Real-time PCR Demonstrates Ancylostoma duodenale Is a Key Factor in the Etiology of Severe Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Malawian Pre-school Children

Hookworm infections are a major cause of childhood anemia and iron deficiency. Two hookworm species exist of which Ancylostoma duodenale is the less common, yet causing more blood loss than Necator americanus. Although species differentiation and quantification are both of clinical importance, these are often not performed as the technique is complex and laborious using microscopy. Multiplex real-time PCR is a novel diagnostic tool which allows hookworm species differentiation and infection quantification. We applied this test in 830 stool samples of Malawian children with and without severe anemia. The prevalence of hookworm infections was high. A. duodenale was unexpectedly more prevalent than N. americanus. A. duodenale infections were associated with increased risk for severe anemia and iron deficiency, both of which increased with infection load. The study identifies a need for the quantitative screening of species-specific hookworm infections, which readily can be achieved by real-time-PCR. A. duodenale was independently associated with severe anemia and iron deficiency in our study population

Recovery of dialysis patients with COVID-19 : health outcomes 3 months after diagnosis in ERACODA

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related short-term mortality is high in dialysis patients, but longer-term outcomes are largely unknown. We therefore assessed patient recovery in a large cohort of dialysis patients 3 months after their COVID-19 diagnosis. Methods. We analyzed data on dialysis patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the European Renal Association COVID-19 Database (ERACODA). The outcomes studied were patient survival, residence and functional and mental health status (estimated by their treating physician) 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Complete follow-up data were available for 854 surviving patients. Patient characteristics associated with recovery were analyzed using logistic regression. Results. In 2449 hemodialysis patients (mean ± SD age 67.5 ± 14.4 years, 62% male), survival probabilities at 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis were 90% for nonhospitalized patients (n = 1087), 73% for patients admitted to the hospital but not to an intensive care unit (ICU) (n = 1165) and 40% for those admitted to an ICU (n = 197). Patient survival hardly decreased between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. At 3 months, 87% functioned at their pre-existent functional and 94% at their pre-existent mental level. Only few of the surviving patients were still admitted to the hospital (0.8-6.3%) or a nursing home (∼5%). A higher age and frailty score at presentation and ICU admission were associated with worse functional outcome. Conclusions. Mortality between 28 days and 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis was low and the majority of patients who survived COVID-19 recovered to their pre-existent functional and mental health level at 3 months after diagnosis

THE MSFR AS A FLEXIBLE CR REACTOR: THE VIEWPOINT OF SAFETY

In recent years efforts have been spent in the development of innovative reactors capable of operating with flexible Conversion Ratio (CR). Fast Reactors (FR) are natural candidates since they allow to achieve high CR, as well as an efficient TRU burning through a low CR and the closure of the fuel cycle. Among the fast-spectrum systems, a peculiar role is played by the Molten Salt Fast Reactor. This reactor lacks the sound technological basis available for the solid-fuelled liquid-metal-cooled FRs, but it shows fuel cycle potential benefits: it uses Th, which features vast natural resources and mitigates waste management issues due to a low generation of TRUs; it can naturally operate with flexible CR without design modifications thanks to the online reprocessing system; it can achieve high CR, with doubling times of the order of 40 years or lower; it can achieve good TRU-burning rates and very high burning rates of minor actinides. However, such fuel cycle flexibility implies a wide variety of fuel salt compositions. Along with the variation of the fuel salt properties, concerns arise for the varying safety features of the core, especially when using the MSFR as TRU- burner. This work first summarizes results regarding the fuel cycle performances of the MSFR when used as breeder, iso-breeder or burner reactor. Subsequently, safety parameters are computed for each fuel cycle option and a simple approach based on reactivity and energy balances is employed to predict the reactor steady-state after major accidental transient initiators, thus giving indications of its inherent safety features for different fuel cycle strategies

MSFR TRU-BURNING POTENTIAL AND COMPARISON WITH AN SFR

Transmutation of the legacy TRansUranics (TRU) from Light Water Reactor operation has become in recent years a main objective for the development of Fast Reactors (FR). In fact, an effective TRU-burning requires fuel multi-recycling and a fast-neutron-spectrum reduces the endogenous generation of Cm and Cf isotopes, thus benefitting fuel handling and in-core radiotoxicity generation. However, achievement of high TRU-burning rates requires low-Conversion-Ratio (CR) reactors with a high fraction of Minor Actinides (MA) in the core, requiring remote fuel fabrication behind thick shielding. Problems of fuel handling are exacerbated if Th is used as fertile isotope (e.g. to enhance safety or TRU-burning rate), since Th-232 irradiation causes the build-up of U-232, whose progeny emits high energy gamma rays. Use of a liquid fuel with online reprocessing would avoid most of the issues related to reprocessing, manufacturing and transporting highly radioactive recycled fuel. The logical technology for the adoption of liquid fuel is the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR). Among MSRs, the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) is in principle better suited for TRU burning as it combines the advantages of a liquid fuel with those of a fast-spectrum and of Th use. Objective of this work is to evaluate the MSFR potential benefits in terms of TRU burning through a comparative analysis with a sodium-cooled FR. The comparison is based on TRU- and MA-burning rates, as well as on the in-core evolution of radiotoxicity and decay heat. Solubility issues limit the TRU-burning rate to 1/3 that achievable in traditional low-CR FRs. The softer spectrum also determines notable radiotoxicity and decay heat of the equilibrium actinide inventory. On the other hand, the liquid fuel suggests the possibility of using a Pu- free feed composed only of Th and MA, thus maximizing the MA burning rate. This is generally not possible in traditional low-CR FRs due to safety deterioration and decay heat of reprocessed fuel. In addition, the high specific power and the lack of out-of-core cooling times foster a quick transition toward equilibrium, which improves the MSFR capability to burn an initial fissile loading, and makes the MSFR a promising system for a quick (i.e., in a reactor lifetime) transition from the current U-based fuel cycle to a novel closed Th cycle

Could NAO Robot Function as Model Demonstrating Joint Attention Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?:An Exploratory Study

Previous studies reported that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a certain interest in social robots. This makes social robots potential to be a model to teach social skills. This exploratory study aims to investigate whether three types of joint attention skills (i.e., eye-contact, pointing, gaze-following) could be improved for five preschoolers with ASD using an evidence-based robot-modeling intervention with a humanoid social robot NAO. Our observation shows that these children were motivated when interacting with NAO by following and responding correctly to NAO's joint attention behaviors. Although some improvements were found, no pattern or systematic effect could be revealed. In the future, more evidence-based studies are needed to investigate the benefits of robot-assisted therapy more deeply