Correlational and Configurational Analysis of Factors Influencing Potential Patients’ Attitudes toward Surgical Robots: A Study in the Jordan University Community

Depto. de MarketingFac. de Ciencias Económicas y EmpresarialesTRUEpu

Viral RNA load in plasma is associated with critical illness and a dysregulated host response in COVID‑19

Background. COVID-19 can course with respiratory and extrapulmonary disease. SARS-CoV-2 RNA is detected in respiratory samples but also in blood, stool and urine. Severe COVID-19 is characterized by a dysregulated host response to this virus. We studied whether viral RNAemia or viral RNA load in plasma is associated with severe COVID-19 and also to this dysregulated response. Methods. A total of 250 patients with COVID-19 were recruited (50 outpatients, 100 hospitalized ward patients and 100 critically ill). Viral RNA detection and quantification in plasma was performed using droplet digital PCR, targeting the N1 and N2 regions of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein gene. The association between SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia and viral RNA load in plasma with severity was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression. Correlations between viral RNA load and biomarkers evidencing dysregulation of host response were evaluated by calculating the Spearman correlation coefficients. Results. The frequency of viral RNAemia was higher in the critically ill patients (78%) compared to ward patients (27%) and outpatients (2%) (p < 0.001). Critical patients had higher viral RNA loads in plasma than non-critically ill patients, with non-survivors showing the highest values. When outpatients and ward patients were compared, viral RNAemia did not show significant associations in the multivariate analysis. In contrast, when ward patients were compared with ICU patients, both viral RNAemia and viral RNA load in plasma were associated with critical illness (OR [CI 95%], p): RNAemia (3.92 [1.183–12.968], 0.025), viral RNA load (N1) (1.962 [1.244–3.096], 0.004); viral RNA load (N2) (2.229 [1.382–3.595], 0.001). Viral RNA load in plasma correlated with higher levels of chemokines (CXCL10, CCL2), biomarkers indicative of a systemic inflammatory response (IL-6, CRP, ferritin), activation of NK cells (IL-15), endothelial dysfunction (VCAM-1, angiopoietin-2, ICAM-1), coagulation activation (D-Dimer and INR), tissue damage (LDH, GPT), neutrophil response (neutrophils counts, myeloperoxidase, GM-CSF) and immunodepression (PD-L1, IL-10, lymphopenia and monocytopenia). Conclusions. SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia and viral RNA load in plasma are associated with critical illness in COVID-19. Viral RNA load in plasma correlates with key signatures of dysregulated host responses, suggesting a major role of uncontrolled viral replication in the pathogenesis of this disease.This work was supported by awards from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Research Funding initiative (CIHR OV2 – 170357), Research Nova Scotia (DJK), Atlantic Genome/Genome Canada (DJK), Li-Ka Shing Foundation (DJK), Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation (DJK), the “Subvenciones de concesión directa para proyectos y programas de investigación del virus SARS‐CoV2, causante del COVID‐19”, FONDO–COVID19, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20/00110, CIBERES, 06/06/0028), (AT) and fnally by the “Convocatoria extraordinaria y urgente de la Gerencia Regional de Salud de Castilla y León, para la fnanciación de proyectos de investigación en enfermedad COVID-19” (GRS COVID 53/A/20) (CA). DJK is a recipient of the Canada Research Chair in Translational Vaccinology and Infammation. APT was funded by the Sara Borrell Research Grant CD018/0123 funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-fnanced by the European Development Regional Fund (A Way to Achieve Europe programme). The funding sources did not play any role neither in the design of the study and collection, not in the analysis, in the interpretation of data or in writing the manuscript

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

Quench characteristics of a 2G ReBCO Roebel cable pancake coil in external fields up to 8T

A pancake coil was wound with a length of ReBCO 2G Roebel cable consisting of 15 strands and studied in detail at different operating temperatures between 4.2 K and 77 K. The coil was impregnated with an epoxy resin and cooling achieved through conduction from current contacts. The critical current was measured with transport currents up to 1500 A and in an external axial field up to 8 T. Quench measurements were carried out following point-like disturbances initiated by a localised miniature heater embedded inside the coil. The different heat dissipation at the current contacts was dynamically controlled with axillary heaters to ensure the isothermal condition of the coil for the successive quench episodes. The minimum quench energy (MQE) was obtained at different temperatures, fields and load currents relative to the critical current. The present work is a substantive follow up of previous studies at 77 K in liquid nitrogen and in helium gas down to 60 K, where it has been established that the coil retained the critical current of the superconducting strand/cable and its quench behaviour was unaffected by the lateral cooling by the cryogen

Application of DIC to extract full field thermo-mechanical data from an HTS coil

A Digital Imaging Correlation (DIC) test setup was developed to accurately record the contraction of a Bi-2223 superconducting racetrack coil conduction cooled to 154 K. The coil was gripped at both ends to simultaneously measure the load and displacement induced by its own contraction. Post-processing of the DIC data derived the displacement and strain fields from two areas of interest. The global deformation of the coil structure was influ-enced by how it was restrained, but the stress-strain curve in the y-direction of the HTS coil was established, and its stiffness when under thermally induced strain found to closely match that of the epoxy resin. The coefficient of thermal expansion determined from the strain-temperature curve was in the same order of magnitude as dilatometer measurements performed upon a sample removed from a similar coil and the difference attributed to small variability in the temperatures across the coil and the mechanical restraint placed on the coil.</p

Citizens’ Perception of COVID-19 Passport Usefulness: A Cross Sectional Study

This paper assesses the influence on people’s perception of the utility of the immunity passport (IP) program by sociodemographic factors, infectivity status, and the objective of its use. The material of this paper is a cross-sectional survey of 400 residents in Spain. The relation between utility perception and input variables is fitted with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and linear quantile regression (LQR). The principal explanatory variable of usefulness perception is being vaccinated, especially when the objective of the IP is regulating mobility. The OLS estimate of the coefficient regression is (cr) = 0.415 (p = 0.001). We also found a positive and significant influence of that factor in all LQRs (cr = 0.652, p = 0.0026 at level (τ) = 0.75; cr = 0.482, p = 0.0047 at τ = 0.5 and cr = 0.201, p = 0.0385 at τ = 0.25). When the objective of the IP is regulating leisure, being vaccinated is relevant only to explain the central measures of usefulness perception. If the IP is used to regulate traveling, variables related to interviewees’ infectivity have greater relevance than sociodemographic factors. When its objective is ruling assembly, the more important variables than being vaccinated are gender and age. To create an effective implementation of the IP, it is advisable to have a general agreement among the population on its convenience. Therefore, the findings in this study have important implications for public health decision-makers

The use of a winding model instead of effective continuum model can lead to a drastic reduction of MQE in superconducting coils

Thermal stability is an essential parameter for coil design. Previous measurements in an MgB2 solenoid have revealed a change in trend in the minimum quench energy (MQE) dependence on j = I/I., showing lower values than expected for operative current close to the critical current (j ~ 0.90). The obtained MQE is comparable to the one predicted by analytical models in a single tape (1D) being of the order of 1-10 mJ, which indicates that propagation across winding and layers (3D) is not taking place. This reduction of MQE is not obtained in the effective continuum model, because the different turns and layers are not reproduced. Obtaining 1D propagation depends on the ratio between the thermal conductivity of the conductor and insulation and on the cooling conditions at the boundary layers. A numerical model of a superconducting solenoid with full representation of the winding is used to study MQE as a function ofj (0.6-0.99). The quench is triggered applying heat pulses of 40 ms in a region of 4 mm of the outer layer of the coil. The effect of changing the cooling boundary conditions of the coil from adiabatic to isothermal is also investigated

Influence of the internal architecture of MgB2 conductors in the load line of magnet coils

MgB2 conductors have a multifilamentary superconducting structure encased in sheaths of different materials. Conductors with ferromagnetic sheaths, such as Ni or Fe, redistribute the magnetic field, which can affect the critical current of the superconducting filaments. The internal magnetic field distribution inside the conductor is not considered in general when modeling magnets, where the winding is considered as a bulk. The previous assumption can lead to discrepancies between the experimental results and numerical Ic predictions. Hence, a correct analysis of the effects of the ferromagnetic matrix in conductors will lead to savings in cost and weight of the coil design. In this work, the magnetic field distribution inside tapes with different architectures based on existing MgB2 tapes has been obtained. The magnetic field in the filaments is modeled focusing on the influence of the ferromagnetic matrix in the field distribution. The study is extended to round pancake coils based on the prototype coils aimed for its application in wind turbines in the SUPRAPOWER project

Correlational and Configurational Analysis of Factors Influencing Potential Patients&rsquo; Attitudes toward Surgical Robots: A Study in the Jordan University Community

The literature on surgical robots (SRs) usually adopts the perspective of healthcare workers. However, research on potential patients&rsquo; perceptions and the publics&rsquo; points of view on SRs is scarce. This fact motivates our study, which assesses the factors inducing the SRs acceptance in the opinion of potential patients. We consider three variables, based on the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT): the performance expectancy (PE), the effort expectancy (EE), and the social influence (SI); pleasure (PL), arousal (AR), and the perceived risk (PR). To deal with empirical data, we used the ordered logistic regression (OLR) and the fuzzy set comparative qualitative analysis (fsQCA). The OLR allowed us to check for a significant positive average influence of the UTAUT variables and PL, on the intention to undergo robotic surgery. However, the PR had a significant negative impact, and AR was not found to be significant. The FsQCA allowed the identification of the potential patient profiles, linked to acceptance of and resistance to SRs and confirmed that they are not symmetrical. The proposed input variables are presented as core conditions in at least one prime implicate robotic-assisted surgery acceptance. The exception to this statement is the PR, which is affirmed in some recipes and absent in others. The recipes explaining the resistance to SRs were obtained by combining the absence of PE, EE, SI, and PL (i.e., these variables have a negative impact on rejection) and the presence of the PR (i.e., the perceived risk has a positive impact on a resistance attitude toward SRs). Similarly, arousal played a secondary role in explaining the rejection