ABSTRACT
Two-dimensional lung ultrasound (LUS) has widely emerged as a rapid and non-invasive imaging tool for the detection and diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, image differences will be magnified due to changes in ultrasound imaging experience, such as ultrasound probe attitude control and force control, which will directly affect the diagnosis results. In addition, the risk of virus transmission between sonographer and patients is increased due to frequent physical contact. In this study, a fully automatic dual-probe ultrasound scanning robot for the acquisition of lung ultrasound images is proposed and developd. Furthermore, the trajectory was optimized based on the velocity look-ahead strategy, the stability of contact force of the system and the scanning efficiency were improved by 24.13% and 29.46%, respectively. And the control ability of the contact force of robotic automatic scanning was 34.14 times higher than that of traditional manual scanning, which significantly improves the smoothness of scanning. Importantly, there was no significant difference in image quality obtained by robotic automatic scanning and manual scanning. Furthermore, the scanning time for a single person is less than 4 minutes, which greatly improves the efficiency of screening triage of group COVID-19 diagnosis and suspected patients, and reduces the risk of virus exposure and spread.
ABSTRACT
Microalgal polysaccharides have been reported in many studies due to their uniqueness, biocompatibility, and high value, and Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO-45730 was an excellent source of polysaccharides and ß-glucans. However, the polysaccharides from the red unicellular alga Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO-45730 have barely been studied. In this work, hot water extraction of Rhodosorus sp. SCSIO-45730 polysaccharides (RSP) was optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD). The maximum RSP yield (9.29%) was achieved under the optimum extraction conditions: liquid-solid ratio of 50.00 mL g-1; extraction temperature of 84 °C; extraction time of 2 h; and extraction times of 5 times. The results of physicochemical characterization showed that RSP had high sulfate and uronic acid with content of 19.58% and 11.57%, respectively, rough layered structure, and mainly contained glucose, galactose, xylose, and galacturonic acid with mass percentages of 34.08%, 28.70%, 12.46%, and 12.10%. Furthermore, four kinds of antioxidant assays were carried out, and the results indicated that RSP had strong scavenging activities on ABTS and hydroxyl radical and moderate scavenging activities on DPPH and ferrous chelating ability. These results indicated that RSP showed potential as a promising source of antioxidants applied in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industry. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10811-021-02646-2.
ABSTRACT
In the face of the unexpected tidal wave of infections brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, many hospitals and medical care facilities around the world were woefully unprepared, particularly in terms of having adequate surge capacity. Going into a situation like a pandemic, regional inequalities in health-care resources and surge capacity, as well as disease incidence can compound these challenges and even further perpetuate already existing gaps and disparities. In this regard, China provides a compelling case in point. In this brief article, we draw upon the example of China, highlighting how regional health disparities in the country impacted the outcomes and dynamics of the pandemic in its early stages, including the possible reinforcement of existing health inequities. We conclude with some lessons learned from China, which can be used to inform other places facing similar resource constraints and disparities, especially in the management of a global epidemic like COVID-19.