Association of Social Isolation and Loneliness With Incident Heart Failure in a Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Social isolation and loneliness have emerged as important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, particularly during the coronavirus disease pandemic. However, it is unclear whether social isolation and loneliness had independent and joint associations with incident heart failure (HF). OBJECTIVES: This study sought to examine the association of social isolation, loneliness, and their combination with incident HF. METHODS: The UK Biobank study is a population-based cohort study. Social isolation and loneliness were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. HF cases were identified by linking hospital records and death registries. The weighted polygenic risk score associated with HF was calculated. RESULTS: Among the 464,773 participants (mean age: 56.5 ± 8.1 years, 45.3% male), 12,898 incident HF cases were documented during a median follow-up of 12.3 years. Social isolation (most vs least: adjusted HR: 1.17; 95% CI:1.11-1.23) and loneliness (yes vs no: adjusted HR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.11-1.27) were significantly associated with an increased risk of incident HF. The association between an elevated risk of HF and social isolation was modified by loneliness (Pinteraction = 0.034). A gradient of association between social isolation and the risk of incident HF was found only among individuals without loneliness (Ptrend < 0.001), but not among those with loneliness (Ptrend = 0.829). These associations were independent of the genetic risk of HF. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation and loneliness were independently associated with a higher likelihood of incident HF regardless of genetic risk. The association between social isolation and incident HF was potentially modified by loneliness status.

"China-US Plus" Triangular Development Cooperation Challenges and Opportunities

The "China-US Plus" model of development cooperation refers to the triangular pattern between China, the largest South-South Cooperation partner, the United States, the largest traditional donor, and recipient nations in the developing world. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and the United States have strengthened policy coordination on international development, and carried out several pilot projects including the "China-US Plus Afghanistan" triangular cooperation on human resources, "China-US Plus Timor-Leste" triangular cooperation on agriculture and the "China-US Plus Africa" triangular cooperation on public health which have already yielded early harvests. However since 2018, the "China-US Plus" cooperation has encountered challenges from both the setbacks in the field of international development and the United States' increasingly tougher policies toward China. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has severely undermined global development achievements, it is of great significance for China and the United States to resume and strengthen triangular development cooperation. By urging Washington to restart the bilateral dialogue on development cooperation, encouraging Chinese and US civil society organizations to initiate nontraditional "China-US Plus" cooperation and strengthening coordination and connection with aid recipients, Beijing can play a constructive role to put the "China-US Plus" cooperation back on track as early as possible.

Preparation of In2O3 microtubules with abundant oxygen vacancies at room temperature and their chlorine gas sensing properties

Because of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the disinfectants have become a daily necessity. The chlorine gas is an important industrial raw material for disinfectants. And the demand of chlorine gas is increasing. As is known to all, chlorine gas is a toxic gas and harmful to health. However, the gas sensors based on common metal oxide semiconductor are not sensitive to low concentrations of chlorine gas. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop the gas sensing materials based on metal oxide semiconductor that are high sensitivity to trace leakage of chlorine gas. In this work, In2O3 microtubules were synthesized by bio-template method with degreasing cotton. In2O3 microtubules was simply treated with NaBH4 reduction and In2O3 microtubules with abundant oxygen vacancies were successfully prepared at room temperature. The effects of the method on the crystal structure, morphology and oxygen vacancies were investigated by means of XRD, SEM, XPS and EPR. The results showed that this method could effectively enhance the concentration of oxygen vacancies in In2O3 materials without the destruction on crystal structure and morphology. In the gas sensing tests, the gas response of In2O3 microtubules with NaBH4 treatment was about 13 times higher than In2O3 microtubules to the same low concentration of chlorine gas. In another word, the In2O3 microtubules were more sensitive to low concentration of chlorine gas after NaBH4 treatment. According to the analysis of gas sensing mechanism, chlorine gas molecule was not only directly adsorbed on the material surface but also oxygen vacancies of material surface. Thus it can be seen that the oxygen vacancies on material surface played an important role in chlorine gas-sensing performance. Because there are more oxygen vacancies in the In2O3 microtubules treated by NaBH4 than the untreated, the In2O3 microtubules with abundant oxygen vacancies exhibited excellent sensitivity to low concentration chlorine gas. © 2022, Editorial Board of Journal of Functional Materials. All right reserved.

Quantitative MRI findings indicate diffuse white matter damage in Susac Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Susac Syndrome (SuS) is an autoimmune endotheliopathy impacting the brain, retina and cochlea that can clinically mimic multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate non-lesional white matter demyelination changes in SuS compared to MS and healthy controls (HC) using quantitative MRI. METHODS: 3T MRI including myelin water imaging and diffusion basis spectrum imaging were acquired for 7 SuS, 10 MS and 10 HC participants. Non-lesional white matter was analyzed in the corpus callosum (CC) and normal appearing white matter (NAWM). Groups were compared using ANCOVA with Tukey correction. RESULTS: SuS CC myelin water fraction (mean 0.092) was lower than MS(0.11, p = 0.01) and HC(0.11, p = 0.04). Another myelin marker, radial diffusivity, was increased in SuS CC(0.27µm2/ms) compared to HC(0.21µm2/ms, p = 0.008) and MS(0.23µm2/ms, p = 0.05). Fractional anisotropy was lower in SuS CC(0.82) than HC(0.86, p = 0.04). Fiber fraction (reflecting axons) did not differ from HC or MS. In NAWM, radial diffusivity and apparent diffusion coefficient were significantly increased in SuS compared to HC(p < 0.001 for both measures) and MS(p = 0.003, p < 0.001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our results provided evidence of myelin damage in SuS, particularly in the CC, and more extensive microstructural injury in NAWM, supporting the hypothesis that there are widespread microstructural changes in SuS syndrome including diffuse demyelination.

Utility of telehealth in surgical spine patient visits during a pandemic

BACKGROUND CONTEXT This pandemic has further shifted medicine toward a reliance and adoption of technology with a steep learning curve. The pandemic created a need to interact with patients without immediate in-person contact.  Due to the COVID-19, our division transitioned from 0% telehealth visits (TV) to 100% TV in the matter of 1-2 weeks. The inexperience of patients and providers with TV could potentially impact the quality of care for spine patients. Further insight is required to determine how effective this mode of care is for spine surgeons. PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of TV as a modality of treatment in spine surgery. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Single-center retrospective cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE This study included 85 patients (43 TV only and 42 with TV and OV). OUTCOME MEASURES Patient demographics, treated pathologies, changes in diagnosis, updated MRI imaging, and changes in surgical plans. METHODS Included: patients undergoing spinal surgery who received either a TV-only or TV and an office visit (OV) prior to surgery post-March 2020. Excluded: patients who received TV and OV by two separate providers, providers outside of the spine service, or patients with an initial OV in the time frame. The cohort was separated into patients who only had a TV or had an initial TV and subsequent OV (TV+OV) prior to surgery.  The rates of patients scheduled for surgery through TV alone vs TV and in-person visit were analyzed. Changes in diagnosis and surgical plans from in-person vs telehealth were assessed. Relationships between spine pathologies treated and efficacy of the TV alone were established using chi-squared analyses (α=0.05). RESULTS A total of 85 patients (43 TV-only and 42 with TV+OV) met these criteria. There is no significant difference in age, gender, BMI, and patient status between patients with TV-only (age: 55.7±15.6, % female: 47%, BMI: 27.0±4.8, and % new patients: 16.3%) and those with both TV and OV (age: 55.4±15.3, p=0.919;% female: 55%, 0.453;BMI: 28.9±5.9, p=0.122;% new patients: 33.3%, p=0.220). TV-only had significantly more patients treated for cervical or lumbar radiculopathy than those with both OV+TV (69.8% vs 57.1%, p=0.003). TV-only had a significantly higher percentage of patients that have MRIs prior to their visit than those with both TV and OV (95.8% vs 76.2%, p<0.001). Of total patients, 11.9% with both TV and OV had a change in surgical plans from the initial TV to the subsequent OV. The cases with changes in surgical plans were all associated with updated imaging. CONCLUSIONS With TV-alone, common spine pathologies are identifiable through history, TV physical examination, and advanced imaging. Although TV seemed concordant with OV in times of emergency, the authors recommend confirmation of the examination prior to undertaking operative procedures. Further insight in the outcomes of the procedures with TV only and TV+OV can be compared through change in PROMIS from baseline to 1 year. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.

Discovery of potential SARS-CoV-2 M protease inhibitors by virtual screening, molecular dynamics, and binding free energy analyses①

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) gained tremendous attention due to its high infectivity and pathogenicity. The 3-chymotrypsin-like hydrolase protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 has been proven to be an important target for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. To better identify the drugs with potential in treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 and according to the crystal structure of Mpro, we conducted a virtual screening of FDA-approved drugs and chemical agents that have entered clinical trials. As a result, 9 drug candidates with therapeutic potential for the treatment of COVID-19 and with good docking scores were identified to target SARS-CoV-2. Consequently, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to explore the dynamic interactions between the predicted drugs and Mpro. The binding mode during MD simulation showed that hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions played an important role in the binding processes. Based on the binding free energy calculated by using MM/PBSA, Lopiravir, an inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease, is under investigation for the treatment of COVID-19 in combination with ritionavir, and it might inhibit Mpro effectively. Moreover, Ombitasvir, an inhibitor for non-structural protein 5A of hepatitis C virus (HCV), has good inhibitory potency for Mpro. It is notable that the GS-6620 has a binding free energy, with respect to binding Mpro, comparable to that of ombitasvir. Our study suggests that ombitasvir and lopinavir are good drug candidates for the treatment of COVID-19, and that GS-6620 has good anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity. © 2021 Fujian Institute of Research of the Structure of Matter. All rights reserved.