Summary Background Since December, 2019, Wuhan, China, has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 have been reported but risk factors for mortality and a detailed clinical course of illness, including viral shedding, have not been well described. Methods In this retrospective, multicentre cohort study, we included all adult inpatients (≥18 years old) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Jinyintan Hospital and Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital (Wuhan, China) who had been discharged or had died by Jan 31, 2020. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data, including serial samples for viral RNA detection, were extracted from electronic medical records and compared between survivors and non-survivors. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with in-hospital death. Findings 191 patients (135 from Jinyintan Hospital and 56 from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital) were included in this study, of whom 137 were discharged and 54 died in hospital. 91 (48%) patients had a comorbidity, with hypertension being the most common (58 [30%] patients), followed by diabetes (36 [19%] patients) and coronary heart disease (15 [8%] patients). Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age (odds ratio 1·10, 95% CI 1·03–1·17, per year increase; p=0·0043), higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (5·65, 2·61–12·23; p Interpretation The potential risk factors of older age, high SOFA score, and d-dimer greater than 1 μg/mL could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage. Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation of infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future. Funding Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences; National Science Grant for Distinguished Young Scholars; National Key Research and Development Program of China; The Beijing Science and Technology Project; and Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development.

Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study

Communities of microscopic plant life, or phytoplankton, dominate the Earth's aquatic ecosystems. This important new book by Colin Reynolds covers the adaptations, physiology and population dynamics of phytoplankton communities in lakes and rivers and oceans. It provides basic information on composition, morphology and physiology of the main phyletic groups represented in marine and freshwater systems and in addition reviews recent advances in community ecology, developing an appreciation of assembly processes, co-existence and competition, disturbance and diversity. Although focussed on one group of organisms, the book develops many concepts relevant to ecology in the broadest sense, and as such will appeal to graduate students and researchers in ecology, limnology and oceanography.

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The Ecology of Phytoplankton

Bancroft's Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques

https://repository.hanyang.ac.kr/bitstream/20.500.11754/110830/1/Heavy%20metals%20in%20food%20crops%20Health%20risks%2c%20fate%2c%20mechanisms%2c%20and%20management.pdf

Heavy metals in food crops: Health risks, fate, mechanisms, and management

This book succeeds Review of Medical Pharmacology , by Meyers, Jawetz, and Goldfien. Edited by B. G. Katzung, some of the important areas covered include drug receptors and pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics of absorption and biotransformation of drugs, autonomic pharmacology of cholinergic and adrenergic receptor stimulants and antagonists, antihypertensive agents, cardiac glycosides and other agents used in the treatment of congestive heart failure, therapeutic drugs for cardiac arrhythmias, diuretics, pharmacology of the CNS drugs such as anticonvulsants and anesthetics, antidepressants, narcotic analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, endocrine pharmacology, antimicrobial and antimycobacterial drugs, antiprotozoal and antihelmintic drugs, cancer chemotherapy, and drugs and the immune system. Written by several prominent researchers and scientists, each chapter begins with a section on the basic pharmacology, chemistry, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of the agents under discussion. This is followed by a section on clinical pharmacology, which deals with relevant information regarding the clinical use of drugs on the various

Basic and Clinical Pharmacology

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) has been reported as major public health issue rising at an alarming rate worldwide, and obesity is the leading risk factor for the development of T2D. Secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP4) released with inflammatory mediators from adipose tissues constrains the exocytosis of insulin containing granules from the pancreatic islets that leads towards the development to T2D. The significant overexpression of SFRP4 in diabetic patients and its involvement in islet dysfunction suggest its critical role in the development of diabetes. Thus, this study was designed to explore the potential of ascorbic acid (AA) and gallic acid (GA) against SFRP4 for the treatment of diabetes. Molecular docking approach was used for the prediction of binding interactions of AA and GA at the active pocket of SFRP4. Docking analysis indicated strong binding interactions of AA and GA to the amino acid residues at the active site of SFRP4. A significant reduction in the level of SFRP4 was observed in transfected cells treated with AA and GA. For the evaluation of the cytotoxicity of AA and GA against HepG2 cells, MTT assay was performed. The results of MTT assay demonstrated that AA and GA are non-cytotoxic towards HepG2 cells at concentration of 15 μM. The oral administration of AA and GA to diet-induced obese mice caused significant reduction in body weight, blood glucose level, and SFRP4 expression. The results of this study suggest that AA and GA have potential for the treatment of obesity-induced T2D.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/15593258211069707

Identification of Ascorbic Acid and Gallic Acid as Novel Inhibitors of Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein for the Treatment of Obesity-Induced Type 2 Diabetes

The preparation of ZnxNi1−xFe2O4 (x = 0 and 0.3) nanoparticles using glycine-mediated combustion route was successfully completed depending on the zwitterion and combustion characteristics of glycine. Using a variety of methods, including XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDX, and TEM, the investigated ferrites were characterized. XRD and FTIR analyses confirm that Zn0.3Ni0.7Fe2O4 and NiFe2O4 nanoparticles crystallize in the cubic symmetry in the space group Fd3m. An increase in the lattice parameters and a subsequent decrease in crystallite size were caused by the process of replacing Ni ions with Zn ions. In accordance with Waldron’s hypothesis, FTIR spectra demonstrate that the ferrites have a spinel-type structure as they are produced. The substitution process by Zn led to different changes in the half band widths with subsequent in splitting in the absorption band around 400 cm−1. The examined ferrites’ cation distribution showed that Zn2+ and Ni2+ ions favored the tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites, respectively, while Fe3+ ions occupied both A- and B-sites, providing mixed spinel ferrite. TEM analysis indicates the formation of spinel nanocrystalline particles with low agglomerations. The particle size of the as-synthesized ferrites did not exceed 16 nm. By applying the VSM approach at room temperature, the magnetic characteristics of the ferrites under investigation were established. The magnetization of Zn0.3Ni0.7Fe2O4 nanoparticles was found to be higher than that of NiFe2O4 nanoparticles according to the magnetic data. Increasing the magnetization and the experimental magnetic moment of Zn0.3Ni0.7Fe2O4 were accompanied by a decreasing of its coercivity. The net magnetization is oriented along different high symmetry directions. On the other hand, the anisotropy of the nickel ferrite increases by substituting Ni with a Zn ion.

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Lotfi Aleya

Papers

Identification of Ascorbic Acid and Gallic Acid as Novel Inhibitors of Secreted Frizzled-Related Protein for the Treatment of Obesity-Induced Type 2 Diabetes

Effects of Zinc Substitution on the Microstructural and Magnetic Characteristics of Cubic Symmetry Nickel Ferrite System

Lycopene attenuates chlorpyrifos-induced hepatotoxicity in rats via activation of Nrf2/HO-1 axis.

Emergence of nutriments as a nascent complementary therapy against antimicrobial resistance

Predation on Ci iates by the Suspension-Feeding Ca anoid Copepod