Day: October 5, 2021

Categories : COVIDTags :

New Mask Recycling Technology Could Cut Down on Waste

On By ModernMedia
Phot by Artem Podrez on Unsplash

Researchers have developed a way to quickly disinfect and electrostatically recharge used N95 respirators, restoring their effectiveness against COVID and other airborne diseases.

In their study published in Environment Science & Technology, the University of South Florida (USF) team showed their sterilisation technology could restore an N95 respirator’s original filtration efficiency of about 95 percent, even after 15 cycles of treatment. The technology fights coronavirus by using corona discharge, an electrical technique which simultaneously deactivating pathogens on a mask and restoring its electrostatic charges. It doesn’t require heat, or chemicals or contact, making it safe and convenient to use. It is safer than ultraviolet (UV) radiation and uses little electricity.

As well as restoring protection, the corona discharge treatment can reduce the impact of used masks on the environment. In a report by OceansAsia, a marine conservation organisation, 1.56 billion face masks polluted the oceans in 2020 and will likely take more than 450 years to fully decompose. The researchers say the technology will limit mask consumption to dozens each year instead of hundreds.

“It is a reduction of 90 percent for each user. If we assume that 10 percent of the population all over the world takes advantage of corona discharge mask reuse technology, there will be four- five billion fewer masks disposed to the environment,” said project lead Ying Zhong, assistant professor in the USF Department of Mechanical Engineering. “It will reduce at least 24 million tons of plastic pollution and reduce the amount of chemicals used for mask disinfection and avoid their environmental impact.”

“Despite the challenging conditions of the pandemic, this was the most thrilling project that I have ever worked on. We wish our research advances the understanding of how corona discharge disinfection can be turned into products on the market as soon as possible,” said co-project lead Libin Ye, assistant professor in the USF Department of Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Microbiology.

The researchers are now working to develop this technology into products for hospitals and use by the general public, including handheld sterilisation devices.

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Cardiovascular DiseaseTags :

An Extra Drug or More of the Same for Uncontrolled Hypertension?

On By ModernMedia
Source: Unsplash

A new study may help people with uncontrolled hypertension and their doctors decide whether to increase the dose of one of their existing drugs, or add a new one, to bring down their blood pressure.

Reviewing data from veterans over age 65 receiving treatment over two years, researchers found that patients have a better chance of adhering to their medication regimen if their doctor maximises the dosage of one of the drugs they’re already taking. While both strategies decrease blood pressure, they found adding a new medication has a very slim advantage over increasing the dose of an existing medication, despite some of the patients being unable to stay on the new medication.

In the end, the researchers say, the new findings could add to discussions between physicians and patients whose blood pressure remains elevated despite starting medication treatment.

The findings, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, focus on patients whose initial systolic blood pressure was above 130mmHg.

By looking back at VA and Medicare data, the researchers were able to see patterns in treatment and blood pressure readings over time, in a kind of natural experiment. All the patients were taking at least one blood pressure medication at less than the maximum dose and had a treatment intensification at the start of the study period, indicating that their physicians thought they needed more intense treatment.

Intensifying treatment must be carefully considered, as there are many concerns — whether a drug interaction if a new drug is added, or an electrolyte imbalance with high doses, or fainting and falling if a person’s pressure gets too low .

This is the first time the two approaches have been compared, said first author Dr Carole E. Aubert.

“There’s increasing guidance on approaches to starting treatment in older adults, but less on to the next steps to intensify treatment, especially in an older and medically complex population that isn’t usually included in clinical trials of blood pressure medication,” she said. “How can we increase medications safely in a population already taking many medications for hypertension and other conditions.”

“Treatment guidelines do suggest starting treatment with multiple medications, and clinicians are comfortable with an approach of ‘starting low and going slow’ in older patients,” said senior author Dr Lillian Min. “But these results show that in older patients, we have further opportunity to tailor choices in intensifying drug therapy for hypertension, depending on the individual patient’s characteristics.”

She continued, “Is the patient more likely to stick to a simpler regimen? Then increase an existing medication. Or is the blood pressure very high and the clinician is more concerned about reducing it? Then consider starting a new medication now.”

For older adults already on various medications, overcomplicating it with another pill may be excessive. The risks of polypharmacy are already well known, Dr Min said.

Source: University of Michigan

Categories : NeurologyTags :

A Distinct Neural Signature for Teams ‘in the Zone’

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Lagos Techie on Unsplash

Researchers have discovered that there are brain waves and regions sensitive to team flow (ie, being ‘in the zone’ together) compared to non-engaging teamwork or a solo flow.

Flow experiences are considered to be some of the most enjoyable, rewarding, and engaging experiences of all, and typically involve automatic and effortless action coupled with intense focus. The benefits of having flow experiences are still being catalogued, but include improved overall quality of life, increased self-efficacy, and a stronger sense of self.

This is the first study to objectively measure this psychological state. These neural correlates not only can be used to understand and predict the team flow experience, but could be used to monitor and predict team performance. This is an area the authors are currently investigating/
Team flow is experienced when team players get ‘in the zone’ to accomplish a task together. Successful teams experience this psychological phenomenon, ranging from sports to bands and even in the office. When teamwork reaches the team flow level, one can observe the team perform in harmony, breaking their performance limits.

In order to investigate neural processing of this team flow state, something which has been a challenge for decades, it has to be reproduced in the lab and measured.

Researchers at at Toyohashi University of Technology and California Institute of Technology found solutions to these challenges and provided the first neuroscience evidence of team flow. Using 10 teams of two playing a music video game together, the researchers measured the team members’ brain activity using EEG. In some trials, a partition separated the teammates so they couldn’t see each other while they played, allowing a solo flow state but preventing team flow.

The research team scrambled the music in other trials, thereby preventing a flow state but still enabling teamwork. Participants also answered questions after each game to assess their level of flow. The researchers also developed an objective neural method to evaluate the depth of the team flow experience. Team flow was marked by a unique signature: increased beta and gamma brain waves in the middle temporal cortex, a type of brain activity linked to information processing. In comparison to the regular teamwork state, teammates also had more synchronised brain activity during the team flow state.

Neural models from this study can inform more effective team-building strategies in areas where human performance and pleasure matters, such as sports, business and music. This will also enable improved team performance.

Enhancing performance while maintaining enjoyment will improve quality of life, which could result in reduced mental health problems.

Source: Medical Xpress

Categories : Diseases, Syndromes and ConditionsTags :

New Infectious Tick-borne Virus Emerges in Japan

On By ModernMedia
Source: NCI on Unsplash

A previously unknown virus that can infect humans and cause disease has been identified by scientists in Japan. The novel infectious virus, named Yezo virus and transmitted by tick bites, causes a disease characterised by fever and a drop in blood platelets and leucocytes. The discovery was reported in Nature Communications.

Keita Matsuno, a virologist at Hokkaido University’s International Institute for Zoonosis Control, said: “At least seven people have been infected with this new virus in Japan since 2014, but, so far, no deaths have been confirmed.”

The Yezo virus was discovered in 2019 after a 41-year-old man was hospitalised with fever and leg pain after a possible tick bite while walking in a local forest. He was treated and discharged after two weeks, but tests showed he had not been infected with any known viruses carried by ticks in the region. A second patient showed up with similar symptoms after a tick bite the following year.

Genetic analysis of viruses isolated from blood samples of the two patients found a new type of orthonairovirus, a class of nairoviruses. This class includes pathogens such as the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus. The scientists named it Yezo virus, after an old name for Hokkaido, the northern Japanese island where the pathogen was discovered. The new virus was found to be closely related to Sulina virus and Tamdy virus, detected in Romania and Uzbekistan, respectively, and recently Tamdy virus reportedly caused acute fever in humans in China.

The researchers then analysed blood samples taken from hospital patients who showed similar symptoms after tick bites since 2014, finding additional positive samples from five patients. These patients, including the first two, had a fever and reduced blood platelets and leucocytes, and showed indicators of abnormal liver function.

To determine the likely source of the virus, the research team screened samples collected from wild animals in the area between 2010 and 2020. They found antibodies for the virus in deer and raccoons and the virus RNA was also found in three major species of ticks in Hokkaido. Matsuno noted that, “The Yezo virus seems to have established its distribution in Hokkaido, and it is highly likely that the virus causes the illness when it is transmitted to humans from animals via ticks.”

As the COVID pandemic has shown, many unknown viruses are present in animal and some can jump to humans. “All of the cases of Yezo virus infection we know of so far did not turn into fatalities, but it’s very likely that the disease is found beyond Hokkaido, so we need to urgently investigate its spread,” said Matsuno.

The research team now plans to determine the distribution of the virus nationwide.

Source: Hokkaido University

Categories : GastrointestinalTags :

1 in 10 Suffer Abdominal Pain After Meals

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Vanessa Loring from Pexels

Around 11% of the global population frequently experience abdominal pain when they eat meals, according to a large online survey.

The research, presented at UEG Week Virtual 2021, found that was pain associated with eating is most common in those aged 18 to 28, with 15% of that age group affected. A gender split was seen, with 13% of women and 9% of men reporting eating-linked pain.

People experiencing frequent abdominal meal-related pain were also more likely to experience bloating, feeling full too soon, constipation and diarrhoea. The same group also had more severe psychological distress and non-gastrointestinal somatic symptoms.

A total of 36% of the people with frequent (>50% of the time) meal-related pain reported suffered from anxiety compared with 25% in the occasional (10-40% of the time) symptoms group and 18 % in those who never experienced meal-related pain. Those with frequent attacks also reported higher rates of depression (35%) compared to 24% in the occasional  symptom group and 17% in the group that never had meal-related pain.
The findings came from an online survey of 54 127 people across 26 countries.
Esther Colomier, study author and a joint PhD researcher at KU Leuven, Belgium, and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, explained, “The take home message from this study is that people who experience meal-related abdominal pain more frequently experience other gastrointestinal symptoms and more regularly fulfil criteria for disorders of the gut brain interactions (DGBIs, formerly known as functional gut disorders), including common conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), bloating and abdominal distension.”

“They also have a higher burden of psychological and somatic symptoms, such as back pain or shortness of breath, which are associated with major distress and functioning problems. These symptoms cause distress and disruption in daily life”, she added.

Lower gastrointestinal symptoms such as constipation and diarrhoea were experienced in 30% of those who reported frequent meal-related pain, versus 20% in the group who reported occasional symptoms and 10 % in the no symptoms at all group. The same applied for bloating and abdominal distension symptoms, which were reported as often as once a week in the group who experienced frequent meal pain, compared to two or three days a month in the group with occasional pain and one day a month in the group who experienced no symptoms.

Esther Colomier concluded, “Considering meal-related symptoms in future diagnostic criteria for DGBIs should be encouraged. In clinical practice, assessing meal association in all patients with DGBIs could be of major importance for improving and individualising treatment. Here, patients could benefit from a multidisciplinary care approach, including dietary and lifestyle advice, psychological support and pharmacological therapy.

Source: EurekAlert!

Categories : Implants and Prostheses Mental HealthTags :

A Novel Brain Implant Relieves Treatment-resistant Depression

On By ModernMedia
Image by Falkurian Design on Unsplash

A proof-of-principle trial has shown that an electrical implant wired into the brain can detect and treat depression, thanks to positive results for the first patient to be fitted with the device.

The patient, Sarah (36), says the matchbox-sized implant in her skull has turned her life around since it was fitted a year ago. Her depression persisted despite anti-depressants and electroconvulsive therapy.

Sarah said that “any kind of relief” was better than her suffering. “My daily life had become so restricted. I felt tortured each day. I barely moved or did anything.”

The device, including its battery, was inserted into her skull beneath the scalp and holes were drilled for wires into her brain.

 Recalling how the implant changed her life, she said: “When the implant was first turned on, my life took an immediate upward turn. My life was pleasant again.

“Within a few weeks, the suicidal thoughts disappeared. When I was in the depths of depression all I saw is what was ugly.”

After 15 months, she has so far experienced no side effects from the device.

“In the early few months, the lessening of the depression was so abrupt, and I wasn’t sure if it would last,” she said. “But it has lasted. And I’ve come to realise that the device really augments the therapy and self-care I’ve learned while being a patient here at UCSF.”

The treatment however has to be personalised to the individual and their unique brain circuitry. Researcher Dr Katherine Scangos, a psychiatrist at University of California, San Francisco, said locating the ‘depression circuits’ in Sarah’s brain was what made the innovation possible.
“We found one location, which is an area called the ventral striatum, where stimulation consistently eliminated her feelings of depression.

“And we also found a brain activity area in the amygdala that could predict when her symptoms were most severe.”

Dr Scangos, who has enrolled two other patients in the trial and hopes to recruit nine more, said they need to repeat the work, looking for any changes in biomarkers or brain circuits. 
She said, “We didn’t know if we were going to be able to treat her depression at all because it was so severe. So in that sense we are really excited about this. It’s so needed in the field right now.”

However, the researchers stress that much more research is needed to see if this novel treatment is effective in other patients, and if it can be applied to other disorders.

The study is reported in Nature Medicine.

Source: BBC News