1,474 research outputs found
Analysis of the US FDA adverse event reporting system to identify adverse cardiac events associated with hydroxychloroquine in older adults
Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to identify adverse cardiac events of hydroxychloroquine in older adults. Method A case/nonâcase method was used to determine adverse events associated with hydroxychloroquine as the primary suspect drug between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2019, for older adults (âĽ65âyears). Adverse events are preferred terms (PTs) defined in MedDRA. We used frequentist approaches, including the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and the proportional reporting ratio (PRR) to measure disproportionality. We used Bayesian approaches to derive information component (IC) value and Empirical Bayesian Geometric Mean (EBGM) score. Signals were defined as the number of reportsâ>â3 and the lower limit of 95% confidence intervals (CI) of ROR âĽâ2, PRR âĽâ2, IC >â0, EBGMâ>â1. Results We identified 334 adverse cardiac events comprising 71 different MedDRA PTs from 2004 to 2019 for hydroxychloroquine in older adults. Strong disproportionality signals were noted for âRestrictive cardiomyopathyâ (ROR = 272.43 (138.09â537.47); EBGM = 149.78 (77.34â264.67), âRight ventricular hypertrophyâ (219.49 (85.32â564.70); 102.74 (39.67â222.81), âCardiac septal hypertrophyâ (226.77 (78.65â653.80); 93.82 (32.19â219.81), âMyocardial fibrosisâ (57.29 (21.06â155.85); 42.99 (14.74â100.75), and âCardiotoxicityâ (43.90 (26.66â72.27); 40.28 (24.02â63.72). Conclusions The risk of cardiomyopathy and myocardial disorders is high following exposure to hydroxychloroquine in older adults. Due to the current lack of safety data from randomized controlled trials as well as large observational studies to confirm the risk of adverse cardiac events associated with hydroxychloroquine, findings from analyses of postâmarketing data may serve as interim guidance
Engineering Solution-Processed Non-Crystalline Solid Electrolytes for Li Metal Batteries
Non-crystalline Li-ion solid electrolytes (SEs), such as lithium phosphorus oxynitride, can uniquely enable high-rate solid-state battery operation over thousands of cycles in thin film form. However, they are typically produced by expensive and low throughput vacuum deposition, limiting their wide application and study. Here, we report non-crystalline SEs of composition Li-Al-P-O (LAPO) with ionic conductivities > 10-7 S cm-1 at room temperature made by spin coating from aqueous solutions and subsequent annealing in air. Homogenous, dense, flat layers can be synthesized with submicrometer thickness at temperatures as low as 230 °C. Control of the composition is shown to significantly affect the ionic conductivity, with increased Li and decreased P content being optimal, while higher annealing temperatures result in decreased ionic conductivity. Activation energy analysis reveals a Li-ion hopping barrier of â0.4 eV. Additionally, these SEs exhibit low room temperature electronic conductivity (< 10-11 S cm-1) and a moderate Youngâs modulus of â54 GPa, which may be beneficial in preventing Li dendrite formation. In contact with Li metal, LAPO is found to form a stable but high impedance passivation layer comprised of Al metal, Li-P, and Li-O species. These findings should be of value when engineering non-crystalline SEs for Li-metal batteries with high energy and power densities
Self-Consistent Electron-Nucleus Cusp Correction for Molecular Orbitals
We describe a method for imposing the correct electron-nucleus (e-n) cusp in
molecular orbitals expanded as a linear combination of (cuspless) Gaussian
basis functions. Enforcing the e-n cusp in trial wave functions is an important
asset in quantum Monte Carlo calculations as it significantly reduces the
variance of the local energy during the Monte Carlo sampling. In the method
presented here, the Gaussian basis set is augmented with a small number of
Slater basis functions. Note that, unlike other e-n cusp correction schemes,
the presence of the Slater function is not limited to the vicinity of the
nuclei. Both the coefficients of these cuspless Gaussian and cusp-correcting
Slater basis functions may be self-consistently optimized by diagonalization of
an orbital-dependent effective Fock operator. Illustrative examples are
reported for atoms (\ce{H}, \ce{He} and \ce{Ne}) as well as for a small
molecular system (\ce{BeH2}). For the simple case of the \ce{He} atom, we
observe that, with respect to the cuspless version, the variance is reduced by
one order of magnitude by applying our cusp-corrected scheme.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure
Temporal and Individual Variation in Offspring Provisioning by Tree Swallows: A New Method of Automated Nest Attendance Monitoring
Studies of the ecology and evolution of avian nesting behavior have been limited by the difficulty and expense of sampling nest attendance behavior across entire days or throughout a substantial portion of the nestling period. Direct observation of nesting birds using human observers and most automated devices requires sub-sampling of the nestling period, which does not allow for the quantification of the duration of chick-feeding by parents within a day, and may also inadequately capture temporal variation in the rate at which chicks are fed. Here I describe an inexpensive device, the Automated Perch Recorder (APR) system, which collects accurate, long-term data on hourly rates of nest visitation, the duration of a pair's workday, and the total number of visits the pair makes to their nest across the entire period for which it is deployed. I also describe methods for verifying the accuracy of the system in the field, and several examples of how these data can be used to explore the causes of variation in and tradeoffs between the rate at which birds feed their chicks and the total length of time birds spend feeding chicks in a day
Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry of the early Precambrian sub-alkaline mafic igneous rocks from the southern Bastar craton, Central India
SrâNd isotope data are reported for the early Precambrian sub-alkaline mafic igneous rocks of the southern Bastar craton, central India. These mafic rocks are mostly dykes but there are a few volcanic exposures. Field relationships together with the petrological and geochemical characteristics of these mafic dykes divide them into two groups; Meso-Neoarchaean sub-alkaline mafic dykes (BD1) and Paleoproterozoic (1.88 Ga) sub-alkaline mafic dykes (BD2). The mafic volcanics are Neoarchaean in age and have very close geochemical relationships with the BD1 type. The two groups have distinctly different concentrations of high-field strength (HFSE) and rare earth elements (REE). The BD2 dykes have higher concentrations of HFSE and REE than the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics and both groups have very distinctive petrogenetic histories. These rocks display a limited range of initial 143Nd/144Nd but a wide range of apparent initial 87Sr/86Sr. Initial 143Nd/144Nd values in the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics vary between 0.509149 and 0.509466 and in the BD2 dykes the variation is between 0.510303 and 0.510511. All samples have positive εNd values the BD1 dykes and associated volcanics have εNd values between +0.3 and +6.5 and the BD2 dykes between +1.9 to +6.0. Trace element and Nd isotope data do not suggest severe crustal contamination during the emplacement of the studied rocks. The positive εNd values suggest their derivation from a depleted mantle source. Overlapping positive εNd values suggest that a similar mantle source tapped by variable melt fractions at different times was responsible for the genesis of BD1 (and associated volcanics) and BD2 mafic dykes. The RbâSr system is susceptible to alteration and resetting during post-magmatic alteration and metamorphism. Many of the samples studied have anomalous apparent initial 87Sr/86Sr suggesting post-magmatic changes of the RbâSr system which severely restricts the use of RbâSr for petrogenetic interpretation
Marked variation in newborn resuscitation practice: a national survey in the UK
Abstract
Background
Although international newborn resuscitation guidance has been in force for some time, there are no UK data on current newborn resuscitation practices.
Objective
Establish delivery room (DR) resuscitation practices in the UK, and identify any differences between neonatal intensive care units (NICU), and other local neonatal services.
Methods
We conducted a structured two-stage survey of DR management, among UK neonatal units during 2009â2010 (nâ
=â
192). Differences between NICU services (tertiary level) and other local neonatal services (non-tertiary) were analysed using Fisher's exact and Student's t-tests.
Results
There was an 89% response rate (nâ
=â
171). More tertiary NICUs institute DR CPAP than non-tertiary units (43% vs. 16%, Pâ
=â
0.0001) though there was no significant difference in frequency of elective intubation and surfactant administration for preterm babies. More tertiary units commence DR resuscitation in air (62% vs. 29%, Pâ
<â
0.0001) and fewer in 100% oxygen (11% vs. 41%, Pâ
<â
0.0001). Resuscitation of preterm babies in particular, commences with air in 56% of tertiary units. Significantly more tertiary units use DR pulse oximeters (58% vs. 29%, Pâ
<â
0.01) and titrate oxygen based on saturations. Almost all services use occlusive wrapping to maintain temperature for preterm infants.
Conclusions
In the UK, there are many areas of good evidence based DR practice. However, there is marked variation in management, including between units of different designation, suggesting a need to review practice to fulfil new resuscitation guidance, which will have training and resource implications
Cytomolecular identification of individual wheat-wheat chromosome arm associations in wheat-rye hybrids
Chromosome pairing in the meiotic metaphase I of wheatrye
hybrids has been characterized by sequential genomic
and fluorescent in situ hybridization allowing not only the
discrimination of wheat and rye chromosomes, but also the
identification of the individual wheat and rye chromosome
arms involved in the chromosome associations. The majority
of associations (93.8%) were observed between the wheat
chromosomes. The largest number of wheat-wheat chromosome
associations (53%) was detected between the A and D
genomes, while the frequency of B-D and A-B associations
was significantly lower (32 and 8%, respectively). Among the
A-D chromosome associations, pairing between the 3AL and
3DL arms was observed with the highest frequency, while
the most frequent of all the chromosome associations (0.113/
cell) was found to be the 3DS-3BS. Differences in the pairing
frequency of the individual chromosome arms of wheat-rye
hybrids have been discussed in relation to the homoeologous
relationships between the constituent genomes of
hexaploid wheat
Effect of maternal oxytocin on umbilical venous and arterial blood flows during physiological-based cord clamping in preterm lambs
Background Delayed umbilical cord clamping (UCC) after birth is thought to cause placental to infant blood transfusion, but the mechanisms are unknown. It has been suggested that uterine contractions force blood out of the placenta and into the infant during delayed cord clamping. We have investigated the effect of uterine contractions, induced by maternal oxytocin administration, on umbilical artery (UA) and venous (UV) blood flows before and after ventilation onset to determine whether uterine contractions cause placental transfusion in preterm lambs.Methods and findingsAt similar to 128 days of gestation, UA and UV blood flows, pulmonary arterial blood flow (PBF) and carotid arterial (CA) pressures and blood flows were measured in three groups of fetal sheep during delayed UCC; maternal oxytocin following mifepristone, mifepristone alone, and saline controls. Each successive uterine contraction significantly (pDevelopmen
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