[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1039/C8RA10224D.].

Although the potential corrosive microbial communities of the refined oil pipelines can cause pipeline failure which directly threatens on soil and water environment, few studies have been published in this field. Therefore, the long-distance on-site internal corrosion detection and high-throughput sequencing techniques were employed in this study to investigate the distribution shifts of the corrosive microbial communities on the inner wall of a refined oil pipeline and its impact on the internal corrosion. The microorganisms colonizing on the inner wall of the pipeline showed significant distribution differences between the axial direction of the relative elevation and radial direction of the cross-section. On the inner wall, the high diversity and the abundance of the corrosive microbial communities induced serious microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), while the chemical corrosion and the synergy of the corrosive microbial communities accelerated the internal corrosion of the refined oil pipeline. A corrosion zone model has been proposed, which divides the pipeline cross-section into the sediment, the water-oil interface, the gas-oil interface, and the oil fully immersed zones. Therefore, the relationships between the environment, corrosion degree, and distribution characteristics of the corrosive microbial communities in the pipeline were analyzed. This research exhibited the importance of the distribution characteristics of the corrosive microorganisms on the inner wall of the refined oil pipelines. Its internal corrosion behavior was accurately explored, while providing a basis for controlling the corrosive microbial communities.

The critically ill coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients usually present acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or even acute respiratory failure, and require mechanical ventilation (MV) to provide support for breathing However, clinical studies have found an extraordinarily high mortality rate (50%) for those Covid-19 patients who underwent MV Considering the mechanical nature of MV, the high mortality rate is highly possible to be associated with mechanical stretch-induced lung injury during MV Thus, it is imperative to understand the MV-induced pathological alterations in the respiratory system and corresponding mitigation measures in order to improve the therapy of critically ill Covid-19 patients Ventilator-induced lung injury in therapy of critically ill Covid-19 patients involves several biomechanical factors and mechanisms, including changes in respiratory parameters, inflammatory cytokines storm, ciliary-mucus system, airway smooth muscle cells, lung fibrosis, and stretch-activated cell signaling It is hoped that these biomechanical issues can be diligently investigated, so as to provide insights for optimizing the therapy for Covid-19 as well as other respiratory diseases

Objective: To understand the possible transmission route of a family cluster of COVID-19 in Zhengzhou and the potential infectivity of COVID-19 in incubation period, and provide scientific evidence for the timely control of infectious source and curb the spread of the epidemic. Methods: Epidemiological investigation was conducted for a family cluster of COVID-19 (8 cases) with descriptive epidemiological method, and respiratory tract samples of the cases were collected for the nucleic acid detection of virus by RT-PCR. Results: Two primary cases, which occurred on 31 January and 1 February, 2020, respectively, had a common exposure history in Wuhan. The other six family members had onsets on 30 January, 31 January, 1 February (three cases) and 3 February, 2020. Conclusions: In this family cluster of COVID-19, six family members were infected through common family exposure to the 2 primary cases. Five secondary cases had onsets earlier than or on the same day as the primary cases, indicating that COVID-19 is contagious in incubation period, and the home isolation in the early phase of the epidemic might lead to the risk of family cluster of COVID-19.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE Clinical pharmacists actively participate in patient care via patients' medication use. Yet the setting of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) limits patient contact with healthcare personnel. We aimed to review the services provided and drug-related problems detected using telemonitoring methods to guide clinical pharmacists in providing service in treating COVID-19 patients. COMMENT At a tertiary care hospital in Thailand, clinical pharmacists provided pharmaceutical care services for COVID-19 patients via telemonitoring using the hospital's computerized physician order entry system. The pharmacists were able to provide therapeutic drug monitoring services, especially for anticoagulants. Many patients were considered special populations, with individualized requirements for drug dosing. Some adverse drug reactions were observed. Drug-related problems were mostly related to medication use in critically ill patients. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION Telemonitoring is a viable method for clinical pharmacists to provide pharmaceutical care and meet the challenges posed by treating patients with COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic classroom teaching was largely discontinued at all German medical faculties in the summer semester (SS) 2020. This also affected undergraduate education in palliative care, which is established with an average of 22 teaching units. Teachers were asked to rapidly develop digital teaching and assessment tools. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this survey was to map the teaching situation in QB13 palliative medicine in SS 2020 under the influence of COVID-19 and from this to derive the need for networking and support for the coming semesters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The key persons involved in palliative care education in all 41 medical faculties in Germany were identified and invited by the coordination office of the German Society for Palliative Medicine (DGP) to participate in an online survey using SurveyMonkey?. The questionnaire consisted of 15 items dealing with the evaluation of the past semester and the need for support for the coming semester. RESULTS: Out of 41 contacted teachers 16 participated in the survey. Most of them described the challenge of teaching in SS 2020 as successful. Support from the faculties was provided primarily in the form of digital teaching structures. A digital teaching design is also planned for the coming semester. Power point slides with sound and the conference tool Zoom? are often used. CONCLUSION: The design of examinations in SS 2020 is rated worse in the self-evaluation than the teaching design. Multiple choice questions were often used in classroom examinations. Lecturers would like the DGP to create and collect teaching and assessment materials centrally.

AIM: To present the 5 years outcomes of a reconstructive surgical protocol for peri-implantitis defects with different morphologies, by means of deproteinized bovine bone mineral with 10% collagen (DBBMC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The original population of this case series consisted of 75 patients with one crater-like defect and probing depth (PD) ≥6 mm. After flap elevation, defects were assigned to one characteristic class and treated by means of DBBMC. Following healing, patients were enrolled in an individualized supportive periodontal/peri-implant (SPT) program. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients reached the 5 years examination, as 11 patients were lost to follow-up and 13 implants were removed. Overall treatment success was registered in 29 patients (45.3%). Mean PD and BOP significantly decreased at one year and remained stable for the rest of observation period. No correlation was found between implant survival rate and defect configuration (p = 0.213). Patients, who did not fully adhere to the SPT, experienced more complications and implant loss than those who regularly attended recall appointments (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed reconstructive treatment resulted in a high 5 years implant survival rate in patients who fully adhered to SPT. The resolution of the peri-implantitis defect does not seem significantly associated with the defect configuration at the time of treatment.

Optimization of vaccine allocations among different segments of a heterogeneous population is important for enhancing the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns in reducing the burden of epidemics. Intuitively, it would seem that allocations designed to minimize infections should prioritize those with the highest risk of being infected and infecting others. This prescription is well supported by vaccination theory, e.g., when the vaccination campaign aims to reach herd immunity. In this work, we show, however, that for vaccines providing partial protection (leaky vaccines) and for sufficiently high values of the basic reproduction number, intuition is overturned: the optimal allocation for minimizing the number of infections prioritizes the vaccination of those who are least likely to be infected. Furthermore, we show that this phenomenon occurs at a range of basic reproduction numbers relevant for the currently circulating strains of SARS-CoV-19. The work combines numerical investigations, asymptotic analysis for a general model, and complete mathematical analysis in a simple two-group model. The results point to important considerations in managing vaccination campaigns for infections with high transmissibility.

How did optimism or pessimism about the duration of shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic affect firms business outlook and behavior? In a large panel of German firms, we identify sentiment as the only plausible determinant of the cross-sectional variation in the expected shutdown length because this variation is uncorrelated with fundamentals. Firms incorporate this sentiment regarding the shutdown duration in their more general business outlook. Sentiment was also an important determinant of firms crisis response: More pessimistic firmsthose that perceived the shutdown to last longerwere more likely to implement strong measures like layoffs or canceling investments. The implementation of soft measures, e.g., working from home, was unrelated to the sentiment regarding the shutdown length.

SARS-CoV-2 has evolved variants with substitutions in the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) that impact its affinity for ACE2 receptor and recognition by antibodies. These substitutions could also shape future evolution by modulating the effects of mutations at other sites--a phenomenon called epistasis. To investigate this possibility, we performed deep mutational scans to measure the effects on ACE2 binding of all single amino-acid mutations in the Wuhan-Hu-1, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Eta variant RBDs. Some substitutions, most prominently N501Y, cause epistatic shifts in the effects of mutations at other sites, thereby shaping subsequent evolutionary change. These epistatic shifts occur despite high conservation of the overall RBD structure. Our data shed light on RBD sequence-function relationships and facilitate interpretation of ongoing SARS-CoV-2 evolution.

We investigated irrational beliefs defined in rational-emotive cognitive-behavior therapy (REBT), attachment anxiety and avoidance, and conspiracy mentality as mediators of the relationship between HEXACO and Disintegration traits and COVID-19 health behaviors. Structural equation modeling on a sample of 287 participants, showed that Disintegration (D) was related to all mediating variables, highlighting the importance of D in the emergence of irrational beliefs. Conspiracy mentality mediated the effect of D in low adherence to recommended health behaviors - RHB , negative vaccination behavior, and greater use of pseudoscientific practices - PSP . Attachment anxiety mediated the relationship between high D, high Emotionality (E), and low Honesty (H) and lower adherence to RHB. Higher adherence to RHB predicted positive vaccination behavior, whilst there was no relationship between PSP use and vaccination behavior. REBT irrational beliefs and attachment avoidance were not found to be significant mediators of the relationship between personality traits and COVID-19 health behaviors.

The analysis of dielectric properties in Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has become an important research branch since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2019. In order to detect the dielectric properties of microfluidics like virus with higher sensitivity, a radio frequency sensor model is proposed in this paper. First, based on the excellent characteristics of the microstrip meander-line such as more concentrated electric field distribution, the microstrip meander-line is introduced into the design of traditional cancellation sensor, which is called the meander sensor. Then, the relationship between transmission coefficients of the system and dielectric properties of microfluidics is given in this paper. The simulation results verify the ultra-sensitivity of the meander sensor. Even though the relative permittivity of microfluidics is changed in the order of magnitude 10-2, the measurement results of the meander sensor also change significantly. However, the straight sensor can only measure changes of relative permittivity in the order of magnitude 10-1. What's more, there is a more concentrated measurement range for the meander sensor. This will be more practical for measuring weak changes of dielectric properties caused by the microfluidics itself and its interactions. ? 2021 IEEE.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on education systems, educational environments, teachers, and students. This study aims to assess the satisfaction with, adherence to, and perspectives toward COVID-19 preventive measures among public health students in Jazan, Saudi Arabia in order to enhance their campus experience. This study utilized a cross-sectional methodology. Data were collected using convenience sampling between 2C19 November 2020; this was accomplished using an online survey administered via Google Forms. The final sample consisted of 200 participants. More than half of the participants (55.0%) were dissatisfied with the preventive measures that had been applied on campus, while 19.0% had a neutral outlook. Interestingly, female participants showed a higher level of dissatisfaction toward the preventive measures (70.6%) than male participants (43.5%). The ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed a significant correlation between the degree of satisfaction with the COVID-19 preventive measures and the participants gender and education level. Male students were more likely to be satisfied with the preventive measures (p < 0.029, OR = 2.199) than female students. In addition, final year students were 4.1 times more likely to be satisfied with the COVID-19 preventive measures (p < 0.004, OR = 0.242) than Year 2 students, and 6.2 times more likely to be satisfied (p 0.001, OR = 0.162) than Year 3 students. Efforts are needed to improve the students satisfaction with COVID-19 preventive measures. Steps are also required to ensure that the procedures and actions introduced by the college extend to all students. In addition, further research is needed to recognize and understand the participants experiences after moving to the new buildings, receiving COVID-19 vaccines, and returning to on campus study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the conduct of clinic visits. We conducted a study to evaluate two academic laboratories' fingerstick capillary blood collection kits suitable for home use for laboratory measurement of HbA1c. Methods: Four clinical sites recruited 240 participants (aged 4-80 years, HbA1c 5.1%-13.5%). Capillary blood samples were obtained by the participant or parent using collection kits from two laboratories (University of Minnesota Advanced Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ARDL) and Children's Mercy Hospital Laboratory (CMH)) and mailed under varying shipping conditions by United States Postal Service to the laboratories. Comparisons were made between HbA1c measurements from capillary samples and contemporaneously obtained venous samples. The primary outcome was percentage of capillary HbA1c values within 5% of the corresponding venous values. Results: HbA1c values were within 5% of venous values for 96% of ARDL kit specimens shipped with a cold pack and 98% without a cold pack and 99% and 99%, respectively, for the CMH kits. R2 values were 0.98, 0.99, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively. Results appeared similar across HbA1c levels and for pediatric and adult participants. Usability survey scores were high. Conclusions: Capillary blood collection kits, suitable for home use, from two academic laboratories, were demonstrated to be easy to use and provided results that are comparable with those obtained from venous specimens. Based on these results, there is strong evidence that HbA1c measurements from capillary specimens obtained with these specific kits can be used interchangeably with HbA1c measurements from venous specimens for clinical research and clinical care.

For years, physicians have debated how best to care for children with differences in sex development (DSD, also termed intersex). Stories of suffering of adults who underwent early surgical intervention for DSD have led many health organizations to call for deferral of unnecessary procedures. While some have instituted full deferral of cosmetic procedures, standard of care remains an interdisciplinary team approach informed by parents' wishes. As the medical community hesitates to institute full deferral, citing absence of long-term data, legislation restricting early procedures is mounting. This article highlights recent data from the DSD-LIFE Study and considers whether and to what extent they support deferral.

This document from the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the European Society of Thoracic Imaging (ESTI) aims to present the main imaging features, and the role of CT scan in the early diagnosis of COVID-19, describing, in particular, the typical findings which make it possible to identify the disease and distinguish it from bacterial causes of infection, and to define which category of patients may benefit from CT imaging. The precautions that must be taken when performing scans to protect radiologists and technologists from infection will be described. The organisational measures that can be taken within radiology departments in order to cope with the influx of patients, while continuing to manage other emergency and time-sensitive activity (e.g. oncology, other infectious diseases etc.), will be discussed. KEY POINTS: a? Bilateral ground glass opacities are typical CT manifestations of COVID-19. a? Crazy paving and organising pneumonia pattern are seen at a later stage. a? Extensive consolidation is associated with a poor prognosis.

As of 21st May 2020, there have been 4.89M confirmed cases worldwide and over 323,000 deaths of people who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The outbreak of COVID-19, has not only caused widespread morbidity and mortality, but has also led to a catastrophic breakdown in the global economy and unprecedented social disruption. To lessen the global health consequences of COVID-19, sweeping COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine measures have been imposed within many nations. These measures have significantly impacted the world's economy and in many cases has led to the loss of livelihood. Mathematical modeling of pandemics is of critical importance to understand the unfolding of transmission events and to formulate control measures. In this research letter, we have introduced a novel approach to forecasting epidemics like COVID-19. The proposed mathematical model stems from the fundamental principles of fluid dynamics, and can be utilized to make projections of the number of infected people. This unique mathematical model can be beneficial for predicting and designing potential strategies to mitigate the spread and impact of pandemics.

COVID-19 is certainly the first sustainability crisis of the 21st century. The paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian stock and commodity markets during the different phases of lockdown. In addition, the effect of COVID-19 on the Indian stock and commodity markets during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 spread was compared. A comparative analysis of the stock market performances and sustainability of selected South Asian countries is also included in the study, which covers the lockdown period as well as the time frame of the first and second waves of COVID-19 spread. To examine the above relationship, the conventional Welch test, heteroskedastic independent t-test, and the GMM multivariate analysis is employed, on the stock return, gold prices, and oil prices. The findings conclude that during the different phases of lockdown in India, COVID-19 has a negative and significant impact on oil prices and stock market performance. However, in terms of gold prices, the effect is positive and significant. The results of the first wave of COVID-19 infection also corroborate with the above findings. However, the results are contradictory during the second wave of coronavirus infection. Furthermore, the study also substantiates that COVID-19 has significantly affected the stock market performances of selected South Asian countries. However, the impact on the stock market performances was only for a short period and it diminished in the second wave of COVID-19 spread in all the selected South Asian countries. The findings contribute to the research on the stock and commodity market impact of a pandemic by providing empirical evidence that COVID-19 has spill-over effects on stock markets and commodity market performances. This result also helps investors in assessing the trends of the stock and commodity markets during the pandemic outbreak.

Soybean, as a major oil crop, is one of the most widely planted crops in the world. Fusarium oxysporum causes soybean root rot, leading to great economic losses to soybean planting every year globally. Chemical fungicide for controlling soybean F. oxysporum diseases may cause environmental problems and have human health risks. Biological control methods avoid these shortcomings, however, few studies have focused on biocontrol of soybean diseases caused by F. oxysporum. Aiming at this problem, we obtained biocontrol bacteria against soybean F. oxysporum by plate confrontation method. The type of the strain with the highest biocontrol activity was identified by molecular biological methods, and then verified it biocontrol effects through greenhouse experiments. One of our isolated strain named BS06 strain had the highest activity, which was identified as Bacillus subtilis. Our study showed that BS06 strain could effectively control soybean F. oxysporum disease and significantly reduce F. oxysporum to infect soybean roots. Compared with control and carbendazim treatments, BS06 treatment had higher root biomass, plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, stem base diameter and control efficiency. Our results indicated that BS06 could effectively protect soybean root, that might BS06 strain produce substances to inhibit F. oxysporum, which was potentially useful for soybean planting.

We wake each morning to news on the glaring statistics of people infected by COVID-19 and others reportedly dying from complications thereto;the numbers are not receding in at least a number of countries across the world (barring a few that imposed strict lockdowns, testing and quarantining measures, such as Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam) It is hard to imagine a moment such as this that most of us have lived through in our life-time;but it is a reality and public challenge that we can neither ignore nor look away from In what follows I will explore perspectives on death from the Hindu tradition and the kinds of response-and solace or wisdom-afforded by the tradition to the angst and fears evoked by this pandemic situation In concluding the discussion, I shall offer tentative reflections on how the Hindu perspective may be universalized, such as might invite conversations with therapists and care workers who may be seeking alternative resources to help expand the therapeutic space in more beneficent ways during the Covid-19 pandemic and its after-effects