A COVID-19 Airway Management Innovation with Pragmatic Efficacy Evaluation: The Patient Particle Containment Chamber.

The unique resource constraints, urgency, and virulence of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has sparked immense innovation in the development of barrier devices to protect healthcare providers from infectious airborne particles generated by patients during airway management interventions. Of the existing devices, all have shortcomings which render them ineffective and impractical in out-of-hospital environments. Therefore, we propose a new design for such a device, along with a pragmatic evaluation of its efficacy. Must-have criteria for the device included: reduction of aerosol transmission by at least 90% as measured by pragmatic testing; construction from readily available, inexpensive materials; easy to clean; and compatibility with common EMS stretchers. The Patient Particle Containment Chamber (PPCC) consists of a standard shower liner draped over a modified octagonal PVC pipe frame and secured with binder clips. 3D printed sleeve portals were used to secure plastic sleeves to the shower liner wall. A weighted tube sealed the exterior base of the chamber with the contours of the patient's body and stretcher. Upon testing, the PPCC contained 99% of spray-paint particles sprayed over a 90s period. Overall, the PPCC provides a compact, affordable option that can be used in both the in-hospital and out-of-hospital environments.

Metabolic shift from glycogen to trehalose promotes lifespan and healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans.

As Western diets continue to include an ever-increasing amount of sugar, there has been a rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes. To avoid metabolic diseases, the body must maintain proper metabolism, even on a high-sugar diet. In both humans and Caenorhabditis elegans, excess sugar (glucose) is stored as glycogen. Here, we find that animals increased stored glycogen as they aged, whereas even young adult animals had increased stored glycogen on a high-sugar diet. Decreasing the amount of glycogen storage by modulating the C. elegans glycogen synthase, gsy-1, a key enzyme in glycogen synthesis, can extend lifespan, prolong healthspan, and limit the detrimental effects of a high-sugar diet. Importantly, limiting glycogen storage leads to a metabolic shift whereby glucose is now stored as trehalose. Two additional means to increase trehalose show similar longevity extension. Increased trehalose is entirely dependent on a functional FOXO transcription factor DAF-16 and autophagy to promote lifespan and healthspan extension. Our results reveal that when glucose is stored as glycogen, it is detrimental, whereas, when stored as trehalose, animals live a longer, healthier life if DAF-16 is functional. Taken together, these results demonstrate that trehalose modulation may be an avenue for combatting high-sugar-diet pathology.