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Background and objective: Millions of people worldwide have died from COVID-19, which has caused the failure of the lungs and other organs. The research assessed biochemical anomalies in COVID-19 patients to comprehend the illness and its effect better. Study Design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis Place of study: ABWA Medical College Faisalabad Methods: A total of 150 adult patients (n=150) who tested positive for COVID-19 via RT-PCR were included in the study. A Roche Diagnostics Cobas C501 used spectrophotometry to measure calcium, magnesium, phosphate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), urea, creatinine, ferritin, and chloride in the blood. A NOVA electrolytic analyzer used Ion-selective electrodes to measure sodium, chloride, potassium, and bicarbonate. Result(s): In the study, 33.6% of patients had elevated urea levels, and 22.4% had elevated creatinine levels. Furthermore, 88.8% of patients had elevated ferritin levels, and 93.5% had elevated LDH levels. After 44 weeks, there was a drop in sodium-containing electrolytes, with 9% of patients experiencing a decrease in sodium, 22.4% in potassium, 53.3% in bicarbonate, 48.6% in calcium, and 23.4% in phosphorus. These changes in electrolyte levels suggest a long-term trend in electrolyte depletion among the patient population. There was no significant difference in biochemical anomalies between age groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion(s): These results suggest that COVID-19 patients have lung illness and multi-organ involvement, which should be considered when managing these patients. These biochemical alterations warrant careful monitoring for organ failure by healthcare practitioners. More study is required to comprehend the processes causing these biochemical anomalies in COVID-19 patients.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
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Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2) is the virus causing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Apart from respiratory disease, this virus can affect different organs. Objectives: Therefore, multiple mechanisms have been hypothesized for Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) in COVID-19. In this study, we evaluate the incidence and prognosis of AKI in COVID-19 patients. Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed 397 COVID-19 patients hospitalized between April 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021. Patients with a sudden rise of serum creatinine level, more than 0.3 mg/dl in two days or more than 50% of the initial level in one week, were diagnosed with AKI. Demographic, laboratory, and clinical features were compared in AKI patients with patients without AKI. Results: A total of 397 patients with a mean age +or- standard deviation of 55.42 +or- 15.26 years were included in the study. According to diagnostic criteria, 48 (12.1%) patients developed AKI. Old age, a history of hypertension, and chronic renal failure were suggested as risk factors for AKI. High levels of C-Reactive Protein, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate, Lactate Dehydrogenase, D-dimer, and serum phosphorus upon arrival were also associated with an increased risk of AKI. In addition, the incidence of hypernatremia and hyperkalemia increased mortality in patients with AKI. Conclusion: The incidence of AKI in admitted COVID-19 patients affects the duration of hospitalization, the chance of ICU admission, and mortality. It is important to limit the use of nephrotoxic drugs and to maintain water-electrolyte balance to prevent the incidence of AKI and improve the outcome.
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Increasing amounts of surfactants are used and emitted into the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, posing potential threats to ecological health. Algal-bacterial aerobic granular sludge (A-BAGS), with the advantages of compact structure, high-efficient nutrient uptake, and high tolerance to harsh conditions, was attempted in this study to treat surfactant-containing wastewater at relatively high concentrations. The treatment performance was also compared to bacterial AGS (BAGS). Results showed that A-BAGS is preferable for treating wastewater containing a high SDS concentration (30 mg/L), achieving nutrient removal efficiency of 86.3 % for organic carbon, 60.5 % for total nitrogen, and 58.7 % for total phosphorus within a short duration, compared to 70.1 %, 52.8 % and 42.3 % in BAGS reactor. Besides, the removal rate of ammonia nitrogen by A-BAGS was much faster than that of BAGS. The above results confirmed that A-BAGS is a promising technology for treating surfactant-containing wastewater with high nutrient removal efficiency being maintained.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
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The proceedings contain 23 papers. The topics discussed include: Mg and skeletal system: a link to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis;a putative impact of IL-6 on the expression of magnesiotropic genes through the activation of the JAK/STAT3 pathway;magnesium in pain therapy - historical notes and current aspects;Alzheimer's-associated variant rs708727 might be connected to dementia in Parkinson's disease;effect of magnesium citrate supplementation on the brain tissue of patients with Miyoshi dysferlinopathy measured by 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy;clinical status of magnesium implants;Ionized magnesium: update 2022;magnesium in the treatment of selected types of muscular dystrophy;magnesium speciation analysis in blood serum;epigenetically-induced modulation of the HPA axis might improve resilience to chronic stress;magnesium status in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome;and post-covid-syndrome and transient microvascular pathology in pulse-wave-analysis - association with Mg/Ca ratio and magnesium therapy-options.
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This combined Al12E12 (E = N, P) surface adsorption and docking study describes the new possibility of prospective potential probing(photophysical/optical) and therapy(medicinal/biochemical) with these adsorbent conjugates. DFT investigations were undertaken herein to help generate geometrical models and better understand the possible favorable adsorption energetics. We attempt to explain their adsorption behaviors and docking involving SARS-CoV-2 viruses (PDB)to assess their possible pharmaceutical potential against the pandemic virus (COVID-19). The adsorption behavior of 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (MQ) and its halogenated derivatives, 5,7-diiodo-8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (MQI), 5,7-dichloro-8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (MQCl), and 5,7-dibromo-8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline (MQBr), with aluminum-nitrogen (AlN), and aluminum-phosphorous (AlP) fullerene-like nanocages is reported. A decrease in the hardness of the nanoclusters when adsorbed with drug molecules resulted in an incrementally improved chemical softness (see e.g., Hard-Soft Acid Base theory) indicating that reactivity of the drug molecule in the resulting complex increases upon cluster chemical adsorption. The energy gap is found to be maximized for AlN-MQ and minimized for AlP-MQI; the reduced density gradient (RDG) iso-surfaces and AIM studies also corroborated this. Therefore, these two were found, respectively, to be the least and most electrically conductive of the species under study. We selected a simple medicinal building block (chelator)in addition to selecting the cluster based on previous literature reports. Important parameters such as gap energies and global indices were determined. We assessed NLO properties. The SARS-CoV-2 virus PDB docking data for 6VW1, 6VYO, 6WKQ, 7AD1, 7AOL, 7B3C, were enlisted as ligand targets for studies of docking (PatchDock Server) using the requisite PDB geometries (For the structure of 6VW1, kindly see reference, 2020; For the structure of 6VYO kindly see reference, 2020; For the structure of 6WKQ kindly see reference, 2020; For the structure of 7AD1 kindly see reference, 2021; For the structure of 7AOL kindly see reference, 2021; For the structure of 7B3C kindly see reference, 2021). Such findings indicate that the AlN-drug conjugation have inhibitory effect against these selected receptors.
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Artificially prepared microbial spores have excellent electromagnetic attenuation properties due to their special composition and structure. At present, studies on the optical properties of microbial spores have mainly focused on those with a single band or a single germplasm, which has limitations and cannot reveal the optical properties comprehensively. In this paper, 3 kinds of laboratory-prepared microbial spores were selected for compounding, and the spectral reflectivities of single-germplasm biospores and compound biospores were measured in the wavebands of 0.25–2.4 and 3–15 μm. The complex refractive indices (CRIs) were calculated in combination with the Kramers–Kronig (K-K) algorithm. Relying on the smoke box broadband test system, the transmittance of single-germplasm bioaerosols and compound bioaerosols from the ultraviolet (UV) band to the far-infrared (FIR) band was measured, and the mass extinction coefficients were calculated. The results indicate that the trend of the complex refractive indices of the compound spores is consistent with that of the single-germplasm spores with a larger particle size. For the single-germplasm bioaerosols, the lowest transmittance values were 2.21, 5.70 and 6.27% in the visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR) and middle-infrared (FIR) bands, and the mass extinction coefficients reached 1.15, 0.87 and 0.84 m2/g, respectively. When AO and BB spores were compounded at 4:1, the extinction performance of the bioaerosols somewhat improved in all wavebands. These results can help to comprehensively analyze the optical properties of bioaerosols and provide ideas for the development of new extinction materials.
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Background: Today, various drugs have been investigated as the primary or complementary treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been used as a mucolytic in pulmonary diseases. This drug apparently contributes to the retrieval of the intracellular antioxidant system. Objective(s): This study aimed to determine the efficacy of NAC in severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Method(s): This single-blinded randomized controlled phase III clinical trial included 40 patients with confirmed COVID-19 (based on polymerase chain reaction) admitted to the Shahid Mohammadi Hospital's ICU, Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2020. All cases had severe COVID-19. They were allocated randomly to two equal groups. Patients in the control group received standard drug therapy based on the treatment protocol of the national COVID-19 committee, while those in the NAC group received a single dose of intravenous NAC (300 mg/kg) upon admission to the ICU in addition to standard drug treatment. Clinical status and laboratory tests were done on admission to the ICU and then 14 days later or at discharge without knowing the patient grouping. Result(s): The two groups were comparable regarding age, gender, and other baseline laboratory and clinical parameters. At the final evaluation, respiratory rate (21.25 +/- 4.67 vs. 27.37 +/- 6.99 /min) and D-dimer (186.37 +/- 410.23 vs. 1339.04 +/- 2183.87 ng/mL) were significantly lower in the NAC group (P = 0.004 and P = 0.030, respectively). Also, a lower percentage of patients in the NAC group had lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) <= 245 U/L (0% vs. 25%, P = 0.047). Although the length of ward and ICU stay was shorter in the NAC group than in controls, the difference was statistically insignificant (P = 0.598 and P = 0.629, respectively). Mortality, on the other hand, was 75% in the control group and 50% in the NAC group, with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.102). Concerning the change in the study parameters, only the decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was significantly higher with NAC (P = 0.042). The intubation and mechanical ventilation rates were higher, while oxygen with mask and nasal oxygen rates were lower with NAC, but the difference was statistically insignificant. Conclusion(s): Based on the current research, NAC is related to a significant decrease in RR, D-dimer, and DBP in severe COVID-19. Also, LDH was significantly lower in the NAC group than in the controls. More research with larger sample sizes is needed to validate the current study results.Copyright © 2023, Author(s).
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Introduction: The underlying pathophysiology of Post-COVID-19 syndrome remains unknown, but increased cardiometabolic demand and state of mitochondrial dysfunction have emerged as candidate mechanisms. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) provides insight into pathophysiological mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease and 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) allows noninvasive assessment of the myocardial energetic state. Purpose(s): We sought to assess whether Post-COVID-19 syndrome is associated with abnormalities of myocardial structure, function, perfusion and tissue characteristics or energetic derangement. Method(s): Prospective case-control study. A total of 20 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Post-COVID-19 syndrome (seropositive) and no prior underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) and ten matching controls underwent 31P-MRS and CMR at 3T at a single time point. (Figure 1) All patients had been symptomatic with acute COVID-19, but none required hospital admission. Result(s): Between the Post-COVID-19 syndrome patients and matched contemporary controls there were no differences in myocardial energetics (phosphocreatine to ATP ratio), in cardiac structure (biventricular volumes, left ventricular mass), function (biventricular ejection fractions, global longitudinal strain), tissue characterization (T1 and extracellular volume [ECV] fraction mapping, late gadolinium enhancement) or perfusion (myocardial rest and stress blood flow, myocardial perfusion reserve). One patient with Post-COVID-19 syndrome showed subepicardial hyperenhancement on the late gadolinium enhancement imaging compatible with prior myocarditis, but no accompanying abnormality in cardiac size, function, perfusion, ECV, T1, T2 mapping or energetics. This patient was excluded from statistical analyses. (Table 1) Conclusion(s): In this study, the overwhelming majority of patients with a clinical Post-COVID-19 syndrome with no prior CVD did not exhibit any abnormalities in myocardial energetics, structure, function, blood flow or tissue characteristics.
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Favipiravir (FP) and Ebselen (EB) belong to a broad range of antiviral drugs that have shown active potential as medications against many viruses. Employing molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning (ML) combined with van der Waals density functional theory, we have uncovered the binding characteristics of these two antiviral drugs on a phosphorene nanocarrier. Herein, by using four different machine learning models (i.e., Bagged Trees, Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), and Regression Trees (RT)), the Hamiltonian and the interaction energy of antiviral molecules in a phosphorene monolayer are trained in an appropriate way. However, training efficient and accurate models for approximating the density functional theory (DFT) is the final step in using ML to aid in the design of new drugs. To improve the prediction accuracy, the Bayesian optimization approach has been employed to optimize the GPR, SVR, RT, and BT models. Results revealed that the GPR model obtained superior prediction performance with an R2 of 0.9649, indicating that it can explain 96.49% of the data's variability. Then, by means of DFT calculations, we examine the interaction characteristics and thermodynamic properties in a vacuum and a continuum solvent interface. These results illustrate that the hybrid drug is an enabled, functionalized 2D complex with vigorous thermostability. The change in Gibbs free energy at different surface charges and temperatures implies that the FP and EB molecules are allowed to adsorb from the gas phase onto the 2D monolayer at different pH conditions and high temperatures. The results reveal a valuable antiviral drug therapy loaded by 2D biomaterials that may possibly open a new way of auto-treating different diseases, such as SARS-CoV, in primary terms.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents , Molecular Dynamics Simulation , Antiviral Agents/pharmacology , Antiviral Agents/chemistry , Bayes Theorem , Machine Learning , Density Functional TheoryABSTRACT
Lake eutrophication has become a critical environmental issue due to the global effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change, and has been comprehensively studied for many years. A series of models and indicators have been proposed to assess the trophic state of lakes. The trophic state index (TSI) is a synthetic index that integrates chlorophyll-a, water clarity, and total phosphorus and is widely used to evaluate the trophic state of aquatic environments. In this study, we collected in situ lake samples (N = 431) from typical lakes to match Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) imagery data using the Case 2 Regional Coast Color processor. Then we developed a new empirical model, TSI = -34.04 x (band 4/band 5) - 1.114 x (band 1/band 4) + 97.376. This model is valid for all of China, with good performance and few errors (RMSE = 7.36;MAE = 6.25) for the validation dataset. Recognizing that over 94% of the Chinese population located along eastern watersheds and large lakes have competing water uses, and given the TSI model on the seasonal scales, we further estimated the mean TSI and trophic state in eastern Chinese lakes (> 100 km2) from 2019 to 2020. The results revealed that more lakes were eutrophic in autumn (94.28%) than in spring (> 77.14%), indicating a serious eutrophication of eastern lakes. Although the eastern lakes have been studied in more detail, this study found that eutrophication still has markedly negative impacts on lake ecosystems. In addition, no significant improvement was observed in spring, most likely due to the months of curfew/lockdown from January 2020 onwards due to COVID-19. This may be due to the enrichment of nutrients deposited in sediment or watershed soil, which can be characterized as "autochthonous sources" of lake eutrophication, over decades with high rates of economic development. This study demonstrates the applicability of Sentinel-2 MSI data to monitor lake eutrophication as well as the feasibility of blue/red and red/red edge combinations. The framework and TSI model used bands available on MSI sensors to develop a novel approach for generating historical eutrophication data for large-scale evaluation of and decision-making related aquatic environmental changes, even in poorly studied areas.
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Introduction: Following hospitalisation with SARS-Cov2 infection a large proportion of individuals report fatigue as a persisting symptom. Here, we performed a detailed study of the muscle for insight into underlying mechanisms. Method(s): Adults were recruited at 5-7 months following hospital discharge for severe SARS-Cov2 infection (n=21), along with control volunteers (n=10) of a similar age, gender, ethnicity and body mass. Perceived fatigue was estimated using the fatigue severity scale. The short physical performance battery test determined habitual functionality, alongside isometric quadriceps strength normalised for appendicular mass and isokinetic force loss during 20 knee extensions (Cybex Norm dynamometer). Leg muscle volume, and phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis during recovery from ischemic plantar flexion exercise (an index of muscle metabolic resilience) were quantified using MRI and 31P MRS. Student t-test was used to detect differences between groups and all data are mean (SD). Result(s): Patients (P) reported greater perception of fatigue and demonstrated worse habitual functionality compared to controls (C). However, leg volume [P: 2,578 (303) cm3/m2 vs C: 2,384 (289) cm3/m2, p=0.1], strength [P: 21.8 (4.1) Nm/kg vs C: 21.1 (4.5) Nm/kg, p=0.7], force loss [P: 25% (6) vs C: 21% (10), p=0.1] and PCr recovery kinetics (Qmax) [P: 25.8 (11.3) vs C: 22.8 (8.7), p=0.5] were not different. Conclusion(s): Despite greater perception of fatigue and lower habitual functionality, patients recovering from severe COVID-19 infection did not have altered muscle volume, strength, fatiguability or metabolic resilience compared to controls.
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Introduction: COVID-19 is a novel SARS-CoV-2 disease that has caused a worldwide pandemic. It is highly contagious and produces severe acute respiratory syndrome. Many homoeopathic medicines have been suggested for treatment of COVID cases and reports have also been published. Case Summary: The present case report is of a 61-year-old COVID-positive, male, presenting with complications such as bronchitis and pleural effusion. He was treated for COVID-19 with a suitable homoeopathic medicine, based on the totality of symptoms, while the patient continued his regular regime of conventional medicine for diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The indicated remedy led to immediate relief of the symptoms, especially chest pain, along with a marked improvement in the laboratory investigations. The Modified Naranjo Criteria score after treatment was 8, which explicitly shows the positive causal attribution of the individualised homoeopathic medicine, Phosphorus, in this case. Homoeopathic treatment has shown favourable results in this case and demonstrates the scope of Homoeopathy in infectious cases. © 2022 The authors.
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The proceedings contain 7 papers. The topics discussed include: pediatric burn care: how burn camps survived and thrived during the coronavirus pandemic;a retrospective chart review to determine hypophosphatemia incidence and phosphorus supplementation requirements in patients with severe thermal cutaneous injuries receiving high-volume hemofiltration;setting the standard: using the aba burn registry to benchmark risk adjusted mortality;burn injury from smoking electronic cigarettes while on supplemental oxygen;focused wound care handoff improves burn center physician-nursing communication and wound care education;modified frailty index is an independent predictor of death in the burn population: a secondary analysis of the transfusion requirement in burn care evaluation (TRIBE) study;and topical hemostatic agents in burn surgery: a systematic review.
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Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin helps the body to absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus.Apart from this primary activity, it exhibits potent antimicrobial and antiinflammatory effects viaimmune-modulatory properties. Vitamin D has shown inhibitory effects on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha and IL- 6, by various mechanisms, includingdown-regulating viralinduced NFkB activation So, this present study aimed to study the relations of serum calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin D levels in association with severity and mortality in SARSCoV- 2 patients. A total of 150 individuals infected with COVID-19 and 50 healthy individuals were recruited. Cases were divided based on severity (mild, moderate and severe) and outcome (discharged or deceased). Serum Ca, Po4, and ALP were analysed by the direct colourimetric method. Vitamin D was measured using the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA). The median serum calcium, Phosphorus, ALP and vitamin D levels in COVID 19 patients were 8.02 mgldL (IQR, 7.24-8.71), 3.93 mgldL (IQR, 2.97- 4.36), 115 IU/L(IQR, 94-146) and 17.2 ng/mL (IQR, 11.6- 25.9) respectively. On comparing the different severity groups a significant difference was found in Vitamin D (p<0.002), ALP (p<0.00001) and calcium (p<0.0001). The serum calcium levels were significantly positively correlated with Vitamin D levels and negative correlation with the inflammatory markers like IL-6. Similarly, patients with low calcium and vitamin D were found to have a fatal outcome. 838 The multivariable analysis showed that a combination of low calcium and vitamin D with higher age are associated with mortality in COVID-19 patients. Serum calcium and Vitamin D were associated with the clinical severity and prognosis of patients with COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most devastating and significant events of recent times. COVID-19 has so far become one of the worst infectious disease outbreaks of recent times, with more than 635 million cases and more than 6.6 million deaths. Viruses cause an explosion of inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen types. Oxidative stress is thought to have a key role in COVID-19. vitamin D, folic acid, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and ferritin levels are thought to be associated with COVID-19. This study aims to investigate the role of oxidative stress, inflammation, vitamin D and folic acid, ferritin, Ca and Mg in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Material(s) and Method(s): 45 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and 45 healthy persons (control group) were included in the study. Vitamin D, ferritin, folic acid, CRP, Ca, Mg and Phosphorus were measured in an autoanalyzer, and SOD, GSH-Px and MDA were spectrophotometrically measured in the serum of the participants. TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL6 levels were studied by the ELISA method. Result(s): The activity of SOD, GSH-px, antioxidant enzymes, Serum vitamin D, folic acid, Ca and Mg of the COVID-19 group was found to be significantly lower than the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion(s): Again, the levels of MDA, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, CRP and ferritin in the Covid-19 group were found to be significantly higher than in the control group (p<0.05).Antioxidant enzyme activities were low and oxidative stress was high in patients with COVID-19. At the same time, the levels of serum ferritin, CRP, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta and IL6 were high, and levels of Ca and Mg were low in patients with COVID-19.According to these results, we hypothesize think that the level of oxidative stress, inflammation, vitamin D, and serum ferritin, Ca, and Mg levels play a role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Future clinical trials should be conducted to further clarify the pathogenesis in patients with COVID-19.Copyright © 2022 Mattioli 1885. All rights reserved.
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Phosphorus is vital nutrient for the crop yield, and Breeding rice for tolerant to low phosphorus, efficient in uptake and assimilation is the best way for sustainable production. This study aimed to evaluate Bangladeshi rice cultivars and introgression lines (INLs) under phosphorus deficient soil to understand the genetic variation in deficiency tolerance. A total of 28 rice genotypes from various ecotypes such as Aus, Aman, Boro and Jhum and INLs were collected and grown in pot contained highly phosphorus deficient soil in the rooftop polythene shed house during October 2019 to March 2020. A phosphorus deficiency susceptible variety, IR 64, was used as control, and experiment was conducted following randomized complete block design with two replications. Biomass related traits such as dry weight (DW) and relative dry weight (RDW, %) were analyzed at early vegetative stage. Visual score based on the responses to artificial drought occurred due to absence of water for 5 consecutive days because of government imposed Covid-19 lockdown were also evaluated in a scale of 0 to 4. Plants showed wide variation in the measured traits in both in the phosphorus added normal or phosphorus deficient conditions. Two patterns of responses were observed. One pattern was similar to susceptible control IR 64 and another is highly sensitive to P-deficiency. Cluster analysis resulted four groups (I to IV). Group I consist of four rice varieties including Pathar kuchi, Lal dhan, INL-9, and INL-30, and showed low DW and low tolerances to phosphorus deficiency and artificial drought. Group II contain nine accessions including IR 64, Murali, Kuti Agrani, Kernaicha, and five INLs, and showed higher DW and susceptibility to phosphorus deficiency and artificial drought. Group III had medium DW and highly sensitive to phosphorus deficient condition and the accessions Kali jira and Aus (Awned) were included. Two jhum variety, Renkhoa Dhan and Galongpru, and seven INLs belong to the group IV which showed medium DW but tolerant to phosphorus deficiency and artificial drought compare to other groups. The genetic variations of DW and RDW under phosphorus deficient and artificial drought conditions were clarified among rice varieties in Bangladesh and INLs with IR 64 genetic background, and several varieties and INLs were found as the promising materials for further breeding program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of JAPS: Journal of Animal & Plant Sciences is the property of Knowledge Bylanes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Objective: This study determined the correlation between several laboratory variables, chest computed tomography severity score (CTSS), and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) Reporting and Data System (CO-RADS) in COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: Ninety-one patients with COVID-19 infection verified by polymerase chain reaction test, presented to the emergency department with COVID-19 symptoms, and had a thoracic computed tomography (CT) scan at the time of admission were included in this retrospective study. 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, glucose, ferritin, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, phosphorous, and calcium levels recorded and CO-RADS and CTSS data. The correlation of laboratory parameters with radiological findings was analyzed. Results: A positive correlation was found between CTSS and age, ESR, CRP, D-dimer while a negative correlation was found between CTSS and lymphocyte count. Patients with high CTSS levels had higher ESR, CRP, D-dimer, ferritin values and lower lymphocyte count, and lower calcium levels. Patients with typical CO-RADS involvement had higher sedimentation, CRP, glucose, and ferritin levels and lower lymphocyte count. No significant correlation was determined between the 25(OH)D level, CO-RADS, and CTSS. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight that the reduced lymphocyte count, high D-dimer, sedimentation, ferritin, and CRP levels are predictors of severe lung involvement in COVID-19 patients. Hypocalcemia can also be considered a marker of severe lung involvement evaluated by CT in COVID-19 patients. the association between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19 pneumonia should be investigated in future studies.
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Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a type of broad complex tachycardia originating from a focus in the ventricle. It is one of the four important rhythms which can lead to cardiac arrest. Accurate and timely diagnosis of true VT is the cornerstone for proper management in the emergency department (ED). We present an interesting case of an electrocardiographic artifact mimicking VT, which led to a diagnostic dilemma in the ED.Copyright © 2023 Rehman, Albaroudi, Akram, Ahmad, licensee HBKU Press.
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Using the van der Waals density functional theory, we studied the binding peculiarities of favipiravir (FP) and ebselen (EB) molecules on a monolayer of black phosphorene (BP). We systematically examined the interaction characteristics and thermodynamic properties in a vacuum and a continuum, solvent interface for active drug therapy. These results illustrate that the hybrid molecules are enabled functionalized two-dimensional (2D) complex systems with a vigorous thermostability. We demonstrate in this study that these molecules remain flat on the monolayer BP system and phosphorus atoms are intact. It is inferred that the hybrid FP+EB molecules show larger adsorption energy due to the van der Waals forces and planar electrostatic interactions. The changes in Gibbs free energy at different surface charge fluctuations and temperatures imply that the FP and EB are allowed to adsorb from the gas phase onto the 2D film at high temperatures. Thereby, the results unveiled beneficial inhibitor molecules on two dimensional BP nanocarriers, potentially introducing a modern strategy to enhance the development of advanced materials, biotechnology, and nanomedicine.
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Water quality is affected by multiple spatial and temporal factors, including the surrounding land characteristics, human activities, and antecedent precipitation amounts. However, identifying the relationships between water quality and spatially and temporally varying environmental variables with a machine learning technique in a heterogeneous urban landscape has been understudied. We explore how seasonal and variable precipitation amounts and other small-scale landscape variables affect E. coli, total suspended solids (TSS), nitrogen-nitrate, orthophosphate, lead, and zinc concentrations in Portland, Oregon, USA. Mann-Whitney tests were used to detect differences in water quality between seasons and COVID-19 periods. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used to identify the relationship between water quality and explanatory variables. A Random Forest (RF) model was used to predict water quality using antecedent precipitation amounts and landscape variables as inputs. The performance of RF was compared with that of ordinary least squares (OLS). Mann-Whitney tests identified statistically significant differences in all pollutant concentrations (except TSS) between the wet and dry seasons. Nitrate was the only pollutant to display statistically significant reductions in median concentrations (from 1.5 mg/L to 1.04 mg/L) during the COVID-19 lockdown period, likely associated with reduced traffic volumes. Spearman's correlation analysis identified the highest correlation coefficients between one-day precipitation amounts and E. coli, lead, zinc, and TSS concentrations. Road length is positively associated with E. coli and zinc. The Random Forest (RF) model best predicts orthophosphate concentrations (R-2 = 0.58), followed by TSS (R-2 = 0.54) and nitrate (R-2 = 0.46). E. coli was the most difficult to model and had the highest RMSE, MAE, and MAPE values. Overall, the Random Forest model outperformed OLS, as evaluated by RMSE, MAE, MAPE, and R-2. The Random Forest was an effective approach to modeling pollutant concentrations using both categorical seasonal and COVID data along with continuous rain and landscape variables to predict water quality in urban streams. Implementing optimization techniques can further improve the model's performance and allow researchers to use a machine learning approach for water quality modeling.