Mediamusic (E-Journal)
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Inflammation, immunity and potential target therapy of SARS-COV-2:A total scale analysis review
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is a complex disease that causes illness ranging from mild to severe respiratory problems. It is caused by a novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2) that is an enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus belongs to coronavirus CoV family. It has a fast-spreading potential worldwide, which leads to high mortality regardless of lows death rates. Now some vaccines or a specific drug are approved but not available for every country for disease prevention and/or treatment. Therefore, it is a high demand to identify the known drugs and test them as a possible therapeutic approach. In this critical situation, one or more of these drugs may represent the only option to treat or reduce the severity of the disease, until some specific drugs or vaccines will be developed and/or approved for everyone in this pandemic. In this updated review, the available repurpose immunotherapeutic treatment strategies are highlighted, elucidating the crosstalk between the immune system and SARS-CoV-2. Despite the reasonable data availability, the effectiveness and safety of these drugs against SARS-CoV-2 needs further studies and validations aiming for a better clinical outcome.</p
Variability in grading of ductal carcinoma in situ among an international group of pathologists
The prognostic value of cytonuclear grade in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is debated, partly due to high interobserver variability and the use of multiple guidelines. The aim of this study was to evaluate interobserver agreement in grading DCIS between Dutch, British, and American pathologists. Haematoxylin and eosin-stained slides of 425 women with primary DCIS were independently reviewed by nine breast pathologists based in the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA. Chance-corrected kappa (kappa(ma)) for association between pathologists was calculated based on a generalised linear mixed model using the ordinal package in R. Overall kappa(ma) for grade of DCIS (low, intermediate, or high) was estimated to be 0.50 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.44-0.56), indicating a moderate association between pathologists. When the model was adjusted for national guidelines, the association for grade did not change (kappa(ma) = 0.53; 95% CI 0.48-0.57); subgroup analysis for pathologists using the UK pathology guidelines only had significantly higher association (kappa(ma) = 0.58; 95% CI 0.56-0.61). To assess if concordance of grading relates to the expression of the oestrogen receptor (ER) and HER2, archived immunohistochemistry was analysed on a subgroup (n = 106). This showed that non-high grade according to the majority opinion was associated with ER positivity and HER2 negativity (100 and 89% of non-high grade cases, respectively). In conclusion, DCIS grade showed only moderate association using whole slide images scored by nine breast pathologists. As therapeutic decisions and inclusion in ongoing clinical trials are guided by DCIS grade, there is a pressing need to reduce interobserver variability in grading. ER and HER2 might be supportive to prevent the accidental and unwanted inclusion of high-grade DCIS in such trials.</p
S-Rich PbS Quantum Dots:A Promising p-Type Material for Optoelectronic Devices
PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are versatile building blocks for bottom-up fabrication of various optoelectronic devices. The transport properties of thin films of this class of materials depend on the size of the CQDs, their surface ligands, and stoichiometry. The most common synthetic methods yield PbS CQDs with an excess of Pb atoms, which induces n-type transport properties in CQD films. In this work, we developed a new synthesis, which offers S-rich PbS CQDs. Thanks to their sufficient colloidal stability in nonpolar solvents, we established a protocol for the integration of these CQDs into thin field-effect transistors and found strong hole-dominated transport with a hole mobility of about 1 x 10(-2) cm(2)/Vs. Moreover, we were able to enhance the electron mobility for almost two orders of magnitude while keeping the hole mobility nearly the same. This approach allows us to obtain reliably p-doped PbS CQDs, which can be used for the fabrication of various electronic and optoelectronic devices.</p
A Structure-Properties Relationship Study of Self-Healing Materials Based on Styrene and Furfuryl Methacrylate Cross-Linked via Diels-Alder Chemistry
A series of copolymers of styrene and furfuryl methacrylate characterized by various molecular structures (linear and star, block and random) is synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization, and cross-linked with a bismaleimide by means of thermally reversible Diels-Alder (DA) reaction, to obtain self-healing materials. The prepared materials are studied in terms of gelation, swelling, thermal, and dynamic-mechanical analysis, with the aim of correlating relevant properties to their chemical structure. It is found that the furan/styrene ratio, as well as the molecular architecture, have a major influence on the properties. It is also found that the reversibility of the DA reaction is not complete in the solid state for materials with high cross-linking density. This study provides some important tools for the design of materials characterized by thermally reversible behavior, which find usually application as self-healing thermosets, coatings, or adhesives.</p
Understanding Willingness to Share Smartphone-Sensor Data
The growing smartphone penetration and the integration of smartphones into people’s everyday practices offer researchers opportunities to augment survey measurement with smartphone-sensor measurement or to replace self-reports. Potential benefits include lower measurement error, a widening of research questions, collection of in situ data, and a lowered respondent burden. However, privacy considerations and other concerns may lead to nonparticipation. To date, little is known about the mechanisms of willingness to share sensor data by the general population, and no evidence is available concerning the stability of willingness. The present study focuses on survey respondents’ willingness to share data collected using smartphone sensors (GPS, camera, and wearables) in a probability-based online panel of the general population of the Netherlands. A randomized experiment varied study sponsor, framing of the request, the emphasis on control over the data collection process, and assurance of privacy and confidentiality. Respondents were asked repeatedly about their willingness to share the data collected using smartphone sensors, with varying periods before the second request. Willingness to participate in sensor-based data collection varied by the type of sensor, study sponsor, order of the request, respondent’s familiarity with the device, previous experience with participating in research involving smartphone sensors, and privacy concerns. Willingness increased when respondents were asked repeatedly and varied by sensor and task. The timing of the repeated request, one month or six months after the initial request, did not have a significant effect on willingness
Relationship between inhaled corticosteroids adherence, short-acting beta agonists use, exacerbations and self-reported asthma control
ERS International Congress 2020:highlights from the General Pneumology Assembly
The European Respiratory Society (ERS) accepted 4062 abstracts for presentation at the ERS International Congress in 2020. Although the conference was held virtually, making it possible to replay presentations, it remains a challenge to keep abreast of all the clinical and scientific advances. Therefore, this article provides highlights from the General Pneumology Assembly. Selected presentations from rehabilitation and chronic care, general practice and primary care, and electronic/mobile health (e-health/m-health) are summarised. The highlights incorporate novel findings from laboratory-based science, randomised controlled trials and qualitative research together with insights from newly available clinical guidelines.</p