Long COVID following mild SARS-CoV-2 infection: characteristic T cell alterations and response to antihistamines

Long COVID is characterized by the emergence of multiple debilitating symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Its etiology is unclear and it often follows a mild acute illness. Anecdotal reports of gradual clinical responses to histamine receptor antagonists (HRAs) suggest a histamine-dependent mechanism that is distinct from anaphylaxis, possibly mediated by T cells, which are also regulated by histamine. T cell perturbations have been previously reported in post-viral syndromes, but the T cell landscape in patients who have recovered from mild COVID-19 and its relationship to both long COVID symptoms and any symptomatic response to HRA remain underexplored. We addressed these questions in an observational study of 65 individuals who had recovered from mild COVID-19. Participants were surveyed between 87 and 408 days after the onset of acute symptoms; none had required hospitalization, 16 had recovered uneventfully, and 49 had developed long COVID. Symptoms were quantified using a structured questionnaire and T cell subsets enumerated in a standard diagnostic assay. Patients with long-COVID had reduced CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory (EM) cell numbers and increased PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) expression on central memory (CM) cells, whereas the asymptomatic participants had reduced CD8+ EM cells only and increased CD28 expression on CM cells. 72% of patients with long COVID who received HRA reported clinical improvement, although T cell profiling did not clearly distinguish those who responded to HRA. This study demonstrates that T cell perturbations persist for several months after mild COVID-19 and are associated with long COVID symptoms

Evaluation of the effect of fat content of sunflower meal on rumen fungi growth and population by direct (quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction) and indirect (dry matter and neutral detergent fibre disappearance) methods

The major aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fat content of sunflower meal (150 and 30 g fat /kg dry matter, high and low fat, respectively) on population, growth and activity of rumen anaerobic fungi by using direct (quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction, QC-PCR) and indirect (dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) disappearance in rumen fungi media culture for 12 days) methods. The results of QC-PCR showed that rumen anaerobic fungi population in the medium containing high fat sunflower meal was greater as compared to low fat sunflower meal (+0.14 vs. +0.10) (P<0.05). Also, disappearance of dry matter after 12 days incubation with rumen fungi will be 36.1 and 35.7 g/100 g DM for high and low fat sunflower meal, respectively) (P>0.05). High fat of sunflower meal caused increase in natural detergent fibre disappearance 12 days after culturing as compared to low fat sunflower meal (145.2 vs 139.2 mg/g dry matter, respectively) (P<0.05). Therefore, it appears that fat content of sunflower meal does not negatively affect the population, growth and activity of rumen fungi.Key words: Fat, sunflower meal, rumen fungi, quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction, disappearance

A review on biomass as a substitute energy source: Polygeneration influence and hydrogen rich gas formation via pyrolysis

Hydrogen rich gas production and advantages of polygeneration during biomass conversation through pyrolysis were extensively reviewed in this paper. Different innovative pyrolysis setups and the effect of reaction conditions such as pressure, temperature, catalyst type, biomass type, and reactor type on the formation of hydrogen and other value-added chemicals has been exploited. High temperatures and pressures together with application of catalysts was reported to favour the enhancement of hydrogen by promoting secondary pyrolysis reactions and hence the production of H2 gas. Compared to one-stage pyrolysis systems, pyrolysis data from two-stage pyrolysis reaction systems reported improved production of hydrogen and value-added chemicals due to the reforming of volatile matter in the second stage reactor. The polygeneration effect of biomass pyrolysis has also been reviewed, and it was observed that the polygeneration systems were significantly vital in covering the demand and supply of renewable energy

Competition and Selection Among Conventions

In many domains, a latent competition among different conventions determines which one will come to dominate. One sees such effects in the success of community jargon, of competing frames in political rhetoric, or of terminology in technical contexts. These effects have become widespread in the online domain, where the data offers the potential to study competition among conventions at a fine-grained level. In analyzing the dynamics of conventions over time, however, even with detailed on-line data, one encounters two significant challenges. First, as conventions evolve, the underlying substance of their meaning tends to change as well; and such substantive changes confound investigations of social effects. Second, the selection of a convention takes place through the complex interactions of individuals within a community, and contention between the users of competing conventions plays a key role in the convention's evolution. Any analysis must take place in the presence of these two issues. In this work we study a setting in which we can cleanly track the competition among conventions. Our analysis is based on the spread of low-level authoring conventions in the eprint arXiv over 24 years: by tracking the spread of macros and other author-defined conventions, we are able to study conventions that vary even as the underlying meaning remains constant. We find that the interaction among co-authors over time plays a crucial role in the selection of them; the distinction between more and less experienced members of the community, and the distinction between conventions with visible versus invisible effects, are both central to the underlying processes. Through our analysis we make predictions at the population level about the ultimate success of different synonymous conventions over time--and at the individual level about the outcome of "fights" between people over convention choices.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of WWW 2017, data at https://github.com/CornellNLP/Macro

Utilizing a health-promotion model to predict self-care adherence in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty in Bushehr, Iran

Background: Self-care refers to the conscious actions and behaviors that patients engage in to maintain and promote their own health and to the decisions that they make about managing signs or symptoms. Despite the importance of self-care in improving the health status of patients with cardiovascular disease, such as those undergoing angioplasty, these patients do not implement self-care optimally. This study aimed to identify factors affecting self-care behaviors in cardiac patients undergoing angioplasty based on a health-promotion model. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 cardiovascular patients undergoing angioplasty referred to the Bushehr Health Center. Health-promotion-model constructs and self-care behaviors were assessed by a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Stepwise regression revealed that three variables – perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and social support – were significant predictors of self-care behaviors among patients undergoing angioplasty. These factors accounted for 43.1% (R2 =0.431) of variance in self-care. Among the health-promotion-model constructs, self-efficacy (β =0.237, P<0.001) was the strongest predictor of self-care behaviors, followed by perceived barriers (β =-0.195, P<0.001) and perceived social support (β =0.13, P<0.001). Perceived benefits did not significantly predict self-care behaviors. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is suggested that designing and implementing training programs to improve self-efficacy and perceived social support of cardiovascular patients and also decreasing barriers to self-care may improve self-care behaviors among patients undergoing angioplasty

Potential role of the regulatory miR1119-MYC2 module in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) drought tolerance

MicroRNA (miRNA)-target gene modules are essential components of plants’ abiotic stress signalling pathways Little is known about the drought-responsive miRNA-target modules in wheat, but systems biology approaches have enabled the prediction of these regulatory modules and systematic study of their roles in responses to abiotic stresses. Using such an approach, we sought miRNA-target module(s) that may be differentially expressed under drought and non-stressed conditions by mining Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) libraries of wheat roots and identified a strong candidate (miR1119-MYC2). We then assessed molecular and physiochemical differences between two wheat genotypes with contrasting drought tolerance in a controlled drought experiment and assessed possible relationships between their tolerance and evaluated traits. We found that the miR1119-MYC2 module significantly responds to drought stress in wheat roots. It is differentially expressed between the contrasting wheat genotypes and under drought versus non-stressed conditions. We also found significant associations between the module’s expression profiles and ABA hormone content, water relations, photosynthetic activities, H2O2 levels, plasma membrane damage, and antioxidant enzyme activities in wheat. Collectively, our results suggest that a regulatory module consisting of miR1119 and MYC2 may play an important role in wheat’s drought tolerance

Relationship among temporary separation, attachment styles, and adjustment in first-grade Iranian children

If mothers work outside the home, some degree of mother-child separation will be experienced and mother-child attachment will be affected. In this study, regarding the attachment styles, sociobehavioral problems in first-grade children with experience of preschool and in those taught by their mothers at-home are compared. A casual-comparative method was used to compare children in the two groups. A total of 320 first-grade children participated in the study. The study measures included a separation anxiety test, an adaptive behavior scale, and a children�s symptom inventory. Data were analyzed using multivariate statistics. Secure attachment in the group with experience of preschool was significantly higher than that in the at-home group. None of the variables, including parents� education and father�s income, significantly affected attachment style. Neither father�s education, father�s income, or attachment significantly influenced adjustment. Father�s education significantly influenced children�s symptoms. Attachment style and hours of preschool attendance had no effect on Child Symptom Inventory scores. Associations among age at joining preschool, attachment style, and behavioral and adaptive problems in first-grade children were nonlinear and multivariate. By taking into account parents� awareness, sensitivity, and responsiveness, relative welfare, appropriate quality of child-care centers, and having fewer hours of preschool attendance, the risk factors for early parent-child separation and institutional care can be reduced. © 2016 Tahmasebi et al