Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

EVALITA Evaluation of NLP and Speech Tools for Italian - December 17th, 2020

Welcome to EVALITA 2020! EVALITA is the evaluation campaign of Natural Language Processing and Speech Tools for Italian. EVALITA is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC, http://www.ai-lc.it) and it is endorsed by the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA, http://www.aixia.it) and the Italian Association for Speech Sciences (AISV, http://www.aisv.it)

Assessment of <i>Cyprinus carpio</i> Scales as a Low-Cost and Effective Biosorbent for the Removal of Heavy Metals from the Acidic Mine Drainage Generated at Rosia Montana Gold Mine (Romania)

In the present study, the biosorptive potential of Cyprinus carpio scales for the removal of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions from real acidic mine drainage (AMD) generated at the Rosia Montana gold mine (Romania) was explored for the first time. The collected AMD solution is very acidic, and the concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions exceed more than 34 to 56 times the disposal standards imposed by legislation. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the effect of the sorbent dosage, sorbent particle size, pH, and contact time on the adsorption performance of the fish scales. Before and after the adsorption process, the biosorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). In the investigated experimental conditions, about 100%, 87.1%, and 100% of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions were removed from the AMD after 240 min of contact with the finest-grained Cyprinus carpio scale samples using a solid:liquid ratio of 20:1 (g:L). The adsorption data were analyzed using the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, intraparticle diffusion rate, and Elovich equations. The adsorption process was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacities of the fish scales were about 2.46 mg/g for Mn and 0.85 mg/g for Zn ions, respectively. Aside from their significant efficiency in the removal of metals from AMD, Cyprinus carpio scales also have the potential to neutralize the acidic wastewater. Thus, the removal process of metal ions from AMD is ruled by a complex mechanism, including adsorption and iron precipitation. The recycled scales are still able to remove the metal ions from AMD with a better performance during the first regeneration cycle. Based on the obtained results, it might be assessed that the low-cost biowaste of Cyprinus carpio scales have great potential and could be effectively used for the remediation of real acidic mine drainage from a sustainable perspective

Assessment of Cyprinus carpio Scales as a Low-Cost and Effective Biosorbent for the Removal of Heavy Metals from the Acidic Mine Drainage Generated at Rosia Montana Gold Mine (Romania)

In the present study, the biosorptive potential of Cyprinus carpio scales for the removal of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions from real acidic mine drainage (AMD) generated at the Rosia Montana gold mine (Romania) was explored for the first time. The collected AMD solution is very acidic, and the concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions exceed more than 34 to 56 times the disposal standards imposed by legislation. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to study the effect of the sorbent dosage, sorbent particle size, pH, and contact time on the adsorption performance of the fish scales. Before and after the adsorption process, the biosorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). In the investigated experimental conditions, about 100%, 87.1%, and 100% of Fe, Mn, and Zn ions were removed from the AMD after 240 min of contact with the finest-grained Cyprinus carpio scale samples using a solid:liquid ratio of 20:1 (g:L). The adsorption data were analyzed using the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, intraparticle diffusion rate, and Elovich equations. The adsorption process was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacities of the fish scales were about 2.46 mg/g for Mn and 0.85 mg/g for Zn ions, respectively. Aside from their significant efficiency in the removal of metals from AMD, Cyprinus carpio scales also have the potential to neutralize the acidic wastewater. Thus, the removal process of metal ions from AMD is ruled by a complex mechanism, including adsorption and iron precipitation. The recycled scales are still able to remove the metal ions from AMD with a better performance during the first regeneration cycle. Based on the obtained results, it might be assessed that the low-cost biowaste of Cyprinus carpio scales have great potential and could be effectively used for the remediation of real acidic mine drainage from a sustainable perspective