ABSTRACT
According to Robert E. Schofield, looking back to the golden age of Scientific Societies we discover that, from the middle of XVII to the XIX century, rather than academic institutions they were considered as the proper alma mater by scientists [1]. Over time, the general reform of the university has gradually reversed this state of things, with few exceptions. This paper proposes some brief reflections on being a Scientific Society (of Geometry and Graphics) nowadays (in its 30th year), including a glance at the present COVID-19 pandemic impact.
ABSTRACT
Background: Early identification of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) is particularly challenging in low- middle-income countries where diagnostic capabilities are limited, and risk factors for CAPA have not been identified. It is also essential to recognise CAPA patients who are likely to have a poorer outcome to decide on aggressive management approaches. Therefore, this study aimed to identify risk factors and outcomes for CAPA among admitted moderate to critical COVID-19 patients at our centre in Pakistan. Methods: An unmatched case–control study with ratio of 1:2 was conducted on hospitalised adult patients with COVID-19 from March 2020–July 2021. Cases were defined according to European Confederation of Medical Mycology and the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology consensus criteria. Controls were defined as patients hospitalised with moderate, severe or critical COVID-19 without CAPA. Results: A total of 100 CAPA cases (27 probable CAPA;73 possible CAPA) were compared with 237 controls. Critical disease at presentation (aOR 5.04;95% CI 2.18–11.63), age ≥ 60 years (aOR 2.00;95% CI 1.20–3.35) and underlying co-morbid of chronic kidney disease (CKD) (aOR 3.78;95% CI 1.57–9.08) were identified as risk factors for CAPA. Patients with CAPA had a significantly greater proportion of complications and longer length of hospital stay (p-value <.001). Mortality was higher in patients with CAPA (48%) as compared to those without CAPA (13.5%) [OR = 6.36(95% CI 3.6–11)]. Conclusions: CAPA was significantly associated with advanced age, CKD and critical illness at presentation, along with a greater frequency of complications and higher mortality. © 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.
ABSTRACT
According to Robert E. Schofield, looking back to the golden age of Scientific Societies we discover that, from the middle of XVII to the XIX century, rather than academic institutions they were considered as the proper alma mater by scientists [1]. Over time, the general reform of the university has gradually reversed this state of things, with few exceptions. This paper proposes some brief reflections on being a Scientific Society (of Geometry and Graphics) nowadays (in its 30th year), including a glance at the present COVID-19 pandemic impact. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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This is an interview with Professor Takuji Natori, who describes his current role as President of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy (ISST) and the challenges of conducting business since his tenure began just shortly before the pandemic-August, 2019. Creative solutions have emerged including regional meetings within the International Society for Sandplay Therapy Board and more frequent online board meetings. Natori-san also talks about the challenges of conducting sandplay therapy at a time of social distancing, the importance of the relationship in sandplay, transference and countertransference, as well as symbols and myths important to him in the context of the Japanese culture. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
According to Robert E. Schofield, looking back to the golden age of Scientific Societies we discover that, from the middle of XVII to the XIX century, rather than academic institutions they were considered as the proper alma mater by scientists [1]. Over time, the general reform of the university has gradually reversed this state of things, with few exceptions. This paper proposes some brief reflections on being a Scientific Society (of Geometry and Graphics) nowadays (in its 30th year), including a glance at the present COVID-19 pandemic impact. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Early cell biology reports demonstrated the presence of cells with stem-like properties in bone marrow, with both hematopoietic and mesenchymal lineages. Over the years, various investigations have purified and characterized mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) from different human tissues as cells with multilineage differentiation potential under the appropriate conditions. Due to their appealing characteristics and versatile potentials, MSCs are leveraged in many applications in medicine such as oncology, bioprinting, and as recent as therapeutics discovery and innovation for COVID-19. To date, studies indicate that MSCs have varied differentiation capabilities into different cell types, and demonstrate immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory properties. Different microenvironments or niche for MSCs and their resulting heterogeneity may influence attendant cellular behavior and differentiation capacity. The potential clinical applications of MSCs and exosomes derived from these cells have led to an avalanche of research reports on their properties and hundreds of clinical trials being undertaken. There is ample reason to think, as discussed in this expert review that the future looks bright and promising for MSC research, with many clinical trials under way to ascertain their clinical utility. This review provides a synthesis of the latest advances and trends in MSC research to allow for broad and critically informed use of MSCs. Early observations of the presence of these cells in the bone marrow and their remarkable differentiation capabilities and immunomodulation are also presented.
Subject(s)
Cell Differentiation , Immunomodulation , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/immunology , Humans , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/physiology , Regenerative Medicine , Stem Cell Niche , Tissue EngineeringABSTRACT
This commentary provides an overview and links to presentations of a recent virtual congress series organized by the International Society for Vaccines (ISV) focused on COVID-19 vaccines. The series provided the academic community and vaccine developers as well as the wider general public with balanced information of the global response and resources for COVID-19 vaccines under development featuring: 1) NGOs and the regulatory perspective, 2) the status of vaccine development efforts, and 3) panel discussions to present and discuss challenges. ISV is a non-profit scientific organization whose members work on all areas relevant to vaccines. ISV plans to host additional virtual symposia including regional meetings and incorporating other topics along with COVID-19 vaccines.