Effect of Ag2O substituted in bioactive glasses: a synergistic relationship between antibacterial zone and radiation attenuation properties

In this study, a promising relationship between antibacterial zone and radiation attenuation properties was investigated in Ag2O doped bioactive glasses with a chemical composition of xAg2O–20Li2O–25TeO2-(55-x)B2O3 (where x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mol%). For this aim, a wide-ranging radiation attenuation characterization procedure was performed on Ag2O substituted bioactive glasses. The general-purpose Monte Carlo code MCNPX (v.2.7.0) was used to model bioactive glasses. The mass attenuation coefficients were calculated using a gamma-ray transmission setup. The coefficients obtained were used to determine other important attenuation properties. Finally, for particular behaviors, exposure (EBF) and energy absorption (EABF) build-up factors were calculated for specific attitudes of Ag2O substitutions in bioactive glasses during the interaction process. The results showed that there is direct relationship between Ag2O substitution amount and radiation attenuation properties. In addition to its well-behaviors on inhibition zone against bacterial occurrences, it can be concluded that increasing Ag2O would increase the gamma-ray attenuation properties of studied bioactive glass system. © 2021 The AuthorsThe authors thank for the scholar and research grant under Universiti Putra Malaysia , Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP-2020/12), Taif University , Saudi Arabia and Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for financial support through General Research Project under grant number ( G.R.P/81/42 )

A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.

PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included. RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode

Time to Switch to Second-line Antiretroviral Therapy in Children With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Europe and Thailand.

Background: Data on durability of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are limited. We assessed time to switch to second-line therapy in 16 European countries and Thailand. Methods: Children aged <18 years initiating combination ART (≥2 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTIs] plus nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor [NNRTI] or boosted protease inhibitor [PI]) were included. Switch to second-line was defined as (i) change across drug class (PI to NNRTI or vice versa) or within PI class plus change of ≥1 NRTI; (ii) change from single to dual PI; or (iii) addition of a new drug class. Cumulative incidence of switch was calculated with death and loss to follow-up as competing risks. Results: Of 3668 children included, median age at ART initiation was 6.1 (interquartile range (IQR), 1.7-10.5) years. Initial regimens were 32% PI based, 34% nevirapine (NVP) based, and 33% efavirenz based. Median duration of follow-up was 5.4 (IQR, 2.9-8.3) years. Cumulative incidence of switch at 5 years was 21% (95% confidence interval, 20%-23%), with significant regional variations. Median time to switch was 30 (IQR, 16-58) months; two-thirds of switches were related to treatment failure. In multivariable analysis, older age, severe immunosuppression and higher viral load (VL) at ART start, and NVP-based initial regimens were associated with increased risk of switch. Conclusions: One in 5 children switched to a second-line regimen by 5 years of ART, with two-thirds failure related. Advanced HIV, older age, and NVP-based regimens were associated with increased risk of switch

Enabler-Based Synchronizer Model for Clock Domain Crossing static Verification

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