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This case report presents in-vivo findings on the spatial and temporal relationship between focal Ab-amyloid deposition, cerebral micro-haemorrhages and superficial siderosis. A 65-year-old woman underwent 11C-PiB PET scans that revealed an atypical focal and asymmetrical pattern of Ab-amyloid deposition and MRI scans that revealed cerebral micro-haemorrhages and superficial siderosis. Almost all micro-haemorrhages were associated with focal Ab-amyloid deposition. Follow-up 11C-PiB PET and MRI scans showed progression of the disease. We speculate that Abamyloid deposition affects the structural integrity of arterioles, thereby predisposing them to micro haemorrhages. In support of this hypothesis, progression of MRI lesions was observed only in areas associated with Ab-amyloid deposition.

This non-systematic review outlines the current knowledge concerning provenance, chemical composition and properties of apple cider vinegar, its general health effects, as well as the currently available knowledge concerning its action on fat storage, physiological mechanisms of its effects, as well as its safety and recommended dosage for treatment of obesity. 

The paper analyses performance boundaries of systems converting the heat energy into the mechanical or separation work. Authors approach this problem from the view-point of the finite-time thermodynamics. Using thermodynamic balance equations, authors provide the algorithm for calculation of realizability domain for such systems. The paper shows that the performance of these systems is the upper bounded function of the heat flux, assuming that heat and mass transfer coefficients are given. Authors present sufficient conditions under which the efficiency (specific heat flux per unit of the useful flux) of the system does not depend on kinetic coefficients when operating in the maximum performance mode. The paper shows how to use these conditions to optimally choose the separation order for multicomponent distillation.

Background: The majority of aggregate econometric studies indicate that higher taxes and real prices on alcohol significantly reduce the alcohol consumption. Objectives: To estimate the effects of recent alcohol taxation and pricing policies on vodka sales per capita in Russia. Methods: Trends in the affordability of vodka, excise tax rates on vodka, real and minimum price of vodka and per capita vodka sales between 2010 and 2015, were compared. Results: A Pearson’s correlation analysis suggests a positive and statistically significant association between the affordability of vodka and per capita vodka sales. The association between vodka sales and excise tax rates on vodka, the real price of vodka and minimum price of vodka was negative. Conclusions: These findings indicate that pricing policy has potential to reduce binge drinking of vodka in Russia.

Since the discovery of glare illuminators, considerable efforts have been devoted to achieving a breakthrough of high light intensity on the order of magnitude. In this paper, we prepared strong flash blinding agents for the first time by using aluminum powder, oxidant, and adhesive as the main materials, and tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Al2Q3), triazoindolizine, or nano zinc oxide, etc. as electronic output brightener after mixing and granulation according to the developed formulation. It was discovered that the luminescence intensity was related to the thermal effect of the substance while the brightener only served as an auxiliary brightening effect to achieve energy non-destructive conversion. With the same formula, the luminescence intensities of glaze agents with ADN and potassium perchlorate as oxidants were slightly higher than that of ammonium perchlorate oxidant; the brightening effect of nano-zinc oxide was slightly higher than those of tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Al2Q3) and triazoindolizine. The luminescence intensity of the substance with a high thermal effect value was high, but the luminescence time was slightly short. Under identical conditions, the luminescence effect of nano-aluminum powder was obviously better than that of micro-aluminum powder with the highest luminescence intensity of 3.9 × 1010 ~ 1.9 × 1011 cd and the luminescence time of 39 - 48 ms. The effects of shell material and structure and the effect of heat-induced mode on the luminescence intensity were also investigated. The luminescence intensity of the glare agent with a high shell strength was high, but the luminescence time was slightly short. Moreover, the energy level of the brightener is excited under the induction of high temperatures, which leads to a blue shift to promote the chemical reaction of the material in a favorable direction. Finally, the optical radiation of the thermally induced high-temperature combustion system was analyzed from the aspects of thermal effect, combustion temperature, and chemiluminescence effect. A way to improve the optical radiation intensity of a high-temperature combustion system was proposed.

Carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emitted in the atmosphere by an individual or by an organization causing global warming. There are various causes of greenhouse gas emissions and anaesthetic gases are one amongst them. Greenhouse gases warm the earth by absorbing infrared energy and slowing the rate at which the energy escapes into space. Each greenhouse gas has two important properties. One is the amount of infrared energy that a gas can absorb and the other is the lifetime of that gas in the atmosphere. Anaesthesia as a speciality contributes to carbon footprinting in three ways: direct emission, energy use, and operating room wastes and supplies. Direct emission of Waste Anaesthetic Gases (WAG) from anaesthesia workstations can either be scavenged and thrown out into the environment causing a green greenhouse gas effect or can pollute the operating room due to poor scavenging. Various techniques such as reducing direct emissions, energy use optimisation, and waste management have been tried in minimising carbon footprint in anaesthesia practice but providing safety to the patient is considered of utmost importance.

Long COVID can be defined as a set of symptoms appearing more than 28 days after a documented acute COVID-19. Among them, extreme fatigue and troubles of moods are the most common. To verify that acupuncture can efficiently alleviate long COVID, a chronic disease partly escaping to other treatments, especially fatigue and troubles of mood. To collect data pertaining to the patients included in the study as described in the STROBE guideline. To diagnose the clinical conditions of the patients using the Nan jing in order to choose the meridian and the points to be toned or dispersed depending on the observation of tongue and pulse. Acupuncture can greatly improve the troubles of patients suffering from long COVID after a reduced number of sessions (1 to 4).

Japan enjoys the longest expectation of life at birth among major developed countries, and one possible reason for this is that obesity is rare in Japan. Further, COVID-19 death rate is extremely low in South Korea and Japan compared to the other developed countries, and low obesity rate may be related to this phenomenon.

Introduction: the perennial pandemic: There are serious challenges posed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 as the disease. With the persistence of the pandemic over one and half year, it is being feared that the COVID-19 may have become the new reality associated with human existence world over and the mankind may have to live with it for years or even decades. Further, the grievous nature of the disease is evolving further with genomic changes in the virus in form of mutations and evolution of variants, with enhanced infectivity and probably virulence. Acute and chronic phases of COVID-19: Epidemiologically, it is becoming clear that apart from the advanced age and pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal diseases, certain constituent factors render some patients more vulnerable to more severe forms of the disease. These factors influence the COVID-19 manifestations, its course, and later the convalescence period as well as the newly defined ‘Long COVID phase. The substantial continuing morbidity after resolution of the infection indicates persisting multisystem effects of ‘Long Covid’. Lung damage associated with COVID-19: COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory disease presenting with a broad spectrum of respiratory tract involvement ranging from mild upper airway affliction to progressive life-threatening viral pneumonia and respiratory failure. It affects the respiratory system in various ways across the spectrum of disease severity, depending on age, immune status, and comorbidities. The symptoms may be mild, such as cough, shortness of breath and fevers, to severe and critical disease, including respiratory failure, shock, cytokine crisis, and multi-organ failure. Implications for the post-COVID care: Depending on the severity of respiratory inflammation and damage, as well as associated comorbidities, duration of injury and genetics, the progressive fibrosis leads to constriction and compression of lung tissues and damage to pulmonary microvasculature. Consequently, the COVID-19 patients with moderate/severe symptoms are likely to have a significant degree of long-term reduction in lung function. Depending on the severity of the disease, extensive and long-lasting damage to the lungs can occur, which may persist after resolution of the infection. Managing the long COVID’s challenges: Given global scale of the pandemic, the healthcare needs for patients with sequelae of COVID-19, especially in those with lung affliction are bound to increase in the near future. The challenge can be tackled by harnessing the existing healthcare infrastructure, development of scalable healthcare models and integration across various disciplines with a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological modalities. Following clinical and investigational assessment, the therapeutic strategy should depend on the disease manifestations, extent of damage in lungs and other organs, and associated complications.

Levosimendan is a calcium sensitizer and its inotropic effect is mainly attributed to the troponin C of the myocardial fine filaments with calcium. Levosimendan also inhibits phosphodiesterase III. In contrast to inotropic effects, this does not increase calcium entry into the cell, which explains that levosimendan does not worsen myocardial diastolic dysfunction and may even improve diastolic function. Levosimendan does not increase the use of myocardial oxygen and increases coronary vasodilation and myocardial oxygen delivery. Levosimendan opens potassium channels and causes hyperpolarization in smooth muscle cell membrane, thus causing vasodilatation [1]. Levosimendan has also been reported to have antiinflammatory [2,3] and antiapoptotic effects [2].