Procalcitonin Is Not a Reliable Biomarker of Bacterial Coinfection in People With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Undergoing Microbiological Investigation at the Time of Hospital Admission

Abstract Admission procalcitonin measurements and microbiology results were available for 1040 hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019 (from 48 902 included in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections Consortium World Health Organization Clinical Characterisation Protocol UK study). Although procalcitonin was higher in bacterial coinfection, this was neither clinically significant (median [IQR], 0.33 [0.11–1.70] ng/mL vs 0.24 [0.10–0.90] ng/mL) nor diagnostically useful (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.56 [95% confidence interval, .51–.60]).</jats:p

Biosurfactants and Bio-Emulsifiers from Algae

The terms biosurfactant and bioemulsifier have often been used interchangeably to describe surface active biomolecules. However, it is important to note that there are marked differences between them especially based on their physico-chemical properties and physiological roles. Although bioemulsifiers and biosurfactants are both amphiphilic in nature and are produced bya wide range of microorganisms, each exhibit characteristic roles in nature. These microbial surfactants have recently received increased scientific attention due to their unique characteristics relative to chemically derived surfactants. Their unique features include; non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatibility, efficiency at low concentrations and their synthesis from natural substrates under mild environmental conditions. The combination of polysaccharide, fatty acid and protein components in bioemulsifiers confers upon them better emulsifying potential and ability to stabilize emulsions. It is also important to note that some efficient bioemulsifiers consists of only polysaccharides and proteins. On a general note bioemulsifiers have been associated with a number of potential applications including: remediation of oil polluted water and soil; enhanced oil recovery and clean-up of oil contaminated vessels and machineries; heavy metal removal, formation of stable emulsions in food and cosmetics industries and therapeutic activities (antibacterial, antifungal, pesticidal and herbicidal agents).Solar energy in the production of polysaccharides has been generally overlooked, despite high product yields and wide variety of polysaccharide production. However, due to current market demand for alternatives to synthetic surfactants and emulsifiers, the production of polysaccharides with surface active properties is attracting the attention of researchers. Oceanic biological surface active compounds still represent a major untapped and unexplored area of research. Algal EPS represent a huge range of structures. They are high-molecular-weight structures (10-30kDa) which encompass homopolymeric and heteropolymeric compositions. EPS structure varies widely between different genera of algae and is generally considered to be related to the environmental conditions on the organism. They are gaining much attention in relation to potential bioemulsifier properties. In particular, the green micro-algae Dunaliella salina and red algae Porphyridium cruentumare receiving attention as robust EPS producers with industrial application. They are highly biodegradable and have low toxicity. There is also an abundance of raw materials for the production of these molecules and they are highly biocompatible. Biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers share many environmental advantages, over their chemically synthesised counterparts

Before architecture comes place, before place come people: contemporary Indigenous places in urban Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

This chapter examines the importance of place, within a contemporary urban Indigenous community, where in-depth ethnographic research was conducted between 2006 and 2009. Place is used as a concept to explore and examine Indigenous people’s connections to the physical environment and how these have developed through personal, family, social, and cultural means to become contemporary traditions within an Australian suburban setting that of Inala in the Queensland’s capital city Brisbane. The research argues that for Indigenous architecture to be meaningful, Indigenous people’s understandings and connections to place must be better understood and valued by the broader Australian community. The Inala case study is used to demonstrate how then place constructs of meaning, attachment, identity and sovereignty are enacted in everyday settings that will have relevance across cultural groups