The impact of factor Xa inhibitors on bleeding risk in patients with respiratory diseases.

It is unclear which factor Xa (FXa) inhibitors are associated with higher bleeding risk in patients with respiratory diseases, and there are no studies on the association between prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) and bleeding risk. We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing 1-year-outcomes and PT-INR between patients with respiratory diseases treated with rivaroxaban (R group, n = 82) or edoxaban (E group, n = 138) for atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism from 2013 to 2021. The most frequent event of all bleeding discontinuations was respiratory bleeding in both groups (7.3 and 4.3%, respectively). The cumulative incidence of bleeding discontinuation was significantly higher in the R group (25.6%) than in the E group (14.4%) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-4.64; P = 0.023). PT-INR after initiation of therapy significantly increased and was higher in the R group than in the E group (median value, 1.4 and 1.2, respectively; P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray models revealed that PT-INR after initiation of therapy was an independent risk factor of bleeding discontinuation events (HR = 4.37, 95% CI 2.57-7.41: P < 0.001). Respiratory bleeding occasionally occurs in patients receiving FXa inhibitors, and monitoring the PT-INR may need to ensure safety.

Successful treatment with dupilumab for mucus plugs in severe asthma.

A 29-year-old man presented to our hospital with severe eosinophilic asthma. He needed a short OCS burst for exacerbation of asthma once every 1 or 2 months, although he used a high dose of inhaled corticosteroids and a long-acting beta-2 agonists. Chest CT showed multiple mucous plugs with bronchiectasis, but further examination found that he did not meet the diagnostic criteria for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. After starting dupilumab for his severe eosinophilic asthma, his asthma control improved without exacerbation. Furthermore, most mucus plugs disappeared on chest CT after 16 weeks from initiating dupilumab. This case suggests that dupilumab may be an effective treatment against mucus plugs associated with severe eosinophilic asthma.

VO2-dispersed glass: A new class of phase change material.

Energy storage technology is crucial for a sustainable society, and its realisation strongly depends on the development of materials. Oxide glass exhibits high durability. Moreover, the amorphous structure of the glass without periodic ordering demonstrates excellent formability and controllability, thus enabling a large-scale production. These factors provide impetus for the development of new materials for thermal management applications. As vanadium dioxide (VO2) with a strongly correlated electron system exhibits a structural phase transition, leading to a large heat of transition. Therefore, VO2 demonstrates immense potential as a phase change material (PCM). This study reports the fabrication of VO2-dispersed glass and examines its potential as a new latent heat storage material, which can be applied for massive PCM heat storage applications.