Nevin Manimala

J Environ Manage. 2021 Oct 5;301:113878. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113878. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The development of a pre-treatment plant for non-hazardous, solid mixed waste into a smart waste factory for future involves the introduction of real-time characterisation of waste streams by applying sensor technology. First, research has been conducted on the application of near-infrared spectroscopy for quality assurance of solid recovered fuels (SRF) produced by the pre-treatment plant. The method is based on statistical analyses, thereby requiring a comprehensive database of detailed waste data. To ensure high-precision measurements, data must be gathered at the level of individual particles and must cover a broad spectrum of different particle types. In a previous study, the fine-shredded SRF (<30 mm) was investigated. The scope of this study includes coarse-shredded SRF (30-80 mm) and mixed commercial waste (pre-shredded to a maximum of 500 mm), which is used as input for the waste pre-treatment plant. For a total of 2346 particles, the projected particle area, particle mass, and particle height were measured with average values of 11.5 cm², 1.2 g and 10.4 mm, respectively, for the coarse-shredded SRF. Data results regarding pre-shredded waste input were 115 cm² area, 16.7 g mass and 33.9 mm height. Combined with previous results, the dataset covers a range of particle areas from 15.7 mm² to 16.7 dm² and a range of particle mass from 1.6 mg to 882.5 g. Additionally, selected fuel parameters (heating value, chlorine content, and ash content) were measured using laboratory analysis of composite samples from coarse-shredded SRF and mixed commercial waste. The physico-chemical results of the present study confirmed previous results; however, the variance of values increased, and more outliers were identified. Despite the provision of particle data, the major goal of this study was to determine the correlation between the projected area and particle mass, which was calculated using the Spearman’s correlation coefficient (SCC). The calculations resulted in an SCC of 0.58 for coarse-shredded SRF and an SCC of 0.22 for pre-shredded waste input. Although the SCC of SRF was sufficient for establishing a quality assurance system, the SCC of input waste must be substantially improved.

PMID:34624577 | DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113878

Placenta. 2021 Sep 25;115:139-145. doi: 10.1016/j.placenta.2021.09.019. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Increased DNA damage is associated with early events in carcinogenesis. The foetus may be more susceptible to effects of environment by transplacental exposure. We aimed to evaluate DNA damage in cells from umbilical cord (arteries and vein) and maternal blood from pregnant women.

METHODS: Fifty eight pregnant women and their offspring were included in this study. They were submitted to an interview to obtain information about personal history, clinical history, and lifestyle habits. Other Information was obtained from medical records. The samples were prepared for Single Cell Gel/Comet assay and Cytokinesis-block Micronucleus Cytome (CBMN-Cyt) assay.

RESULTS: Correlation between DNA damage frequency by Comet assay from newborns and their mothers was statistically significant and was significantly associated with nulliparity and more than 1 h of second stage of labour (umbilical vein and maternal blood). A positive MNi relationship was noticed for age (mother’s blood) and inappropriate birth weight for gestational age (maternal blood). When multivariate statistical analyses were applied to measure the degree of association between variables that influenced DNA damage markers in the first evaluation, inadequate birth weight and pregnant weight gain were associated with MNi frequency in maternal and newborns blood, respectively.

DISCUSSION: Significant associations between DNA damage in newborns and pregnant women, and birth and pregnancy events suggest molecular evidence of transplacental genotoxic effects. However, a potentially increased risk of degenerative diseases, such as cancers, in this population should be carefully investigated by further prospective cohort studies.

PMID:34624566 | DOI:10.1016/j.placenta.2021.09.019

Ann Hepatol. 2021 Oct 5:100553. doi: 10.1016/j.aohep.2021.100553. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: In many studies, varying degrees of liver damage have been reported in more than half of the COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of liver biochemical parameters abnormality on mortality in critical COVID-19 patients who have been followed in the ICU since the beginning of the pandemic process.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study 533 critical patients who admitted to the ICU due to COVID-19 were included. The patients were divided into three groups according to their ALT, AST, and total bilirubin levels at their admission to the ICU. Group 1 was formed of patients with normal liver biochemical parameters values; Group 2 was formed of patients with liver biochemical parameters abnormality; Group 3 was formed of patients with liver injury.

RESULTS: 353 (66.2%) of all patients died. Neutrophil, aPTT, CRP, LDH, CK, ALT, AST, bilirubin, procalcitonin and ferritin values in Group 2 and Group 3 were found to be statistically significantly higher than Group 1. It was detected that the days of stay in ICU of the patients in Group 1 was statistically significantly longer than others group. It was found that the patients in Groups 2 and 3 had higher total, 7-day, and 28-day mortality rates than expected.

CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that liver disfunction was associated with higher mortality and shorter ICU occupation time.

PMID:34624543 | DOI:10.1016/j.aohep.2021.100553

J Psychosom Res. 2021 Oct 2;150:110632. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110632. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that excess weight (including obesity and overweight) can increase the risk of cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and other diseases, but there is no study on the incidence of post-stroke depression (PSD) and related factors in patients with excessive weight. The main purpose of this study was to find related factors of PSD at 3 months after stroke in patients with excessive weight and construct artificial neural network (ANN) and decision tree (DT) models.

METHODS: This is a prospective multicenter cohort study (Registration number: ChiCTR-ROC-17013993). Five hundred and three stroke patients with Body Mass Index(BMI) ≥ 24 were included in this study. The diagnostic criteria of PSD is according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-V) diagnostic criteria for depression due to other medical conditions and the HAMD-17 scores > 7 at 3 months after stroke was used as the primary endpoint. The χ² test, Mann-Whitney U test or t-test were used to check for statistical significance.

RESULTS: Our study found that sleeping time < 5 h, CHD, physical exercise, BI score, N dimension(EPQ) and subjective support(SSRS) were associated with PSD in patients with excessive weight. Physical exercise(odd ratio [OR] = 0.49, p = 0.001, 95%CI [confidence interval]: 0.32-0.75) and BI score(OR = 0.99, p < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.98-0.99) were protective factors; sleeping time < 5 h(OR = 2.86, p < 0.001, 95%CI: 1.62-5.04), CHD(OR = 2.18, p = 0.018, 95%CI: 1.14-4.15), N dimension(OR = 1.08, p = 0.001, 95%CI: 1.03-1.13) and subjective support(OR = 1.04, p = 0.022, 95%CI: 1.01-1.07) were risk factors.

CONCLUSION: This study found several factors related to the occurrence of PSD at 3 months in patients with excessive weight. Meanwhile, ANN and DT models were constructed for clinicians to use.

PMID:34624525 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110632

Prog Retin Eye Res. 2021 Oct 5:101014. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2021.101014. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Technological advances in recent decades have allowed us to measure both the information available to the visual system in the natural environment and the rich array of behaviors that the visual system supports. This review highlights the tasks undertaken by the binocular visual system in particular and how, for much of human activity, these tasks differ from those considered when an observer fixates a static target on the midline. The everyday motor and perceptual challenges involved in generating a stable, useful binocular percept of the environment are discussed, together with how these challenges are but minimally addressed by much of current clinical interpretation of binocular function. The implications for new technology, such as virtual reality, are also highlighted in terms of clinical and basic research application.

PMID:34624515 | DOI:10.1016/j.preteyeres.2021.101014

Matern Child Nutr. 2021 Oct 8:e13277. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13277. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Anaemia in women of reproductive age (WRA) can be effectively addressed if supported by a better understanding of the spatial variations, magnitude, severity and distribution of anaemia. This study aimed to map the subnational spatial distribution of anaemia (any, moderate and severe forms) among WRA in Ethiopia. We identified and mapped (any, moderate and severe) anaemia hotspots in WRA (n = 14,923) at the subnational level and identified risk factors using multilevel logistic regression. Kulldorff scan statistics were used to identify hotspot regions. Ordinary kringing was used to predict the anaemia prevalence in unmeasured areas. The overall anaemia prevalence increased from 16.6% in 2011 to 23.6% in 2016, a rise that was mostly related to the widening of existing hotspot areas. The primary clusters of (any) anaemia were in Somali and Afar regions. The horn of the Somali region represented a cluster of 330 km where 10% of WRA were severely anaemic. The Oromia-Somali border represented a significant cluster covering 247 km, with 9% severe anaemia. Population-dense areas with low anaemia prevalence had high absolute number of cases. Women education, taking iron-folic-acid tablets during pregnancy and birth-delivery in health facilities reduced the risk of any anaemia (P < 0.05). The local-level mapping of anaemia helped identify clusters that require attention but also highlighted the urgent need to study the aetiology of anaemia to improve the effectiveness and safety of interventions. Both relative and absolute anaemia estimates are critical to determine where additional attention is needed.

PMID:34624171 | DOI:10.1111/mcn.13277

Eur J Pain. 2021 Oct 8. doi: 10.1002/ejp.1875. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although Interdisciplinary Multimodal Pain Treatment (IMPT) programs share a biopsychosocial approach to increase the wellbeing of patients with chronic pain, substantial variation in content and duration have been reported. In addition, it is unclear to what extent any favorable health outcomes are maintained over time. Therefore, our first aim was to identify and analyze the change over time of patient related outcome measures in cohorts of patients who participated in IMPT programs. Our second aim was to acquire insight into the heterogeneity of IMPT programs.

DATABASES AND DATA TREATMENT: The study protocol was registered in Prospero under CRD42018076093. We searched Medline, Embase, PsycInfo and Cinahl from inception to May 2020. All study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessments were independently performed by two researchers. Study cohorts were eligible if they included adult patients with chronic primary musculoskeletal pain for at least 3 months. We assessed the change over time, by calculating pre-post, post-follow-up and pre-follow-up contrasts for seven different patient-reported outcome domains. To explore the variability between the IMPT programs, we summarized the patient characteristics and treatment programs using the intervention description and replication checklist.

RESULTS: The majority of the 72 included patient cohorts significantly improved during treatment. Importantly, this improvement was generally maintained at follow-up. In line with our expectations and with previous studies, we observed substantial methodological and statistical heterogeneity.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that participation in an IMPT program is associated with considerable improvements in wellbeing that are generally maintained at follow-up. The current study also found substantial heterogeneity in dose and treatment content, which suggests different viewpoints on how to optimally design an IMPT program.

PMID:34624159 | DOI:10.1002/ejp.1875

Clin Oral Implants Res. 2021 Oct 8. doi: 10.1111/clr.13868. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: to compare gingival tissue healing at surgically manipulated periodontal sites and at sites receiving implants and healing abutments with machined (MS) vs. laser-microtextured (LMS) surface placed with one-stage protocol .

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-four non smoking patients each received two implants with one-stage protocol in a split mouth design on the same jaw. In each patient, one implant with a MS collar and one immediate healing abutment with a MS, and one implant with a LMS collar and one immediate healing abutment with a LMS were used. Soft tissues healing at surgically manipulated periodontal tissues (T+) and at non-surgically manipulated periodontal tissues (T-) at MS implant sites and at LMS implant sites were compared by means of clinical and biochemical parameters at baseline and at 1-2-3-4-6-8 and 12 weeks.

RESULTS: PD and BoP mean values were statistically higher in MS than LMS implant sites (p<0.05) . During early healing phase (1-4 weeks), MS and LMS peri-implant tissues and periodontal tissues at T(+) showed no statistically significant difference in crevicular fluid volume changes (p>0.05). Between 6 and 12 weeks, compared to T(+), no statistical significant difference in crevicular fluid volume and IL-6 and IL-1β concentrations were noted in LMS implant sites (p>0.05), while statistically significantly higher mean values were noted in MS implant sites (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Compared T(+) and T(-), both MS and LMS implant sites presented a higher pro-inflammatory state in the early phase after surgery (1-4 weeks). At 12 weeks only MS implant sites kept a higher pro-inflammatory state state, while at LMS implant sites it becomes similar to T(+) and T(-).

PMID:34624157 | DOI:10.1111/clr.13868

Int J Clin Pract. 2021 Oct 8:e14961. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.14961. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: We aimed to investigate the effect of short-term pirfenidone treatment on prolonged COVID-19 pneumonia.

METHOD: Hospital files of patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of critical COVID-19 pneumonia between November 2020 and March 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Chest computed tomography images taken both before treatment and 2 months after treatment, demographic characteristics and laboratory parameters of patients receiving pirfenidone+methylprednisolone (n=13) and only methylprednisolones (n=9) were recorded. Pulmonary function tests were performed after the second month of the treatment. CT involvement rates were determined by machine learning.

RESULTS: A total of 22 patients, 13 of whom (59.1%) were using methylprednisolone + pirfenidone and 9 of whom (40.9%) were using only methylprednisolone were included. When the blood gas parameters and pulmonary function tests of the patients were compared at the end of the second month, it was found that the FEV1, FEV1%, FVC, and FVC% values were statistically significantly higher in the methylprednisolone + pirfenidone group compared to the methylprednisolone group (p=0.025, p=0.012, p=0.026, and p=0.017, respectively). When the rates of change in CT scans at diagnosis and second month of treatment were examined, it was found that the involvement rates in the methylprednisolone + pirfenidone group were statistically significantly decreased (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Antifibrotic agents can reduce fibrosis that may develop in the future. These can also help dose reduction and/or non-use strategy for methylprednisolone therapy, which has many side effects. Further large series and randomized controlled studies are needed on this subject.

PMID:34624155 | DOI:10.1111/ijcp.14961

Hepatology. 2021 Oct 8. doi: 10.1002/hep.32183. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The risk factors of cholelithiasis have not been clearly identified, especially for total cholesterol. Here, we try to identify these causal risk factors.

APPROACH & RESULTS: We obtained genetic variants associated with the exposures at the genome-wide significance (p < 5×10^-8 ) level from corresponding genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Summary-level statistical data for cholelithiasis were obtained from FinnGen and UK Biobank (UKB) consortia. Both univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to identify causal risk factors of cholelithiasis. Results from FinnGen and UKB were combined using fixed effect model. In FinnGen, the odds of cholelithiasis increased per 1-SD increase of body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.631, P = 2.16 x 10^-7 ), together with body fat percentage (OR = 2.108, P = 4.56 x 10^-3 ) and fasting insulin (OR = 2.340, P = 9.09 x 10^-3 ). The odds of cholelithiasis would also increase with lowering of total cholesterol (OR = 0.789, P = 8.34 x 10^-5 ) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (OR = 0.792, P = 2.45×10^-4 ). However, LDL-C was not significant in multivariable MR. In UKB, the results of BMI, body fat percentage, total cholesterol and LDL-C were replicated. In meta-analysis, the liability to type 2 diabetes mellitus and smoking could also increase the risk of cholelithiasis. Besides, there were no associations with other predominant risk factors.

CONCLUSIONS: Our MR study corroborated the risk factors of cholelithiasis from previous MR studies. Furthermore, lower total cholesterol level could be a novel independent risk factor.

PMID:34624136 | DOI:10.1002/hep.32183