Loneliness and its predictors among older adults prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional and longitudinal survey findings from participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort in the USA

Objectives We aimed to ascertain the prevalence of perceived loneliness among older adults following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine factors contributing to the perception of loneliness. Design Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort. Setting The ARIC Study cohort, a prospective cohort that recruited (1987-1989) participants from four distinct communities in the USA. Participants 2984 ARIC cohort members. Primary and secondary outcomes Perceived loneliness assessed using the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) UCLA three-item Loneliness Scale telephone interviews conducted May-October 2020 and prior to March 2020. Results Of the total 5037 participants alive in 2020, 2984 (56.2%) responded to the UCLA three-item questionnaire (mean age 82.6 (SD 4.6) years, 586 (19.6%) black participants, 1081 (36.2%) men), of which 66 (2.2%) reported having had a COVID-19 infection during the observation period. The proportion of participants reporting feeling lonely was 56.3% (n=1680). Among participants with repeat measures of loneliness (n=516), 35.2% (n=182) reported feeling more lonely following pandemic onset. Self-rated health and emotional resilience were strongly associated with self-perceived loneliness. The burden of COVID-19 infections, concern about the pandemic and decreased self-reported physical activity were greater among black as compared with white participants and among those with an educational attainment of less than high school as compared with high school or more. Conclusion Findings from this study document the increase in perceived loneliness among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA

Critical concepts, practice recommendations, and research perspectives of pixantrone therapy in non-Hodgkin lymphoma : a SIE, SIES, and GITMO consensus paper

Objectives In this paper, we present a review of critical concepts and research perspectives and produce recommendations on the optimal use of pixantrone in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) by group discussion from an expert panel appointed by the Italian Society of Hematology and the affiliate societies, Societ\ue0 Italiana di Ematologia Sperimentale and Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Midollo Osseo. Methods: Recommendations were produced using the Delphi process. Scientific evidence on pixantrone efficacy was analyzed using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology in the areas where at least one randomized trial was published. The following key issues were addressed for practical recommendations: pixantrone monotherapy in aggressive relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas and toxicity risk management in patients candidates to pixantrone. Results and conclusions After a balanced and value-oriented discussion, the panel agreed that the benefit/risk profile was in favor of pixantrone in the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL B-cell lymphomas. Pixantrone was deemed to be contraindicated in patients with uncontrolled cardiovascular disease. Despite a low rate of cardiotoxicity of pixantrone reported in clinical trials, the panel recommended that all patients receiving pixantrone should undergo periodical cardiac monitoring

Teores de clorofila determinados por medidor portátil e sua relação com formas de nitrogênio em folhas de tomateiro <A NAME="top"></A>cultivados em dois tipos de solo Relations among chlorophyll contents determined by a portable meter and nitrogen forms in leaves of tomatoes cultivated in two soil types

O presente estudo objetivou determinar os teores de clorofila no limbo foliar de tomateiros submetidos a doses crescentes de nitrogênio (N), por meio de medidor portátil de clorofila SPAD-502 e por método convencional de laboratório, estabelecer a relação entre esses valores e relacioná-los com os teores de N na planta. Plantas de tomateiro (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), cv. Santa Clara, cultivadas em vasos contendo amostras de um solo de textura argilosa classificado como Podzólico Vermelho-Amarelo Câmbico (PVC) e de um solo de textura areia franca classificado como Areia Quartzosa (AQ), foram submetidas a cinco doses de N (25, 125, 225, 325 e 425 mg. dm-3), aplicadas parceladamente, via solução nutritiva. No início da antese do terceiro cacho, determinaram-se as concentrações de clorofila no limbo da folha oposta a ele por meio de medidor portátil de clorofila SPAD-502 e pelo método padrão de Arnon. Determinaram-se as concentrações de N-NO3 na seiva e na matéria seca do pecíolo, e as de N-NO3, N-orgânico e N-total na matéria seca do limbo. As concentrações de clorofila, avaliadas por ambos os métodos, aumentaram significativamente com o acréscimo nas doses de N, nos dois solos. Os níveis críticos de clorofila obtidos pelo método padrão foram 77,3 e 83,6 <FONT FACE="Symbol">m</FONT>g. cm-2 de limbo foliar para PVC e AQ respectivamente, enquanto, com o medidor portátil, foram de 45,5 e 43,8 unidades SPAD, para o PVC e a AQ respectivamente. O método do medidor SPAD apresentou correlações maiores que as obtidas para o de laboratório, seja com a produção de matéria seca da parte aérea, seja com as formas de N analisadas. Os dois métodos de determinação de clorofila apresentaram maiores correlações com as concentrações de N-NO3 na seiva do PVC, e com as concentrações de N-org e N-total na matéria seca do limbo na AQ. A estimativa das concentrações de clorofila nas folhas do tomateiro, expressas na forma padrão (CP), a partir das leituras obtidas no medidor SPAD, permitiu o ajuste de equação linear (CP = -77,233 + 3,54725** SPAD R2 = 0,766).<br>This work aimed to determine chlorophyll concentrations of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants cv. Santa Clara fertilized with five nitrogen (N) rates by means of conventional laboratory methodology and by the SPAD-502 portable chlorophyll meter. The relationship between chlorophyll and N values was determined by these two methods. Tomato plants were grown in pots with a clay soil classified as Cambic Red-Yellow Podsol (CRP) and a sand-course soil classified as Quartzic Sand (QS), and received five N rates (25, 125, 225, 325 and 425 mg. dm-3) sidedressed as nutrient solutions. At the onset of 3rd cluster anthesis, chlorophyll concentrations were determined in leaves opposite to this cluster by the portable chlorophyll meter SPAD-502 and at laboratory by Arnon's methodology. NO3-N was determined in petiole sap and in dry matter, while NO3-N, org-N and total-N were determined in leaf blade dry matter. Chlorophyll concentrations increased with N rates irrespective of method of determination, in both soils. Critical levels in soils CRP and QS were, respectively, 77.3 and 83.6 <FONT FACE="Symbol">m</FONT>g. cm-2 by laboratory methodology and 45.5 and 43.8 SPAD units by the portable meter. Correlation coefficients of chlorophyll concentrations with top dry weight and N forms were greater for the SPAD method. Both methods of chlorophyll determination presented greatest correlation with sap NO3-N in soil CRP, and with org-N and total-N in soil QS. The estimative of chlorophyll concentrations (laboratory method) by means of SPAD readings allowed the adjustment of a linear equation (CP = -77.233 + 3.54725** SPAD R2 = 0.766)