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.     

Physicochemical Properties of Casein‐Starch Interaction Obtained by Extrusion Process

Extruded samples of starch‐casein blends were processed by using a single‐screw extruder. The independent variables in the process were temperature (126–194°C), moisture content (18–29%) and starch‐casein blend (5–95%). These independent variables affected significantly the physicochemical and textural properties of the biopolymers. The highest values for expansion (EXP) and water absorption index (WAI) were found when a higher starch proportion was present in the blends, at 126°C barrel temperature and moisture content higher than 25%. By increasing the barrel temperature, from 126°C to 194°C, the water solubility index (WSI) and color parameter were increased. Initial viscosity (IV) and viscosity at 90°C (V90) were mainly affected by the barrel temperature at 194°C. However, the viscosity at 50°C (V50) was affected neither by the different extrusion variables nor by the biopolymer proportion in the blends. Compression force (CF) was strongly dependent on moisture content and casein proportion in the blend. The higher CF values were found at starch concentrations around 50% and 25% moisture content, for higher or lower values than these the obtained extruded products were softer and consequently had lower CF values.     

New insights into the hardening and pitting corrosion mechanisms of thermally aged duplex stainless steel at 475℃:A comparative study between 2205 and 2101 steels

In this study,the relationship between spinodal decomposition and the formation of Ni-rich clusters and G-phase in the ferrite on hardening and pitting corrosio...     

Divergent Detonation Wave Processes in PBX Based on RDX

In order to characterize the initial phase of the divergent detonation wave in PBX, a hemispheric explosive sample was initiated by a long cylindrical charge of the same explosive. The tested PBX is composed of 85 wt% of RDX and 15 wt% of binder based on HTPB. This PBX‐RDX presents an effective density of 1.57 g/cm³, and a detonation velocity of 7.90 mm/μs.     

Localization and map building using laser range sensors in outdoor applications

This paper presents the design of a high accuracy outdoor navigation system based on standard dead reckoning sensors and laser range and bearing information. The data validation problem is addressed using laser intensity information. The beacon design aspect and location of landmarks are also discussed in relation to desired accuracy and required area of operation. The results are important for simultaneous localization and map building applications (SLAM), since the feature extraction and validation are resolved at the sensor level using laser intensity. This facilitates the use of additional natural landmarks to improve the accuracy of the localization algorithm. The modelling aspects to implement SLAM with beacons and natural features are also presented. These results are of fundamental importance because the implementation of the algorithm does not require the surveying of beacons. Furthermore we demonstrate that by using natural landmarks accurate localization can be achieved by only requiring the initial estimate of the position of the vehicle. The algorithms are validated in outdoor environments using a standard utility car retrofitted with the navigation sensors and a 1 cm precision Kinematic GPS used as ground truth. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Proteomic Characterization of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors and Undiluted Autologous Serum

Over the last three decades, there has been special interest in developing drugs that mimic the characteristics of natural tears for use it in the treatment of several ocular surface disorders. Interestingly, the composition of blood plasma is very similar to tears. Therefore, different blood-derived products like autologous serum (AS) and plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) have been developed for the treatment of diverse ocular pathologies. However, scarce studies have been carried out to analyze the differences between both types of blood-derived products. In the present study, blood from three healthy donors was drawn and processed to obtain AS and PRGF eye drops. Then, human corneal stromal keratocytes (HK) were treated with PRGF or undiluted AS. Proteomic analysis was carried out to analyze and characterize the differential protein profiles between PRGF and AS, and the differentially expressed proteins in HK cells after PRGF and AS treatment. The results obtained in the present study show that undiluted AS induces the activation of different pathways related to an inflammatory, angiogenic, oxidative stress and scarring response in HK cells regarding PRGF. These results suggest that PRGF could be a better alternative than AS for the treatment of ocular surface disorders.     

Modification of polypropylene with maleic anhydride: Ultrasonic irradiation effects

The mechanochemical reaction of modificated of polypropylene (PP) with maleic anhydride (MAH) has been studied by ultrasonic irradiation as an energy source at 60°C. Through 2³ factorial experimental design, three variables and their interactions were studied: the percentage of MAH, the percentage of benzoyl peroxide (BPO), and ultrasonic irradiation intensity (Watts). According to the results, an increase of wt % of MAH gave a negative effect in the grafting yield; in addition, this negative effect was observed in the interaction of MAH : BPO at a high range of wt %, this behavior is attributed to the homopolymerization of MAH at the experimental conditions employed. The higher positive effect onto the grafting yield was observed for the variable watts (ultrasonic irradiation intensity), even at low intensity. The better interaction of variables gave a MAH grafting degree of 4.65 wt % (93% yield). In addition, the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on the number-average molar mass (M_n), weight-average molar mass (M_w), and polydispersity index (M_w/M_n) was measured. It was observed that the M_w decreased 13.73% and the M_w/M_n also decreased by 11.98%. The o observed effect was attributed to the degradation mechanism induced by the ultrasound, which consists in the generation of macroradicals and their recombination. The product PP-g-MAH was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, also was used to prepare polypropylene–nylon-6 blends. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68:45–52, 1998     

The effect of light and temperature on glucosinolate concentration in the leaves and roots of cabbage seedlings

In previous studies it was shown that the concentration of total and individual glucosinolates in brassicaceous plants can vary significantly over a 24-h period grown either in the field or under controlled conditions. The present study shows total and individual glucosinolate variation during a single day. Seedlings of cabbage grown under controlled conditions and at 14 and 15 days after emergence were moved to 20°C (Exp A) and 30°C (Exp B), with a constant photosynthetic photon flux density of 480 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 75% relative humidity, over a 2-day period, during which time aerial parts and roots were sampled at regular intervals. Whilst the glucosinolate patterns of the aerial part of the plant and of the roots remained the same, the levels of major glucosinolates in the aerial part, averaged over all sampling times and 2 days, were 233 ± 60 μmol 100 g⁻¹ DW for 3-methylsulphinylpropyl and 72 ± 22 for 2-propenyl; in the roots, 2-phenylethyl and 1-methoxyindol-3-ylmethyl showed the highest average concentrations, with 678 ± 355 μmol 100 g⁻¹ DW and 411 ± 122, respectively. Total and individual glucosinolate levels showed very high significant differences between the two plant parts. Despite the constant temperature, light and relative humidity, glucosinolates varied within a 24-h period, showing ultradian rhythms that are common to several metabolic processes in plants. The results confirm previous observations that at a temperature of 20°C, close to the optimum for growth and development, the diurnal variation in glucosinolate concentration, was smaller than at 30°C. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mechanisms of Solid–Gas Reactions: Reduction of Air Pollutants on Carbons

Topics in Catalysis - Ozone is a strong oxidizer and sulfur dioxide is a precursor to acid rain, both are air pollutants that can damage the respiratory tissues of animals and plants making them...     

Effect of catalyst activity in SMR-SERP for hydrogen production: Commercial vs. large-pore catalyst

In this work, we have evaluated the performance of an SMR-SERP unit (steam methane reforming sorption enhanced reaction process), using two different Ni/Al₂O₃ catalysts: commercial “Octolyst 2001” from Degussa and a large-pore catalyst (Catalyst A). The selective CO₂ sorbent was a potassium modified hydrotalcites. Several experiments were performed under different operating conditions to validate a mathematical model.Experimental results show that the Degussa catalyst is more active and more selective to CO₂ producing hydrogen with higher purity and less CO than the large-pore catalyst. Cyclic SMR-SERP experiments were also performed. The cycles comprise four different steps: reaction, depressurization, reactive regeneration and pressurization. In the cyclic experiments, conversion was 43% higher than in an SMR reactor, while H₂ purity was 75%, which is 25% higher than in normal SMR operation. Results indicate that more active catalysts also promote a better reactive regeneration optimizing the use of part of the product (H₂). The proposed mathematical model was validated in a wide range of operating conditions and in a cyclic experiment. The model was able to describe the SMR-SERP experiments without any fitting parameters.