Virus-laden droplet nuclei in vortical structures associated with recirculation zones in indoor environments: A possible airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Droplet nuclei dispersion patterns in indoor environments are reviewed from a physics view to explore the possibility of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2. This review analyzes works on particle dispersion patterns and their concentration in vortical structures in different indoor environments. Numerical simulations and experiments reveal the formation of the buildings' recirculation zones and vortex flow regions by flow separation, airflow interaction around objects, internal dispersion of airflow, or thermal plume. These vortical structures showed high particle concentration because particles are trapped for long periods. Then a hypothesis is proposed to explain why some medical studies detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and others do not detect the virus. The hypothesis proposes that airborne transmission is possible if virus-laden droplet nuclei are trapped in vortical structures associated with recirculation zones. This hypothesis is reinforced by a numerical study in a restaurant that presented possible evidence of airborne transmission by a large recirculating air zone. Furthermore, a medical study in a hospital is discussed from a physical view for identifying the formation of recirculation zones and their relation with positive tests for viruses. The observations show air sampling site located in this vortical structure is positive for the SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Therefore, the formation of vortical structures associated with recirculation zones should be avoided to minimize the possibility of airborne transmission. This work tries to understand the complex phenomenon of airborne transmission as a way in the prevention of transmission of infectious diseases.

Linoleic acid in diets of mice increases total endocannabinoid levels in bowel and liver: modification by dietary glucose.

AIM: Linoleic acid (LA) is an essential fatty acid involved in the biosynthesis of arachidonic acid and prostaglandins. LA is known to induce obesity and insulin resistance. In this study, two concentrations of LA with or without added glucose (G) were fed to mice to investigate their effects on endocannabinoid (EC) biology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four groups of C57BL/6 mice were provided with diets containing 1% or 8% LA with or without added G (LAG) for 8 weeks. Body weights, food intake, circulating glucose and insulin levels were measured throughout the study. Following euthanasia, plasma, bowel and hepatic ECs, monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydroxylase protein levels (enzymes responsible for EC degradation) and transcriptional activity of PPARα in liver were quantified. Liver was probed for evidence of insulin receptor activity perturbation. RESULTS: Increasing dietary LA from 1% to 8% significantly increased circulating, small bowel and hepatic ECs. 1%LAG fed mice had lowest feed efficiency, and only liver levels of both ECs were reduced by addition of G. Addition of G to 1% LA diets resulted in elevated monoacylglycerol lipase and fatty acid amide hydroxylase protein levels (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) in liver due to increased transcriptional activity of PPARα (p < 0.05). The reduced EC levels with addition of G also correlated with a measure of enhanced insulin action. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, body weight of mice is influenced by the source of calorie intake. Furthermore, tissue EC/g are dependent on tissue-specific synthesis and degradation that are modulated by dietary LA and G which also influence food efficiency, and down-stream insulin signalling pathways. The findings could potentially be useful information for weight management efforts in humans.

A phase II study of multimodality treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer: neoadjuvant carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by radical hysterectomy and adjuvant cisplatin chemoradiation.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy and adjuvant radiation concurrent with weekly cisplatin for locally advanced cervical carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-three patients staged as IB2-IIIB were treated with three 21-day courses of carboplatin (area under the time-concentration curve 6 mg.min/ml) and paclitaxel at 175 mg/m(2) by 3-h infusion both on day 1 followed by radical type III hysterectomy and adjuvant radiation concurrent with 6-weekly doses of cisplatin at 40 mg/m(2). Response rate, resectability, toxicity and survival were evaluated. RESULTS: From December 2000 to June 2001, 43 patients were recruited. All were evaluated for response and toxicity to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A total of 129 courses were administered. Clinical responses were seen in 41 patients (95%) [95% confidence interval (CI) 89.2% to 100%] with four (9%) complete and 37 (86%) partial. Forty-one patients underwent surgery (resectability 95%); pathologically complete or near-complete responses were seen in seven (17%) and eight (20%), respectively, positive surgical margins in five (12%), and positive pelvic lymph nodes in eight (20%). Twenty-six patients were scheduled for adjuvant chemoradiation. External radiation was delivered for 42.8 days (range 33-61), with a mean dose of 49.3 Gy (range 46-56), and a median of five cisplatin courses (two to six). The mean dose of brachytherapy was 32 Gy (range 25.5-35.6). Neoadjuvant therapy was well-tolerated with neutropenia grade 3 and 4 in 12% and 3% of the courses, respectively. Toxicity to adjuvant chemoradiation was mainly hematological and gastrointestinal, mostly grades 1/2. A total of 39 patients completed all scheduled treatment. At a median follow-up of 21 months (range 3-26), the projected overall survival in the intention-to-treat analysis was 79% (95% CI 62% to 88%). CONCLUSIONS: The triple modality of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical hysterectomy and adjuvant radiation concurrent with cisplatin is a highly active treatment for locally advanced cervical carcinoma with acceptable toxicity.

[Health inequalities in the outlying towns of the urban sprawl of Granada]. / Desigualdades en salud en los municipios periféricos de la Aglomeración Urbana de Granada.

OBJECTIVES: 1. To investigate health inequalities in the outlying towns around urban Granada. 2. To classify the towns in homogeneous groups according to their demographic, social and economic, and urban environment features, and to contrast these categories with their health situation. DESIGN: Ecological study using indicators of health and town environment from various sources. SETTING: The 29 towns in the periphery of Granada. MEASUREMENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: The differences in health of the towns were compared among themselves and with the group formed by all of them together. Cluster analysis was employed in order to classify the towns into homogeneous groups. RESULTS: It is noteworthy that only two towns had overall and premature mortality rates above and below the group as a whole. We found marked differences between towns for the other health indicators, with difference ratios up to 6 times greater than the group as a whole, as was the case for incidence of Brucellosis. There were some towns with poorer general conditions on Health and Poverty indexes than the rest. There were 5 clusters or groups of towns with homogeneous characteristics, for which the ratios of all the health indicators of the group with the best conditions were higher than the ratios of the group with the worst conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Better understanding of health inequalities at the small-area level, along with the use of health and poverty indices, help to characterise the place in question and favour the reduction of the inequalities.

Dietary factors affecting the maximum feed intake and the body composition of pre-ruminant kid goats of the Granadina breed.

An experiment was carried out with kid goats of the Granadina breed to identify the dietary factors affecting voluntary feed intake of the kid goat and those that additively could determine its body composition. The animals used were from birth to 61 d of age, fed ad lib. on different milk replacers containing 200, 240 and 280 g crude protein/kg DM and 200, 240 and 280 g fat/kg DM, thus giving nine dietary treatments. The utilization of the milk replacers and the animals' body composition were determined by balance and slaughter trials. There were significant positive effects of protein concentration of the milk replacers on component digestibilities, energy metabolizability, feed intake, empty-body weights, empty-body composition and protein and fat retention. The concentration of fat in the milk replacers also had a significant positive effect on the digestible and metabolizable energy concentration of the diets and on fat retention. The relationships existing between feed intake and diet composition (concentration of digestible protein, metabolizable energy and digestible protein:metabolizable energy ratio) as well as between empty-body composition or protein and fat retention and diet composition, were examined. From these it was deduced that feed intake was significantly influenced by the digestible protein concentration of the diets. The higher the digestible protein concentration the higher the feed intake up to a maximum digestible protein concentration value. As the digestible protein concentration of the diets was the dietary factor which significantly influenced feed intake, this also significantly influences the body composition and the protein and fat retention. The protein concentration of the feed at which metabolizable energy intake in these animals would be greatest was estimated to be 347 g/kg DM.