An investigation of the ability of wearable technology to aid physiotherapists in assessing jump-landing movement compared to video recording

Functional movement assessment is essential in screening individuals for risk of injury and planning physiotherapy. The Landing error scoring system (LESS) is a valid and reliable paper-based tool used in assessing the risk of knee injury, which requires evaluating multiple joints across two planes using two video cameras, whilst participants land from a jump. The LESS involves of 17 items concern detecting any faulty movements (errors), then counting these errors as an overall score of the LESS. This is seldom used in physiotherapy clinics and sport fields because of the space required to place cameras, lack of obtaining related clinical movement outcomes objectively, and the privacy of the subjects. Wearable sensors which quantify accurate clinical movement outcomes and generate a 3D avatar recording could be a potential tool for movement analysis in physiotherapy. This study aimed to compare avatar to video recording in assessing jump-landing movements

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Mesoporous Magnetic Cysteine Functionalized Chitosan Nanocomposite for Selective Uranyl Ions Sorption: Experimental, Structural Characterization, and Mechanistic Studies

Nuclear power facilities are being expanded to satisfy expanding worldwide energy demand. Thus, uranium recovery from secondary resources has become a hot topic in terms of environmental protection and nuclear fuel conservation. Herein, a mesoporous biosorbent of a hybrid magnetic–chitosan nanocomposite functionalized with cysteine (Cys) was synthesized via subsequent heterogeneous nucleation for selectively enhanced uranyl ion (UO22+) sorption. Various analytical tools were used to confirm the mesoporous nanocomposite structural characteristics and confirm the synthetic route. The characteristics of the synthesized nanocomposite were as follows: superparamagnetic with saturation magnetization (MS: 25.81 emu/g), a specific surface area (SBET: 42.56 m2/g) with a unipore mesoporous structure, an amine content of ~2.43 mmol N/g, and a density of ~17.19/nm2. The experimental results showed that the sorption was highly efficient: for the isotherm fitted by the Langmuir equation, the maximum capacity was about 0.575 mmol U/g at pH range 3.5–5.0, and Temperature (25 ± 1 °C); further, there was excellent selectivity for UO22+, likely due to the chemical valent difference. The sorption process was fast (~50 min), simulated with the pseudo-second-order equation, and the sorption half-time (t1/2) was 3.86 min. The sophisticated spectroscopic studies (FTIR and XPS) revealed that the sorption mechanism was linked to complexation and ion exchange by interaction with S/N/O multiple functional groups. The sorption was exothermic, spontaneous, and governed by entropy change. Desorption and regeneration were carried out using an acidified urea solution (0.25 M) that was recycled for a minimum of six cycles, resulting in a sorption and desorption efficiency of over 91%. The as-synthesized nanocomposite’s high stability, durability, and chemical resistivity were confirmed over multiple cycles using FTIR and leachability. Finally, the sorbent was efficiently tested for selective uranium sorption from multicomponent acidic simulated nuclear solution. Owing to such excellent performance, the Cys nanocomposite is greatly promising in the uranium recovery field

Misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccine among adults in Saudi Arabia and their associated factors: A cross-sectional study conducted in 2021 [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background It is of utmost importance for the elements that influence public compliance with vaccination against COVID-19 to be assessed, including misconceptions, rumors, and conspiracy theories. Hence, in this study, we aimed to estimate the distribution of the most common misconceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccines and their predictors in Saudi Arabia. Methods We distributed an online questionnaire to participants aged 18 years or older. The survey included two sections. The first section comprised questions related to participants’ demographic characteristics, level of education, and their sources of information about COVID-19. The second section assessed participants’ perceptions regarding 11 of the most common misconceptions regarding COVID-19 vaccines, rated using a 5-point Likert scale. Using ordinal logistic regression, we conducted an evaluation of the relationships among different predictors including age, sex, educational level, and sources of information, as well as acceptance of misconceptions about vaccination. Results The most widely accepted misconception was that the COVID-19 vaccine had severe side effects, with 34.8% of participants believing this misinformation. Factors that were significantly associated with acceptance or non- acceptance of misconceptions were: 1) sex, with female respondents in this survey accepting rumors significantly more often than male respondents (p<0.001); 2) educational level, especially secondary school, was associated with a significantly lower acceptance of misconceptions (p=0.001). In total, 60.5% of participants used social media as their primary source of information, which was also a significant positive predictor of acceptance of misconceptions (p=0.034). Conclusion It is of critical importance to increase assurance regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, the issue most likely to involve misconceptions, and to address the elements that affect belief in rumors among the population

Impact of smoking cessation, coffee and bread consumption on the intestinal microbial composition among Saudis: A cross-sectional study

International audienceThe gut microbiota is often affected by the dietary and lifestyle habits of the host, resulting in a better efficacy that favors energy harvesting from the consumed food. Our objective was to characterize the composition of gut microbiota in adult Saudis and investigate possible association with lifestyle and dietary practices. Feces from 104 Saudi volunteers (48% males) were tested for microbiota by sequencing the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). For all participants, data were collected related to their lifestyle habits and dietary practices. The relative abundance (RA) of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in normal weight Saudis (P = 0.005, false discovery rate-FDR = 0.014). Individuals who consumed more coffee presented marginally significant more RA of Fusobacteria (P = 0.02, FDR = 0.20) in their gut microbiota compared to those reporting low or no coffee intake, but the RA of Fusobacteria was significantly higher in smokers compared to nonsmokers (P = 0.009, FDR = 0.027). The RA of Fusobacteria was also significantly higher in those reporting daily consumption of bread (P = 0.005, FDR = 0.015). At the species level, the gut microbiota of people who consumed coffee was dominated by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron followed by Phascolarctobacterium faecium and Eubacterium rectale. Similarly, the gut microbiota of smokers was also enriched by B. thetaiotaomicron and Lactobacillus amylovorus. Smoking cessation, bread and coffee consumption induce changes in the intestinal microbial composition of Saudis. This indicates the significance of diet and lifestyle practices in the determination of the composition of the gut microbiota, which could possibly lead later to changes in metabolic profile and weight

Laser light treatment improves the mineral composition, essential oil production and antimicrobial activity of mycorrhizal treated Pelargonium graveolens

Pelargonium graveolens, rose-scented geranium, is commonly used in the perfume industry. P. graveolens is enriched with essential oils, phenolics, flavonoids, which account for its tremendous biological activities. Laser light treatment and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation can further enhance the phytochemical content in a significant manner. In this study, we aimed to explore the synergistic impact of these two factors on P. graveolens. For this, we used four groups of surface-sterilized seeds: (1) control group1 (non-irradiated; non-colonized group); (2) control group2 (mycorrhizal colonized group); (3) helium-neon (He-Ne) laser-irradiated group; (4) mycorrhizal colonization coupled with He-Ne laser-irradiation group. Treated seeds were growing in artificial soil inculcated with Rhizophagus irregularis MUCL 41833, in a climate-controlled chamber. After 6 weeks, P. graveolens plants were checked for their phytochemical content and antibacterial potential. Laser light application improved the mycorrhizal colonization in P. graveolens plants which subsequently increased biomass accumulation, minerals uptake, and biological value of P. graveolens. The increase in the biological value was evident by the increase in the essential oils production. The concomitant application of laser light and mycorrhizal colonization also boosted the antimicrobial activity of P. graveolens. These results suggest that AMF co-treatment with laser light could be used as a promising approach to enhance the metabolic content and yield of P. graveolens for industrial and pharmaceutical use