Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

A Study of Adaptive and Optimizing Behavior for Electric Vehicles Based on Interactive Simulation Games and Revealed Behavior of Electric Vehicle Owners

Electric Vehicles (EVs) promise major improvements in air-quality. But the limited range and long recharge times of EVs have created great uncertainty about consumer demand. Technical constraint studies find good news, that 20-60% of all households in the United States could substitute an EV with 162 KM range for one of their current vehicles. In startling contrast, choice studies -- based on the responses of consumers to hypothetical choice sets -- find that limited range and long recharge are extremely expensive drawbacks and forecast sales of a few percent or less of the yearly new auto market. These studies have relied on meager data and not investigated the potential revolutionary effect on the automobile market of the introduction of alternative fueled vehicles.To explore potential dynamics, we have conducted three linked studies: 1) a test drive of EVs, natural gas, and methanol vehicles by 236 citizens in Los Angeles (with 11 post-drive focus group interviews); 2) purchase intention and range simulation games (PIREG) and 3) interviews with over 100 owners of EVs. In this paper, we focus upon the methods and results of PIREG, an interview gaming technique derived from the CUPIG (Car Use Patterns Interview-Game) developed by Martin Lee-Gosselin to study future automobile use. The interview uses one week diaries of households and detailed descriptions of a recent vehicle purchase decision to create a realistic simulation context for examining the potential substitution of several new electric vehicle technologies.The results demonstrate several dynamics. First, increased information and learning experience will reduce uncertainty in the EV market, affecting stated preferences. In the test drive, 76% of participants said their opinion of EVs improved after a test drive. Participants were surprised at how normal the EVs looked and performed. Second, households will consider adaptive responses to limited range vehicles, given the social benefits of clean air. Most PIREG participants were surprised at how easily electrics fit their travel needs; most were highly receptive to EVs if the price were equal to that of a gas car. Using detail diaries of their own car use, participants proposed simple ways of adapting to limited range including swapping vehicles for longer days, opportunity charging at work and in some households increasing the vehicle stock. in most cases, households preferred occasional adaptations to more expensive, long-range vehicles. Finally, PIREG interviews and electric vehicle owner interviews suggest that a multi-fueled household (gasoline and electric) will optimize the EV use with significant fuel cost differences. In some cases, the ability of households to shift vehicle use to the EV was so significant, that it may offset the higher initial cost of EVs.Information development, experience, adaptive response and optimization are central processes underlying the development of the electric vehicle market. PIREG interviews offer the most detailed understanding of these processes and the purchase intentions that will result. While the market is uncertain for EVs, PIREG games and current practices of EV owners suggest that with the right price incentives, EVs could become the primary vehicles in households, used for a higher percentage of household trips and VMTs than a gasoline counter part in the household

Plug-in-Hybrid Vehicle Use, Energy Consumption, and Greenhouse Emissions: An Analysis of Household Vehicle Placements in Northern California

We report on the real-world use over the course of one year of a nickel-metal-hydride plug-in hybrid—the Toyota Plug-In HV—by a set of 12 northern California households able to charge at home and work. From vehicle use data, energy and greenhouse-emissions implications are also explored. A total of 1557 trips—most using under 0.5 gallons of gasoline—ranged up to 2.4 hours and 133 miles and averaged 14 minutes and 7 miles. 399 charging events averaged 2.6 hours. The maximum lasted 4.6 hours. Most recharges added less than 1.4 kWh, with a mean charge of 0.92 kWh. The average power drawn was under one-half kilowatt. The greenhouse gas emissions from driving and charging were estimated to be 2.6 metric tons, about half of the emissions expected from a 22.4-mpg vehicle (the MY2009 fleet-wide real-world average). The findings contribute to better understanding of how plug-in hybrids might be used, their potential impact, and how potential benefits and requirements vary for different plug-in-vehicle designs. For example, based on daily driving distances, 20 miles of charge-depleting range would have been fully utilized on 81% of days driven, whereas 40 miles would not have been fully utilized on over half of travel days