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This paper explores the neuropsychiatric consequences of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection, specifically the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy in treating central nervous system (CNS) symptoms associated with COVID-19. The authors searched PubMed and Google Scholar using the keywords "IVIG" and "covid-19 neuropsychiatric symptoms" to find five articles, including three case reports, a retrospective study, and a prospective study, that detail the experiences of individuals with persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms after contracting COVID-19. The neuropsychiatric symptoms reported in the analyzed studies include sleep disturbance, exhaustion, cognitive decline, anxiety, and others. Common treatments for post-COVID neuropsychiatric symptoms include medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, and lifestyle modifications. IVIG therapy to manage CNS symptoms of COVID-19 has shown mixed results in studies, with some showing positive effects while others remain inconclusive. Further research is needed to understand this therapy's potential benefits and limitations fully.

Introduction: Recent evidence has shown that oral antibiotic therapy is not inferior to IV antibiotic therapy in the treatment of complicated Staphylococcus aureus infections. Therefore, oral antibiotic therapy is now frequently prescribed in clinical practice due to cost benefit, ease of administration, decreased complication rate, and lack of need for IV access. In vitro susceptibility testing for β-lactam oral antibiotics is not routinely performed as the guidelines provided by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommend using oxacillin and cefoxitin as surrogate markers. Hence, oral antibiotic susceptibilities for cephalexin and dicloxacillin are not reported and implied based on oxacillin and cefoxitin. The objective of the current study was to determine whether susceptibilities among S. aureus isolates are predictable when comparing commonly used IV and oral beta-lactams. Methods: Cefazolin, cephalexin, dicloxacillin, and oxacillin broth microdilution minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for 100 clinical isolates of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus by broth microdilution following CLSI guidelines. Results: Among these isolates, median MICs for cephalexin were eight-fold higher than cefazolin MICs and median MICs for dicloxacillin were four-fold less than oxacillin MICs. Ten percent of more strains studied had a major or very major error in its susceptibility reporting when cephalexin was compared to its surrogate marker oxacillin. Discussions/Conclusions: The variations in MICs observed compounded with the dosing and pharmacokinetic differences of oral versus IV β-lactam suggests that establishing breakpoints for oral β-lactam antibiotics is necessary to ensure adequate therapy is selected for the treatment of complex S. aureus infections.

As of October 21, 2022, a total of 27,884 monkeypox cases (confirmed and probable) have been reported in the United States.

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are found in vineyards worldwide and can be caused by different fungal pathogens. To characterize types of GTDs in Oregon vineyards, and how the GTD pathogens’ prevalence is affected by two geographical regions, a survey was conducted in which grapevine trunk samples were collected from 15 and 14 wine grape (Vitis vinifera) vineyards in southern and northern Oregon, respectively. Fungal species were identified through culture and PCR-based methods. GTD pathogens that were identified included Botryosphaeriaceae spp. and Phaeoacremonium spp. from 72 and 21% of the surveyed vineyards, respectively; Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Cryptovalsa ampelina, Truncatella angustata, Seimatosporium lichenicola, Hormonema viticola from 7% of the surveyed vineyards; and Dactylonectria macrodidyma, and Pestaloptiopsis sp. from 3% of the surveyed vineyards. Pathogens were identified in both regions and in young and mature vineyards. The presence of GTD from the Botryosphaeria dieback complex was significantly affected by regions (P = 0.021), with pathogens being significantly more abundant in Willamette Valley (northern region) compared with Rogue Valley (southern region) vineyards. Some differences among other tested variables such as vineyard age, cultivars, rootstocks, and pruning methods were observed for all disease complexes; however, the differences were not statistically significant. Our study summarizes that Botryosphaeria dieback and Esca disease complexes are the most prevalent diseases infecting grapevines in Oregon vineyards and management practices need to be geared toward these economically important diseases. In addition, pathogens from other disease complexes are also present, suggesting a need for regular disease monitoring and following practices to limit the spread of these pathogens.

Asparaginase therapy is a vital agent in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), with increasing evidence of its high importance in high-risk ALL populations. However, despite the clear clinical and biological benefits of asparaginase therapy, many patients experience toxicities. A well-known treatment-limiting toxicity is asparaginase-associated pancreatitis (AAP). If severe, it necessitates discontinuation of asparaginase therapy, which can lead to a higher risk of relapse in patients with ALL. New protocols for ALL therapy have increased overall total doses of asparaginase therapy in select high-risk populations and have incorporated longer half-life formulations of pegylated asparaginase. Treatment drug monitoring has also allowed assurance of adequate levels of asparagine depletion throughout treatment. It is currently unknown if these changes will increase rates of AAP. Interestingly, important pharmacogenomics data, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, can identify patients at the highest risk for severe AAP. The incidence of AAP in recent trials, current pharmacogenomic data that could further our understanding of the disease, and the importance of cautiously re-exposing patients to further asparaginase treatment after an initial episode of AAP are discussed.

Background Alpha klotho (α-Klotho) is an anti-aging protein recognized as a humoral factor with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, showing a bidirectional relationship with inflammation, a main pathophysiologic factor in atherosclerosis. A decrease in Klotho has been associated to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but no previous studies have investigated the relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a risk factor for CVD, and Klotho levels. Therefore, we assessed if the serum levels of Klotho differ between patients with IBD and controls, and how this protein is related to the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the disease, subclinical atherosclerosis and metabolic risk factors. Methods Cross-sectional multicentric study that included 251 individuals: 191 IBD patients and 60 healthy controls was conducted. Serum Klotho levels were determined by commercial ELISA immunoassay (IBL International GmbH Laboratories). In the IBD patients disease activity was evaluated using CDAI for Crohn's disease, partial Mayo (pMayo) for ulcerative colitis, specific laboratory parameters, determination of the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE), and the presence of subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed using carotid ultrasound for identifying carotid plaque and measurement of carotid intima-media thickness. Results Serum Klotho levels were significantly higher in the IBD group: 734.31 pg/ml vs. 484.17 pg/ml (p Conclusion Patients with IBD had higher Klotho levels than healthy controls, with an inverse and significant relationship with the SCORE in the IBD patients. Further studies are necessary to clarify the role of Klotho in IBD.

Cancer immunotherapies are associated with remarkable therapeutic response rates but also with unique and severe toxicities, which potentially result in rapid deterioration in health. The number of clinical applications for novel immune effector-cell therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-expressing cells, and other immunotherapies, such as immune-checkpoint inhibitors, is increasing. In this Consensus Statement, members of the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI) Network Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Cancer Immunotherapy (HCT-CI) Subgroup, Paediatric Diseases Working Party (PDWP) of the European Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), Supportive Care Committee of the Pediatric Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Consortium (PTCTC) and MD Anderson Cancer Center CAR T Cell Therapy-Associated Toxicity (CARTOX) Program collaborated to provide updated comprehensive recommendations for the care of children, adolescents and young adults receiving cancer immunotherapies. With these recommendations, we address emerging toxicity mitigation strategies, we advocate for the characterization of baseline organ function according to age and discipline-specific criteria, we recommend early critical care assessment when indicated, with consideration of reversibility of underlying pathology (instead of organ failure scores) to guide critical care interventions, and we call for researchers, regulatory agencies and sponsors to support and facilitate early inclusion of young patients with cancer in well-designed clinical trials.

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe. Emerging evidence suggests that consumption of a well-balanced diet containing a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains can prevent the development of, halt, or reverse cancer progression.

Background LGBT patients may have unique psychosocial cancer care needs, and healthcare providers should have knowledge and understanding of these unique needs to effectively address disparities through the delivery of personalized healthcare. As such, our group developed and piloted a web-based LGBT cultural competency training designed specifically for oncologists called the Curriculum for Oncologists on LGBT populations to Optimize Relevance and Skills (COLORS). We designed a randomized pragmatic trial for oncologists to compare the effectiveness of the COLORS training versus a general online LGBT cultural competency training in improving LGBT-related knowledge, attitudes, and clinical practices. Methods/design Study procedures include an 8-step approach for recruitment, randomization, retention, and completion of the interventions. Oncologists of any subspecialty who are currently practicing physicians will be identified from the American Medical Association Masterfile. Approximately 5000 oncologists will be sent a FedEx envelope with an invitation letter and study timeline. Electronic consent is obtained using a secure REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) portal hosted at the Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, FL) where the oncologists will complete the eligibility questionnaire, pre-training assessments, and then will be randomized to complete the COLORS training or an online general healthcare training offered by the National LGBT Health Education Center. Effectiveness of both trainings will be assessed utilizing self-reported measures of LGBT-related knowledge, attitudes, and affirming clinical practices. The measures will be collected before and directly after training completion, as well as 3-month post-training completion. The primary outcomes are changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practice behaviors regarding LGBT cancer patients from pre-test to post-test training in the COLORS training vs. the comparison training. Discussion The overarching premise of this trial is to assess the effectiveness of the COLORS cultural competency training program. If successful, among oncologists who completed the COLORS training should yield statistically significantly improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and affirming practice.

This study examines the applicability of theoretically-relevant routine activity variables to understand the risk of sexual victimization among college students. Analyses assess if routine activity-related variables have similar explanatory power for rape and sexual assault. Indicators of “proximity to motivated offenders” and “exposure to crime” were associated with rape. Indicators related to “proximity to motivated offenders,” “exposure to crime,” and “target attractiveness” were associated with sexual assault. Indicators capturing “guardianship” were not associated with either rape or sexual assault. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed. Specifically, it is possible to theory-test using campus climate survey instruments.

Metalattices are artificial 3D solids, periodic on sub-100 nm length scales, that enable the functional properties of materials to be tuned. However, because of their complex structure, predicting and characterizing their properties is challenging. Here we demonstrate the first nondestructive measurements of the mechanical and structural properties of metalattices with feature sizes down to 14 nm. By monitoring the time-dependent diffraction of short wavelength light from laser-excited acoustic waves in the metalattices, we extract their acoustic dispersion, Young's modulus, filling fraction, and thicknesses. Our measurements are in excellent agreement with macroscopic predictions and potentially destructive techniques such as nanoindentation and scanning electron microscopy, with increased accuracy over larger areas. This is interesting because the transport properties of these metalattices do not obey bulk predictions. Finally, this approach is the only way to validate the filling fraction of metalattices over macroscopic areas. These combined capabilities can enable accurate synthesis of nanoenhanced materials.

Compared to bulk perovskites, charge transport in perovskite quantum dot (PQD) solids is limited. To address this issue, energetically aligned capping ligands were used to prepare methylammonium le...

Background Firefighters are at increased risk for select cancers. However, many studies are limited by relatively small samples, with virtually no data on the cancer experience of female firefighters. This study examines cancer risk in over 100,000 career Florida firefighters including 5000 + females assessed over a 34-year period. Methods Florida firefighter employment records (n = 109 009) were linked with Florida Cancer Data System registry data (1981-2014; ~3.3 million records), identifying 3760 male and 168 female-linked primary cancers. Gender-specific age and calendar year-adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals for firefighters vs non-firefighters were calculated. Results Male firefighters were at increased risk of melanoma (aOR = 1.56; 1.39-1.76), prostate (1.36; 1.27-1.46), testicular (1.66; 1.34-2.06), thyroid (2.17; 1.78-2.66) and late-stage colon cancer (1.19;1.00-1.41). Female firefighters showed significantly elevated risk of brain (2.54; 1.19-5.42) and thyroid (2.42; 1.56-3.74) cancers and an elevated risk of melanoma that approached statistical significance (1.68; 0.97-2.90). Among male firefighters there was additional evidence of increased cancer risk younger than the age of 50 vs 50 years and older for thyroid (2.55; 1.96-3.31 vs 1.69; 1.22-2.34), prostate (1.88; 1.49-2.36 vs 1.36; 1.26-1.47), testicular (1.60; 1.28-2.01 vs 1.47; 0.73-2.94), and melanoma (1.87; 1.55-2.26 vs 1.42; 1.22-1.66) cancers. Conclusion Male career firefighters in Florida are at increased risk for five cancers with typically stronger associations in those diagnosed younger than the age of 50, while there was evidence for increased thyroid and brain cancer, and possibly melanoma risk in female firefighters. Larger cohorts with adequate female representation, along with the collection of well-characterized exposure histories, are needed to more precisely examine cancer risk in this occupational group.

In this study, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was successfully coupled with TiO2 using hydrothermal method, to develop an advanced heterojunction photocatalyst. The interaction between g-C3N4 and TiO2 was confirmed through analysis of X-Ray spectroscopy (XPS) C 1s, N 1s, O 1s high resolution core level spectra of g-C3N4, TiO2 and g–C3N4–TiO2 heterojucntion. Further, through valence band spectra analysis, conduction band offset (0.12 eV) and valence band offset (0.28 eV) of g–C3N4–TiO2 heterojunction were estimated. Also, composite material was identified as type II heterojunction between g-C3N4 and TiO2. XRD, UV–vis, BET and HRTEM were employed to understand the changes in physicochemical properties. Photocatalytic hydrogen production rates were evaluated through water splitting experiments. Under visible light irradiation highest hydrogen production rate was achieved for g–C3N4–TiO2 heterojunction sample with high content of TiO2, and was about 1041 μmol/g.h. The improved photocatalytic activity of the heterojunction material was explained in detail.

Seasonal behaviour is an attribute of many viral diseases. Like other ‘winter’ RNA viruses, infections caused by the causative agent of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, appear to exhibit significant seasonal changes. Here we discuss the seasonal behaviour of COVID-19, emerging viral phenotypes, viral evolution, and how the mutational landscape of the virus affects the seasonal attributes of the disease. We propose that the multiple seasonal drivers behind infectious disease spread (and the spread of COVID-19 specifically) are in ‘trade-off’ relationships and can be better described within a framework of a ‘triangle of viral persistence’ modulated by the environment, physiology, and behaviour. This ‘trade-off’ exists as one trait cannot increase without a decrease in another. We also propose that molecular components of the virus can act as sensors of environment and physiology, and could represent molecular culprits of seasonality. We searched for flexible protein structures capable of being modulated by the environment and identified a galectin-like fold within the N-terminal domain of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as a potential candidate. Tracking the prevalence of mutations in this structure resulted in the identification of a hemisphere-dependent seasonal pattern driven by mutational bursts. We propose that the galectin-like structure is a frequent target of mutations because it helps the virus evade or modulate the physiological responses of the host to further its spread and survival. The flexible regions of the N-terminal domain should now become a focus for mitigation through vaccines and therapeutics and for prediction and informed public health decision making.

Capillary malformation-arteriovenous malformation (CM-AVM) is a blood vascular anomaly caused by inherited loss-of-function mutations in RASA1 or EPHB4 genes, which encode p120 Ras GTPase-activating protein (p120 RasGAP/RASA1) and Ephrin receptor B4 (EPHB4). However, whether RASA1 and EPHB4 function in the same molecular signaling pathway to regulate the blood vasculature is uncertain. Here, we show that induced endothelial cell-specific (EC-specific) disruption of Ephb4 in mice resulted in accumulation of collagen IV in the EC ER, leading to EC apoptotic death and defective developmental, neonatal, and pathological angiogenesis, as reported previously in induced EC-specific RASA1-deficient mice. Moreover, defects in angiogenic responses in EPHB4-deficient mice could be rescued by drugs that inhibit signaling through the Ras pathway and drugs that promote collagen IV export from the ER. However, EPHB4-mutant mice that expressed a form of EPHB4 that is unable to physically engage RASA1 but retains protein tyrosine kinase activity showed normal angiogenic responses. These findings provide strong evidence that RASA1 and EPHB4 function in the same signaling pathway to protect against the development of CM-AVM independent of physical interaction and have important implications for possible means of treatment of this disease.

Background Florida Firefighters experience a higher risk of thyroid cancer than non-firefighters. This study examines whether the histologic types and tumor stage of thyroid cancer is different among firefighters compared to other occupational groups. Methods Eligible cases were firefighters (n = 120) identified in a linkage of Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) registry records (1981–2014) and Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office employment and certification records, and non-firefighters classified into: blue-collar (n = 655), service (n = 834), white-collar (n = 4,893), and other (n = 1,789). Differences in thyroid histologic type (papillary, follicular, and rare/other less common forms of thyroid cancer), tumor stage, and age at diagnosis were evaluated using multinomial logistic regression models comparing blue-collar, service, white-collar, and other occupational groups with firefighters. Univariate odds ratios as well as odds ratios adjusted for age, gender, race, tumor stage, and year of diagnosis (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were reported. Results Service (aOR = 4.12; 95%CI: 1.25—13.65), white-collar (aOR = 3.51; 95%CI: 1.08—11.36), and blue-collar (aOR = 4.59; 95%CI: 1.40—15.07) workers had significantly higher odds of being diagnosed with rare histologic types of thyroid cancer vs papillary type compared to firefighters. Service (aOR = 0.42; 95%CI: 0.27—0.66), white-collar (aOR = 0.39; 95%CI: 0.26—0.59), blue-collar (aOR = 0.36; 95%CI: 0.23—0.56), and other (aOR = 0.34; 95%CI: 0.22—0.53) occupational groups have a significantly lower odds of being diagnosed with rare vs papillary type at a younger age (30—49 years) vs 50—69 years compared to firefighters. However, stage at diagnosis was not significantly different among occupational groups. Conclusion Firefighters diagnosed with thyroid cancer experience a higher odds of papillary compared to rare histologic types of thyroid cancer relative to other workers; there is no evidence of an increased odds of late-stage diagnosis in firefighters relative to other worker groups. Firefighters may benefit from routine screening and active surveillance of suspected thyroid tumors especially given the excellent treatment outcomes available for those diagnosed with early-stage papillary thyroid tumors.

The current study examined attentional bias toward threat in Hispanic college women exposed to lifetime sexual victimization in childhood, adulthood, and both childhood and adulthood. Response latencies and attention bias scores were compared between victimized and non-victimized individuals. Participants were 20 women exposed to adulthood sexual victimization (AS group), 15 exposed to childhood sexual victimization (CS group), 8 exposed to both childhood and adulthood sexual assault (revictimization: RV group), and 20 not endorsing sexual victimization (NS group). They were asked to complete the dot-probe task. The CS group and RV group were combined to create the CS-RV group. Among the AS and CS-RV groups, response latencies were faster when attention was engaged to threat than when attention was engaged to non-threat. The NS group did not demonstrate such differences. When response latencies were compared among the three groups, the CS-RV group had slower response latencies than the NS group. The CS-RV and AS groups revealed similarly significantly elevated bias scores toward threat words than the NS group. Hispanic college women exposed to lifetime sexual victimization display elevated levels of attention bias compared to non-victimized women. Further, the current findings align with an integrative cognitive model for explaining maladaptive informational processing in trauma victims.

Al2O3 layers with thicknesses in the 25–120 nm range were deposited by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition at 70 °C. Trimethylaluminum was used as organometallic precursor, O2 and H2O as oxidant agents and Ar as a purge gas. The deposition cycle consisted of 50 ms TMA pulse/10 s purge time/6 s of plasma oxidation at 200 W/10 s purge time. The optical constants and thicknesses of the grown layers were determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry, while the roughness was measured by atomic force microscopy, giving RMS values in the 0.29–0.32 nm range for films deposited under different conditions and having different thicknesses. High transmittance, ~90%, was measured by UV–Vis spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that, with both types of oxidants, the obtained films are close to stoichiometric composition and, with high purity, no carbon was detected. Electrical characterization showed good insulating properties of both types of films, though the H2O oxidant leads to better I-V characteristics.

A vacuum field effect transistor (VacFET) is proposed that consists of a modification of a conventional AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor to include a nanogap near the gate on either the source (cathode) or drain (anode) side of the device. The current flowing through the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) under the gate is obtained using a charge-control model, which is forced to be equal to the tunneling current across the nanogap. The latter is modeled using a modified version of Simmons tunneling theory of a metal–insulator–metal junction to include the effect of barrier lowering across the nanogap. When compared to other recently fabricated VacFETs, the proposed device has potential for much higher emission current densities and transconductance levels, of the order of several hundreds of mA/mm and tens of mS/mm, respectively. For similar material parameters and physical dimensions, the proposed VacFET has a turn-on voltage that depends on the location of the nanogap on either the source or drain side of the gate. It is shown that the current–voltage characteristics of VacFETs with a nanogap either on the drain or source side of the gate are highly sensitive to their physical parameters and biasing conditions, making them a very strong candidate for chemical or gas sensing applications. This is due to the sensitivity of the tunneling current to the effective barrier height and field enhancement factor of the nanogap.

Understanding nanoscale thermal transport is critical for nano-engineered devices such as quantum sensors, thermoelectrics, and nanoelectronics. However, despite overwhelming experimental evidence for nondiffusive heat dissipation from nanoscale heat sources, the underlying mechanisms are still not understood. In this work, we show that for nanoscale heat source spacings that are below the mean free path of the dominant phonons in a substrate, close packing of the heat sources increases in-plane scattering and enhances cross-plane thermal conduction. This leads to directional channeling of thermal transport—a novel phenomenon. By using advanced atomic-level simulations to accurately access the lattice temperature and the phonon scattering and transport properties, we finally explain the counterintuitive experimental observations of enhanced cooling for close-packed heat sources. This represents a distinct fundamental behavior in materials science with far-reaching implications for electronics and future quantum devices.