 years) normally have an increased risk of complications and ARDS. Most non-survivors were highly dependent upon mechanical ventilation.
Conclusion. CT scans with imaging manifestations showed abnormal conditions in the lower multiple bilateral lung lobes, which provides a useful characterization of this fatal disease by recognizing the COVID-19 pneumonia and assessing its evolution for the target for intervention of the patient recovery
Detection of rubidium and samarium in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter MASCARA-4b
Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) possess the most extreme environments among various
types of exoplanets, making them ideal laboratories to study the chemical
composition and kinetics properties of exoplanet atmosphere with
high-resolution spectroscopy (HRS). It has the advantage of resolving the tiny
Doppler shift and weak signal from exoplanet atmosphere and has helped to
detect dozens of heavy elements in UHJs including KELT-9b, WASP-76b, WASP-121b.
MASCARA-4b is a 2.8-day UHJ with an equilibrium temperature of K,
which is expected to contain heavy elements detectable with VLT. In this
letter, we present a survey of atoms/ions in the atmosphere of the MASCARA-4b,
using the two VLT/ESPRESSO transits data. Cross-correlation analyses are
performed on the obtained transmission spectra at each exposure with the
template spectra generated by petitRADTRANS for atoms/ions from element Li to
U. We confirm the previous detection of Mg, Ca, Cr and Fe and report the
detection of Rb, Sm, Ti+ and Ba+ with peak signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) 5.
We report a tentative detection of Sc+, with peak SNRs 6 but deviating
from the estimated position. The most interesting discovery is the first-time
detection of elements Rb and Sm in an exoplanet. Rb is an alkaline element like
Na and K, while Sm is the first lanthanide series element and is by far the
heaviest one detected in exoplanets. Detailed modeling and acquiring more data
are required to yield abundance ratios of the heavy elements and to understand
better the common presence of them in UHJ's atmospheres.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, Accepted to A
Thermal Emission from the Hot Jupiter WASP-103b in and Bands
Hot Jupiters, particularly those with temperature higher than 2000\,K are the
best sample of planets that allow in-depth characterization of their
atmospheres. We present here a thermal emission study of the ultra hot Jupiter
WASP\mbox{-}103\,b observed in two secondary eclipses with CFHT/WIRCam in
and bands. By means of high precision differential photometry, we
determine eclipse depths in and to an accuracy of 220 and
270\,ppm, which are combined with the published HST/WFC3 and Spitzer data to
retrieve a joint constraints on the properties of WASP-103\,b dayside
atmosphere. We find that the atmosphere is best fit with a thermal inversion
layer included. The equilibrium chemistry retrieval indicates an enhanced C/O
(1.35) and a super metallicity with
[Fe/H] composition. Given the near-solar metallicity of
WASP-103 of [Fe/H]=0.06, this planet seems to be 100 more abundant than
its host star. The free chemistry retrieval analysis yields a large abundance
of FeH, H, CO and CH. Additional data of better accuracy from
future observations of JWST should provide better constraint of the atmospheric
properties of WASP-103b
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P4HA2 hydroxylates SUFU to regulate the paracrine Hedgehog signaling and promote B-cell lymphoma progression.
Aberrations in the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway are significantly prevailed in various cancers, including B-cell lymphoma. A critical facet of Hh signal transduction involves the dynamic regulation of the suppressor of fused homolog (SUFU)-glioma-associated oncogene homolog (GLI) complex within the kinesin family member 7 (KIF7)-supported ciliary tip compartment. However, the specific post-translational modifications of SUFU-GLI complex within this context have remained largely unexplored. Our study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism involving prolyl 4-hydroxylase 2 (P4HA2), which forms a complex with KIF7 and is essential for signal transduction of Hh pathway. We demonstrate that, upon Hh pathway activation, P4HA2 relocates alongside KIF7 to the ciliary tip. Here, it hydroxylates SUFU to inhibit its function, thus amplifying the Hh signaling. Moreover, the absence of P4HA2 significantly impedes B lymphoma progression. This effect can be attributed to the suppression of Hh signaling in stromal fibroblasts, resulting in decreased growth factors essential for malignant proliferation of B lymphoma cells. Our findings highlight the role of P4HA2-mediated hydroxylation in modulating Hh signaling and propose a novel stromal-targeted therapeutic strategy for B-cell lymphoma
Activation of the hippocampal AC-cAMP-PKA-CREB-BDNF signaling pathway using WTKYR in depression model rats
Depression, also called “depression disorder,” is characterized by a significant and persistent low mood. It has become a major refractory disease in the 21st century. In recent years, Chinese medicine has shown some important clinical value in the treatment of depression. Among them, the Warming and “Tonifying” Kidney-Yang Recipe (WTKYR) has been demonstrated to have obvious effects in the clinical treatments of depression; however, the mechanism remains unclear. This study is based on the adenylyl cyclase (AC)—cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)—protein kinase A (PKA)—cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB)—brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling pathway, aiming to investigate the mechanism of WTKYR. The results showed that WTKYR can upregulate AC-cAMP-PKA-CREB-BDNF in the hippocampus of depression model rats and alleviate its depressive symptoms, which may be the mechanism of WTKYR.</p
Toward carbon neutrality: Uncovering constraints on critical minerals in the Chinese power system
China has set up its ambitious carbon neutrality target, which mainly relies on significant energy-related carbon emissions reduction. As the largest important contributing sector, power sector must achieve energy transition, in which critical minerals will play an essential role. However, the potential supply and demand for these minerals are uncertain. This study aims to predict the cumulative demand for critical minerals in the power sector under different scenarios via dynamic material flow analysis (DMFA), including total demands, supplies and production capacities of different minerals. Then, these critical minerals are categorized into superior and scarce resources for further analysis so that more detailed results can be obtained. Results present that the total minerals supply will not meet the total minerals demand (74260 kt) in 2060. Serious resource shortages will occur for several key minerals, such as Cr, Cu, Mn, Ag, Te, Ga, and Co. In addition, the demand for renewable energy will be nearly fifty times higher than that of fossil fuels energy, implying more diversified demands for various minerals. Finally, several policy recommendations are proposed to help improve the overall resource efficiency, such as strategic reserves, material substitutions, and circular economy
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