How Can We Improve the Vaccination Response in Older People? Part II: Targeting Immunosenescence of Adaptive Immunity Cells

The number of people that are 65 years old or older has been increasing due to the improvement in medicine and public health. However, this trend is not accompanied by an increase in quality of life, and this population is vulnerable to most illnesses, especially to infectious diseases. Vaccination is the best strategy to prevent this fact, but older people present a less efficient response, as their immune system is weaker due mainly to a phenomenon known as immunosenescence. The adaptive immune system is constituted by two types of lymphocytes, T and B cells, and the function and fitness of these cell populations are affected during ageing. Here, we review the impact of ageing on T and B cells and discuss the approaches that have been described or proposed to modulate and reverse the decline of the ageing adaptive immune system.     

Could Lower Testosterone in Older Men Explain Higher COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortalities?

The health scourge imposed on humanity by the COVID-19 pandemic seems not to recede. This fact warrants refined and novel ideas analyzing different aspects of the illness. One such aspect is related to the observation that most COVID-19 casualties were older males, a tendency also noticed in the epidemics of SARS-CoV in 2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2012. This gender-related difference in the COVID-19 death toll might be directly involved with testosterone (TEST) and its plasmatic concentration in men. TEST has been demonstrated to provide men with anti-inflammatory and immunological advantages. As the plasmatic concentration of this androgen decreases with age, the health benefit it confers also diminishes. Low plasmatic levels of TEST can be determinant in the infection’s outcome and might be related to a dysfunctional cell Ca²⁺ homeostasis. Not only does TEST modulate the activity of diverse proteins that regulate cellular calcium concentrations, but these proteins have also been proven to be necessary for the replication of many viruses. Therefore, we discuss herein how TEST regulates different Ca²⁺-handling proteins in healthy tissues and propose how low TEST concentrations might facilitate the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the lack of modulation of the mechanisms that regulate intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations.     

天然气管道泄漏速率的确定

天然气泄漏速率是模拟评价天然气管线泄漏事故过程中的重要因素之一,对其研究将有利于提高模拟评价结果的正确性。应用热力学和气体动力学理论,结合理想气体状态方程、绝热方程和能量守恒方程,研究分析了天然气管道的泄漏过程,分别给出了在临界泄漏阶段以及亚临界泄漏阶段的泄漏速率计算公式,为天然气管输安全工程的相关计算提供了可靠的理论依据。     

管道泄漏检测系统中次声波信号传播规律研究

由于输油输气管道的运行环境不同、输送介质不同,从而造成了每条管道的声波信号完全不同,管道泄漏声发射信号既携带系统结构中的某些特征信息(泄漏孔大小和位置等),同时又有很大的随机性和不确定性。次声波泄漏检测技术是对管壁状况检测的声发射检测方法和基于现代信号处理的检漏方法二者结合,从而进行管道泄漏检测和泄漏点的定位。文章中把次声波传感器接受泄漏次声信号的过程比拟为"听"的动作,来研究在油气管道泄漏检测系统中次声波信号传播的规律。     

非金属平垫片密封连接的泄漏率预测

In this work, a model of gas leakage through nonmetallic gaskets was developed in order to predict leakage rate of gasket sealing connections. The model was verified by the leakage experiments on two types of gaskets： compressed non-asbestos fiber gasket and flexible graphite gasket reinforced with tanged metal sheet. The coefficients in the leakage rate formula were obtained by regression of experimental data for each type of gasket, The model was also validated against the experimental leakage data by other researchers and shown to produce accurate predications. Furthermore, the model was applied to a bolted flanged connection in service in order to assess the tightness of the connection.