Foot-and-mouth disease-associated myocarditis is age dependent in suckling calves.

Myocarditis is considered a fatal form of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in suckling calves. In the present study, a total of 17 calves under 4 months of age and suspected clinically for FMD were examined for clinical lesions, respiratory rate, heart rate, and heart rhythm. Lesion samples, saliva, nasal swabs, and whole blood were collected from suspected calves and subjected to Sandwich ELISA and reverse transcription multiplex polymerase chain reaction (RT-mPCR) for detection and serotyping of FMD virus (FMDV). The samples were found to be positive for FMDV serotype "O". Myocarditis was suspected in 6 calves based on tachypnoea, tachycardia, and gallop rhythm. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine kinase myocardial band (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and cardiac troponins (cTnI) were measured. Mean serum AST, cTn-I and LDH were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in < 2 months old FMD-infected calves showing clinical signs suggestive of myocarditis (264.833 ± 4.16; 11.650 ± 0.34 and 1213.33 ± 29.06) than those without myocarditis (< 2 months old: 110.00 ± 0.00, 0.06 ± 0.00, 1050.00 ± 0.00; > 2 months < 4 months: 83.00 ± 3.00, 0.05 ± 0.02, 1159.00 ± 27.63) and healthy control groups (< 2 months old: 67.50 ± 3.10, 0.047 ± 0.01, 1120.00 ± 31.62; > 2 months < 4 months: 72.83 ± 2.09, 0.47 ± 0.00, 1160.00 ± 18.44). However, mean serum CK-MB did not differ significantly amongst the groups. Four calves under 2 months old died and a necropsy revealed the presence of a pathognomic gross lesion of the myocardial form of FMD known as "tigroid heart". Histopathology confirmed myocarditis. This study also reports the relevance of clinical and histopathological findings and biochemical markers in diagnosing FMD-related myocarditis in suckling calves.

Activation of fluoride anion as nucleophile in water with data-guided surfactant selection.

A principal component surfactant_map was developed for 91 commonly accessible surfactants for use in surfactant-enabled organic reactions in water, an important approach for sustainable chemical processes. This map was built using 22 experimental and theoretical descriptors relevant to the physicochemical nature of these surfactant-enabled reactions, and advanced principal component analysis algorithms. It is comprised of all classes of surfactants, i.e. cationic, anionic, zwitterionic and neutral surfactants, including designer surfactants. The value of this surfactant_map was demonstrated in activating simple inorganic fluoride salts as effective nucleophiles in water, with the right surfactant. This led to the rapid development (screening 13-15 surfactants) of two fluorination reactions for ß-bromosulfides and sulfonyl chlorides in water. The latter was demonstrated in generating a sulfonyl fluoride with sufficient purity for direct use in labelling of chymotrypsin, under physiological conditions.

Responses of plankton community to threshold metal concentrations of cadmium and lead in a mesocosm experiment at Bay of Bengal.

Metals are essential at trace levels to aquatic organisms for the function of many physiological and biological processes. But their elevated levels are toxic to the ecosystem and even brings about shifts in the plankton population. Threshold limits such as Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC - 0.6 µg/l of Cd; 2.7 µg/l of Pb), Criterion Continuous Concentration (CCC - 3.0 µg/l of Cd; 4.5 µg/l of Pb) and Criterion Maximum Concentration (CMC - 23 µg/l of Cd; 130 µg/l of Pb) prescribed for Indian coastal waters were used for the study. Short-term mesocosm experiments (96 h) were conducted in coastal waters of Visakhapatnam to evaluate responses of the planktonic community on exposure to threshold concentrations of cadmium and lead for the first time. Four individual experimental bags of 2500 L capacity (Control, PNEC, CCC & CMC) were used for the deployment and ambient water samples were analysed simultaneously to evaluate the impacts of the threshold levels in the natural waters. Chaetoceros sp. were dominant group in the control system whereas, Prorocentrum sp. Ceratium sp. Tintinopsis sp. Chaetoceros sp. and Skeletonema sp. were major groups in the test bags. Throughout the experiment the phytoplankton community did not show any significant differences with increased nutrients and plankton biomass (Chl-a <8.64 mg/m3). Positive response of plankton community was observed in the experimental bags. High abundance of diatoms were observed in PNEC, CCC & CMC bags at 48 h and the abundance decreased with shift in the species at 72-96 h. The catalase activity in phytoplankton (5.99 nmol/min/ml) and the zooplankton (4.77 nmol/min/ml) showed induction after exposure to PNEC. The present mesocosm study is confirmed that short-term exposure to threshold metal concentration did not affects the phytoplankton community structure in PNEC, but CCC and CMC affects the community structure beyond 24 h. The insights from this study will serve as a baseline information and help develop environmental management tools. We believe that long-term mesocosm experiments would unravel metal detoxification mechanisms at the cellular level and metal transfer rate at higher trophic levels in real-world environment.

General Installation of (4H)-Imidazolone cis-Amide Bioisosteres Along the Peptide Backbone.

Imidazolones represent an important class of heterocycles present in a wide range of pharmaceuticals, metabolites, and bioactive natural products and serve as the active chromophore in green fluorescent protein. Recently, imidazolones have received attention for their ability to act as a nonaromatic amide bond bioisotere which improves pharmacological properties. Herein, we present a tandem amidine installation and cyclization with an adjacent ester to yield (4H)-imidazolone products. Using amino acid building blocks, we can access the first examples of α-chiral imidazolones that have been previously inaccessible. Additionally, our method is amenable to on-resin installation which can be seamlessly integrated into existing solid-phase peptide synthesis protocols. Finally, we show that peptide imidazolones are potent cis-amide bond surrogates that preorganize linear peptides for head-to-tail macrocyclization. This work represents the first general approach to the backbone and side-chain insertion of imidazolone bioisosteres at various positions in linear and cyclic peptides.

An integrative data-centric approach to derivation and characterization of an adverse outcome pathway network for cadmium-induced toxicity.

Cadmium is a prominent toxic heavy metal that contaminates both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Owing to its high biological half-life and low excretion rates, cadmium causes a variety of adverse biological outcomes. Adverse outcome pathway (AOP) networks were envisioned to systematically capture toxicological information to enable risk assessment and chemical regulation. Here, we leveraged AOP-Wiki and integrated heterogeneous data from four other exposome-relevant resources to build the first AOP network relevant for inorganic cadmium-induced toxicity. From AOP-Wiki, we filtered 309 high confidence AOPs, identified 312 key events (KEs) associated with inorganic cadmium from five exposome-relevant databases using a data-centric approach, and thereafter, curated 30 cadmium relevant AOPs (cadmium-AOPs). By constructing the undirected AOP network, we identified a large connected component of 18 cadmium-AOPs. Further, we analyzed the directed network of 59 KEs and 82 key event relationships (KERs) in the largest component using graph-theoretic approaches. Subsequently, we mined published literature using artificial intelligence-based tools to provide auxiliary evidence of cadmium association for all KEs in the largest component. Finally, we performed case studies to verify the rationality of cadmium-induced toxicity in humans and aquatic species. Overall, cadmium-AOP network constructed in this study will aid ongoing research in systems toxicology and chemical exposome.

One-step hydrothermal synthesis of CuS/MoS2 composite for use as an electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensor.

Early diagnosis may be crucial for the prevention of chronic diabetes mellitus. For that herein, we prepared a CuS/MoS2 composite for a non-enzymatic glucose sensor through a one-step hydrothermal method owing to the synergetic effect of CuS/MoS2. The surface morphology of CuS/MoS2 was studied by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Cs-corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (Cs-STEM). The crystallinity and surface composition of CuS/MoS2 were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) respectively. The working electrode was prepared from CuS/MoS2 electrocatalyst, and for that dispersed solution of electrocatalyst was used to fabricate the material-loaded glassy carbon electrode (GC). CuS/MoS2 composite shows the viability of electrocatalyst to oxidize glucose in an alkaline solution with sensitivity and detection limit of 252.71 µA mM-1 cm-2 and 1.52 µM respectively. The proposed glucose sensor showed reasonable stability and potential selectivity during electrochemical analysis. Accordingly, the CuS/MoS2 composite has potential as a viable material for glucose sensing in diluted human serum.

Temperature-induced disruptive growth rate behavior due to streaming instability in semiconductor quantum plasma with nanoparticles.

The nature of the growth rate due to streaming instability in a semiconductor quantum plasma implanted with nanoparticles has been analyzed using the quantum hydrodynamic model. In this study, the intriguing effect of temperature, beam electron speed, and electron-hole density on growth rate and frequency is investigated. The results show that the growth rate demonstrates a nonlinear behavior, strongly linked to the boron implantation, beam electron streaming speed and quantum correction factor. A noteworthy finding in this work is the discontinuous nature of the growth rate of streaming instability in boron implanted semiconducting plasma system. The implantation leads to a gap in the growth rate which further gets enhanced upon increase in concentration of implantation. This behavior is apparent only for a specific range of the ratio of thermal speed of the electrons to that of the holes.

Low body mass index is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes following PCI in India: ACC-NCDR registry.

Objective: Registry-based prospective study was conducted to evaluate association of body mass index (BMI) with major adverse coronary events (MACE) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: Successive patients undergoing PCI were enrolled from April'19 to March'22 and classified into five BMI categories (<23.0,23.0-24.9,25.0-26.9,27.0-29.9, and ≥30.0 kg/m2). Clinical, angiographic features, interventions and outcomes were obtained by in-person or telephonic follow-up. Primary endpoints were (a) MACE(cardiovascular deaths, acute coronary syndrome or stroke, revascularization, hospitalization and all-cause deaths) and (b)cardiovascular deaths. Cox-proportionate hazard ratios(HR) and 95 % confidence intervals(CI) were calculated. Results: The cohort included 4045 patients. Mean age was 60.3 ± 11y, 3233(79.7 %) were men. There was high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors. 90 % patients had acute coronary syndrome(STEMI 39.6 %, NSTEMI/unstable angina 60.3 %), 60.0 % had impaired ejection fraction(EF) and multivessel CAD. Lower BMI groups (<23.0 kg/m2) had higher prevalence of tobacco use, reduced ejection fraction(EF), multivessel CAD, stents, and less primary PCI for STEMI. There was no difference in discharge medications and in-hospital deaths. Median follow-up was 24 months (IQR 12-36), available in 3602(89.0 %). In increasing BMI categories, respectively, MACE was in 10.9,8.9,9.5,9.1 and 6.8 % (R2 = 0.73) and CVD deaths in 5.1,4.5,4.4,5.1 and 3.5 % (R2 = 0.39). Compared to lowest BMI category, age-sex adjusted HR in successive groups for MACE were 0.89,0.87,0.79,0.69 and CVD deaths 0.98,0.87,0.95,0.75 with overlapping CI. HR attenuated following multivariate adjustments. Conclusions: Low BMI patients have higher incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events following PCI in India. These patients are older, with greater tobacco use, lower EF, multivessel CAD, delayed STEMI-PCI, and longer hospitalization.

Revamped mini-αA-crystallin showed improved skin permeation and therapeutic activity against melittin-induced toxicity.

Melittin is honey bee venom's primary and most toxic pharmacologically active component. Melittin causes haemolysis, lymphocyte lysis, long-term pain, localised inflammation followed by rhabdomyolysis, and severe renal failure. Renal failure or cardiovascular complications could lead to the victim's death. Severe honey bee bites are treated with general medication involving antihistaminic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic drugs, as a specific treatment option is unavailable. An earlier study showed the anti-hemolysis and anti-lymphocyte lysis activity of mini- αA-crystallin (MAC), a peptide derived from human eye lens alpha-crystallin. MAC's use has often been restricted despite its high therapeutic potential due to its poor skin permeability. This study compared the skin permeation, anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities of natural peptide MAC and its modified version (MAC-GRD) formed by attaching cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) and GRD amino residues into MAC. Gel formulations were prepared for MAC and MAC-GRD peptides using carbopol (1% w/w), Tween 80 (1%), and ethanol (10%). An ex-vivo skin permeation study was performed using a vertical-type Franz diffusion apparatus. Preclinical in-vivo experiments were conducted to compare the native and modified peptide formulations against melittin-induced toxicity in Wistar rats. MAC gel, MAC-GRD gel and 1% hydrocortisone cream significantly reduced the melittin-induced writhing (20.16 ± 0.792) response in rats with 15.16 ± 0.47, 11.16 ± 0.477 and 12.66 ± 0.66 wriths, respectively. There was a significant reduction in melittin-induced inflammation when MAC-GRD gel was applied immediately after melittin administration. At 0.5, 1, 3, and 5 h, the MAC-GRD-treated rat paws were 0.9 ± 0.043 mm, 0.750 ± 0.037 mm, 0.167 ± 0.0070 mm, and 0.133 ± 0.031 mm thick. Administration of melittin resulted in reduced GSH (antioxidant) levels (47.33 ± 0.760 µg/mg). However, treatment with MAC-GRD gel (71.167 ± 0.601 µg/mg), MAC gel (65.167 ± 1.138 µg/mg), and 1% hydrocortisone (68.33 ± 0.667 µg/mg) significantly increased the antioxidant enzyme levels. MAC-GRD gel significantly reduced the elevated MDA levels (6.933 ± 0.049 nmol/mg) compared to the melittin group (12.533 ± 0.126 nmol/mg), followed by the 1% hydrocortisone (7.367 ± 0.049 nmol/mg) and MAC gel (7.917 ± 0.048 nmol/mg). MAC-GRD demonstrated more skin permeability and superior anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antioxidant activities when compared to MAC gel. When compared to standard 1% hydrocortisone cream, MAC-GRD had better anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, and comparable action in anti-oxidant restoration against melittin. These findings suggest that the developed MAC-GRD gel formulation could help to treat severe cases of honey bee stings.

Draft genome sequence of Kluyvera ascorbata HAK22 isolated from human feces.

The whole genome sequence of rare human pathogen Kluyvera ascorbata strain HAK22 is reported. The K. ascorbata HAK22 was isolated from healthy human from Gurugram, Haryana, India. The draft genome has a length of 4.7 Mbp, with 54.36% GC content and 4,411 proteins, 4,470 genes, and 18 antimicrobial resistance genes.

Comparison of lignocellulosic enzymes and CAZymes between ascomycetes (Trichoderma) and basidiomycetes (Ganoderma) species: a proteomic approach.

Wood decomposing ascomycetes and basidiomycetes group of fungi are the most valuable microbes on the earth's ecosystem that recycles the source of carbon; therefore, they are essential for the biorefinery industries. To understand the robustness of the enzymes and their metabolic pathways in the fungal system, label-free quantification of the total proteins was performed. The fungi showed a comparable quantity of protein abundance [Trichoderma citrinoviride (285), Thermoascus aurantiacus (206), Ganoderma lucidum MDU-7 (102), G. lucidum (242)]. Differentially regulated proteins of ascomycetes and basidiomycetes were analyzed, and their heatmap shows upregulated and downregulated proteins [25 differentially expressed proteins in T. citrinoviride (8.62 % up-regulated and 91.37 % down-regulated) and G. lucidum (5.74 % up-regulated and 94.25 % down-regulated)] by using the normalized peptide-spectrum match (PSMs) and log2fold change. These proteins were similarly matched to the carbohydrate active enzymes family (CAZymes) like glycoside hydrolase (GH family), carbohydrate-binding module (CBM family) with auxiliary activities, and also involved in the hydrolysis of carbohydrate, lignin, xylan, polysaccharides, peptides, and oxido-reductase activity that helps in antioxidant defense mechanism. The lignocellulolytic enzymes from two different divisions of fungi and proteomics studies gave a better understanding of carbon recycling and multi-product lignocellulosic biorefinery processes.

Copper nanoparticles/polyaniline/molybdenum disulfide composite as a nonenzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor.

A Cu@Pani/MoS2 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via combined in-situ oxidative polymerization and hydrothermal reaction and applied to an electrochemical nonenzymatic glucose sensor. The morphology of the prepared Cu@Pani/MoS2 nanocomposite was characterized using FE-SEM and Cs-STEM, and electrochemical analysis was performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and chronoamperometry techniques. Electrostatic interaction between Cu@Pani and MoS2 greatly enhanced the charge dispersion, electrical conductivity, and stability, resulting in excellent electrochemical performance. The Cu@Pani/MoS2 was used as an electrocatalyst to detect glucose in an alkaline medium. The proposed glucose sensor exhibited a sensitivity, detection limit, and wide linear range of 69.82 µAmM-1cm-2, 1.78 µM, and 0.1-11 mM, respectively. The stability and selectivity of the Cu@Pani/MoS2 composite for glucose compared to that of the potential interfering species, as well as its ability to determine the glucose concentration in diluted human serum samples at a high recovery percentage, demonstrated its viability as a nonenzymatic glucose sensor.

Vitamin D Status among the Population Visiting Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, Bhutan.

Objective: To study the vitamin D status among the Bhutanese population visiting the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu, Bhutan. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study involving the extraction of data from a hospital database. Records of Bhutanese patients who had taken vitamin D tests in the last two years (2020-2021) were included in the study. Result: A total of 1175 individuals took the vitamin D test during the study period, and the age ranged between 1 day and 94 years. Over 60% of the participants were females. The study found that over 83% of our study population had serum vitamin D levels lower than the normal range/deficient. Around 18% of the participants had severe deficiency. Conclusion: The study found that most participants, including children, had vitamin D deficiency, and the finding was homogenous across gender and age groups. Further studies are required to validate these findings and identify the factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in the population for targeted public health interventions.

Culturing the unculturables: strategies, challenges, and opportunities for gut microbiome study.

Metagenome sequencing techniques revolutionized the field of gut microbiome study. However, it is equipped with experimental and computational biases, which affect the downstream analysis results. Also, live microbial strains are needed for a better understanding of host-microbial crosstalks and for designing next-generation treatment therapies based on probiotic strains and postbiotic molecules. Conventional culturing methodologies are insufficient to get the dark gut matter on the plate; therefore, there is an urgent need to propose novel culturing methods that can fill the limitations of metagenomics. The current work aims to provide a consolidated evaluation of the available methods for host-microbe interaction with an emphasis on in vitro culturing of gut microbes using organoids, gut on a chip, and gut bioreactor. Further, the knowledge of microbial crosstalk in the gut helps us to identify core microbiota, and key metabolites that will aid in designing culturing media and co-culturing systems for gut microbiome study. After the deeper mining of the current culturing methods, we recommend that 3D-printed intestinal cells in a multistage continuous flow reactor equipped with an extended organoid system might be a good practical choice for gut microbiota-based studies.

Influence of 24-Week Yoga Intervention on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Inflammatory Markers in Type 2 Diabetes.

Background and Aims: Persistent hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, inflammation, and oxidative stress are important in cardiovascular risk in type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM). To evaluate the effect of 24-week yoga intervention on anthropometry and biochemical markers in DM patients, we performed a study. Methods: A hospital-based prospective randomized study in 104 participants with DM divided into control (n = 52) and intervention (n = 52) groups was performed. Patients in the intervention group performed 40 min of multifaceted individualized yoga exercises 5 days/week for 24 weeks. Anthropometric measurements and biochemical analysis were performed at baseline and after 24 weeks in both groups. Descriptive statistics are reported. Results: Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. At 24 weeks, participants in the intervention versus controls had lower body mass index (25.6 ± 2.9 vs. 28.0 ± 3.2 kg/m2), waist-hip ratio (0.94 ± 0.06 vs. 0.99 ± 0.05), systolic blood pressure (121.2 ± 11.7 vs. 139.3 ± 19.1 mmHg), fasting glucose (142.7 ± 45.3 vs. 175.7 ± 45.4 mg/dL), glycated hemoglobin (7.2 ± 1.8 vs. 9.4 ± 1.9%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (167.5 ± 38.1 vs. 192.2 ± 51.4 mg/dL), nonhigh-density lipoprotein cholesterol (136.8 ± 35.3 vs. 158.6 ± 47.2 mg/dL), interleukin-6 (32.0 ± 21.5 vs. 43.5 ± 34.3 pg/mL), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (5.1 ± 3.7 vs. 9.5 ± 15.6 mg/L) (P ≤ 0.05). In the intervention group, higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (49.2 ± 15.0 vs. 40.4 ± 7.2 mg/dL) and serum total antioxidants (1.9 ± 0.4 vs. 1.4 ± 0.4 mmol/L) were observed (P < 0.001). Conclusion: A short-term yoga intervention led to reduced glycemia, dyslipidemia, and inflammatory markers and increased antioxidant status in patients with type-2 DM.

Off-pump CABG surgery in left main coronary artery disease: a single-center prospective registry.

Background and objective: The treatment of left main (LM) coronary artery disease (CAD) requires complex decision-making. Patients with left main multi-vessel coronary artery disease (LM CAD) have concerns regarding incomplete revascularization and reduced survival with off-pump (OPCAB) when compared with on-pump (ONCAB) coronary bypass surgery. To evaluate outcomes among high-risk LM CAD patients undergoing OPCAB, we performed a registry-based prospective study. Methods: We performed 4868 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries from Jan 2013 to Jun 2019 with 4662 (95.8%) OPCAB. In OPCAB cohort, we had 1323 patients (28.4%) with significant LM (> 50%) triple vessel CAD. Data regarding clinical features, extent of CAD, operative details, in-hospital outcomes, and 3-year follow-up were obtained. Descriptive statistics are reported. Results: The study cohort (n = 1323) was aged 63 ± 9 years with men 88.4%. Tobacco use was in 328 (24.8%), diabetes 598 (45.2%), previous myocardial infarction 463 (35.0%), previous coronary intervention 40 (3.0%), and congestive heart failure in 54 (4.1%). All patients had LM (100.0%) with triple vessel disease in 99.4% (LAD, left anterior descending 100.0%; LCX, left circumflex 99.4%; RCA, right coronary artery 78.7%). Vessels bypassed/patient were 2.7 ± 0.4 with 3.2 ± 0.7 total grafts and 2.1 ± 0.8 venous grafts. In total, 1278 (96.5%) patients received left internal mammary artery (LIMA), 63(4.7%) bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA), and 74 (5.6%) radial artery grafts. There was no patient with conversion from OPCAB to ONCAB. In-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: all-cause deaths, myocardial infarction, and stroke) were in 21 (1.6%). At 3-year follow-up (n = 1041), MACE rates were in 84 (8.1%) and cardiovascular deaths in 28 (2.7%). Conclusions: This study shows that off-pump CABG surgery is safe in patients with LM CAD. There is low in-hospital mortality and MACE and 3-year outcomes are similar to the published data of LM CAD patients who undergo on-pump CABG. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-023-01526-3.

Greater COVID-19 Severity and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients in the Delta-phase Compared to the Others: A Single Center Prospective Registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical and laboratory features, and outcomes in the second COVID-19 phase (delta variant) with the first and third phases in India we performed a registry-based study. METHODS: Patients with confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were recruited over the study period from March 2020 to July 2022. In the first phase (wild type, March-December 2020) of the 7,476 suspected, 1,395 (18.7%) were positive and 863 (61.8%) were hospitalized, in the second phase (delta, January-July 2021) out of 8,680 suspected, 1,641 (19.4%) tested positive and 388 (23.6%) were hospitalized, and in the third phase (omicron, January-July 2022) out of 5,188 suspected patients, 886 (17.1%) tested positive and 94 (10.6%) were hospitalized. We compared details of admission clinical and laboratory features and in-hospital management and outcomes in the three phases. RESULTS: A total of 2,352 patients were recruited. The majority of the patients were men, aged <45 years were 20% and about 20% of patients had hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Patients in the second phase had significantly more cough, fever, shortness of breath, and lower oxygen saturation (SpO2) at admission and also had more lymphopenia, C-reactive proteins (CRPs), interleukin-6, ferritin, lactic dehydrogenase, and transaminases than patients in the other two phases. In the second vs the first and third phases, the requirement of supplementary oxygen (47.9 vs 33.1 and 23.4%), proning (89.2 vs 37.1 and 5.3%), high flow nasal oxygen (15.7 vs 8.71 and 5.3%), noninvasive ventilation (14.4 vs 9.1 and 11.7%), invasive ventilation (16.2 vs 9.1 and 9.6%), steroids (94.1 vs 83.4 and 37.2%), remdesivir (91.2 vs 73.8 and 39.4%), and anticoagulants (94.3 vs 83.0 and 61.7%) was significantly more (p < 0.001). The median length of stay in days [interquartile range (IQR)] was longer in the second phase [8 (6-10)] vs the first [7 (5-10)] and the third phase [4 (3-6) days]. The intensive care unit (ICU) stay in the second phase [9 (5-13) days] was also significantly more than the first [6 (2-10)] and third [0 (0-3)] phases (p <0.001). Overall, in-hospital deaths occurred in 176 patients (12.8%). Deaths were significantly higher in the second phase (19.3%), compared to the first (11.0%) and the third (3.3%) phases (p <0.01). We also observed that greater disease severity at presentation was associated with higher mortality in all the phases. CONCLUSION: This study shows that COVID-19 patients that were hospitalized in the second (delta) phase of the epidemic had more severe disease compared to the first and third phases. In the second phase of patients, there was a significantly higher duration of hospitalization, ICU hospitalization, greater oxygen requirement, noninvasive and invasive ventilatory support, and more deaths.

Nanoarchitectonics of Three-Dimensional Carbon Nanofiber-Supported Hollow Copper Sulfide Spheres for Asymmetric Supercapacitor Applications.

Three-dimensional carbon nanofiber (3D-CNF)-supported hollow copper sulfide (HCuS) spheres were synthesized by the facile hydrothermal method. The morphology of the as-synthesized HCuS@3D-CNF composite clearly revealed that the 3D-CNFs act as a basement for HCuS spheres. The electrochemical performance of as-synthesized HCuS@3D-CNFs was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests, gravimetric charge-discharge (GCD) tests, and Nyquist plots. The obtained results revealed that the HCuS@3D-CNFs exhibited greater areal capacitance (4.6 F/cm2) compared to bare HCuS (0.64 F/cm2) at a current density of 2 mA/cm2. Furthermore, HCuS@3D-CNFs retained excellent cyclic stability of 83.2% after 5000 cycles. The assembled asymmetric device (HCuS@3D-CNFs//BAC) exhibits an energy density of 0.15 mWh/cm2 with a working potential window of 1.5 V in KOH electrolyte. The obtained results demonstrate that HZnS@3D-CNF nanoarchitectonics is a potential electrode material for supercapacitor applications.

Rationalizing and Adapting Water-Accelerated Reactions for Sustainable Flow Organic Processes.

Water-accelerated reactions, wherein at least one organic reactant is not soluble in water, are an important class of organic reactions, with a potentially pivotal impact on sustainability of chemical manufacturing processes. However, mechanistic understanding of the factors controlling the acceleration effect has been limited, due to the complex and varied physical and chemical nature of these processes. In this study, a theoretical framework has been established to calculate the rate acceleration of known water-accelerated reactions, giving computational estimations of the change to ΔG‡ which correlate with experimental data. In-depth study of a Henry reaction between N-methylisatin and nitromethane using our framework led to rationalization of the reaction kinetics, its lack of dependence on mixing, kinetic isotope effect, and different salt effects with NaCl and Na2SO4. Based on these findings, a multiphase flow process which includes continuous phase separation and recycling of the aqueous phase was developed, and its superior green metrics (PMI-reaction = 4 and STY = 0.64 kg L-1 h-1) were demonstrated. These findings form the essential basis for further in silico discovery and development of water-accelerated reactions for sustainable manufacturing.