SARS-CoV-2 Altered Hemorheological and Hematological Parameters during One-Month Observation Period in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

Hematological and hemorheological parameters are known to be altered in COVID-19; however, the value of combined monitoring in order to deduce disease severity is only scarcely examined. A total of 44 acute SARS-CoV-2-infected patients (aCOV) and 44 age-matched healthy controls (Con) were included. Blood of aCOV was sampled at admission (T0), and at day 2 (T2), day 5 (T5), day 10 (T10), and day 30 (T30) while blood of Con was only sampled once. Inter- and intra-group differences were calculated for hematological and hemorheological parameters. Except for mean cellular volume and mean cellular hemoglobin, all blood cell parameters were significantly different between aCOV and Con. During the acute disease state (T0–T5), hematological and hemorheological parameters were highly altered in aCOV; in particular, anemic conditions and increased immune cell response/inflammation, oxidative/nitrosative stress, decreased deformability, as well as increased aggregation, were observed. During treatment and convalescence until T30, almost all abnormal values of aCOV improved towards Con values. During the acute state of the COVID-19 disease, the hematological, as well as the hemorheological system, show fast and potentially pathological changes that might contribute to the progression of the disease, but changes appear to be largely reversible after four weeks. Measuring RBC deformability and aggregation, as well as oxidative stress induction, may be helpful in monitoring critically ill COVID-19 patients.     

Spectroscopic Characterization and Biological Activity of Hesperetin Schiff Bases and Their Cu(II) Complexes

The three Schiff base ligands, derivatives of hesperetin, HHSB (N-[2,3-dihydro-5,7-dihydroxy-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)chromen-4-ylidene]isonicotinohydrazide), HIN (N-[2,3-dihydro-5,7-dihydroxy-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)chromen-4-ylidene]benzhydrazide) and HTSC (N-[2,3-dihydro-5,7-dihydroxy-2-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)chromen-4-ylidene]thiosemicarbazide) and their copper complexes, CuHHSB, CuHIN, and CuHTSC were designed, synthesized and analyzed in terms of their spectral characterization and the genotoxic activity. Their structures were established using several methods: elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV-Vis, EPR, and ESI-MS. Spectral data showed that in the acetate complexes the tested Schiff bases act as neutral tridentate ligand coordinating to the copper ion through two oxygen (or oxygen and sulphur) donor atoms and a nitrogen donor atom. EPR measurements indicate that in solution the complexes keep their structures with the ligands remaining bound to copper(II) in a tridentate fashion with (O^–, N, O_ket) or (O^–, N, S) donor set. The genotoxic activity of the compounds was tested against model tumour (HeLa and Caco-2) and normal (LLC-PK1) cell lines. In HeLa cells the genotoxicity for all tested compounds was noticed, for HHSB and CuHHSB was the highest, for HTSC and CuHTSC–the lowest. Generally, Cu complexes displayed lower genotoxicity to HeLa cells than ligands. In the case of Caco-2 cell line HHSB and HTSC induced the strongest breaks to DNA. On the other side, CuHHSB and CuHTSC induced the highest DNA damage against LLC-PK1.     

Neutrophil Count as Atrioventricular Block (AVB) Predictor following Pediatric Heart Surgery

Neutrophils play a significant role in immune and inflammatory reactions. The preoperative inflammatory activation may have a detrimental effect on postoperative outcomes. The aim of the study was to investigate the relation between preoperative hematological indices on postoperative complications’ risk in pediatric cardiac congenital surgery. The retrospective single center analysis included 93 pediatric patients (48 (65%) males and 45 (35%) females), mean age of 7 (3–30) months referred for cardiac surgery in cardiopulmonary bypass due to functional single ventricle disease (26 procedures), shunts lesions (40 procedures) and cyanotic disease (27 procedures). Among simple hematological indices, the receiver-operating-characteristic curve showed that a neutrophil count below 2.59 K/uL was found as an optimal cut-off point for predicting postoperative atrioventricular block following pediatric cardiac surgery (AUC = 0.845, p < 0.0001) yielding a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 65.62%. Preoperative values of neutrophil count below 2.59 K/uL in whole blood analysis can be regarded as a predictive factor (AUC = 0.845, p < 0.0001) for postoperative atrioventricular block in pediatric cardiac surgery.     

Impact of the addition of dolomite to cream-firing clays on the technological and color properties of sintered ceramics

Sintered ceramics, represented by ceramic tiles or clinker bricks, are widely used in the building materials industry due to their technological properties and visual qualities. The topic of color changing of ceramic materials from cream-firing clays with the use of mineral additives has not been addressed to date. The aim of the paper was to investigate the effect of granulation of dolomite additives to ceramic masses based on cream-firing Borkowice clay on the color and properties of fired ceramic materials. The paper proposes that grain size of mineral additive affects the color of sintered ceramics. In order to confirm this hypothesis, a number of experiments were performed, consisting of determination of the color and technological properties of ceramic materials. The conducted tests showed that the color and technological properties of sintered ceramics are influenced by the grain size of the additives used.     

Modular Coiled Flow Inverter with Narrow Residence Time Distribution for Process Development and Production

The ideal plug flow reactor is a common model with narrow residence time distribution in reaction engineering. This contribution explains a design strategy of a coiled flow inverter (CFI) with narrow residence time and flexible adjustable process conditions. The design space diagram illustrates the design limits of inner diameter and coil diameter on the base of dimensionless numbers. Standard coil tube diameters allow for rational design of a limited number of devices. The reactor performance diagram enables the facile scale‐up and adaption of new process conditions with the CFI with economic boundary conditions.     

Measurement of management efforts with respect to integration of quality,safety, and ergonomics issues in manufacturing industry

The main objective of this study was to identify critical factors that measure management efforts with regard to quality, safety, and ergonomics issues for their simultaneous improvement. Eleven identified management activity areas have been synthesized from the literature as the most important areas that meet all stakeholders' needs. Factors were then developed to measure the efficiency of these activities through a questionnaire. The overall response rate of the survey questionnaire was 47%. The reliability coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.85 indicated that some scales or management activity areas are more reliable in measuring potential for improvements in terms of quality, ergonomics, safety, and efficiency. The proposed instrument for quantifying management efforts with respect to simultaneous improvements in the areas of quality, ergonomics, and safety was found to be valid and reliable. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 15: 213–232, 2005.     

Hydrolysis of Phosphatidylcholine-Isoprostanes (PtdCho-IP) by Peripheral Human Group IIA,V and X Secretory Phospholipases A<Subscript>2</Subscript> (sPLA<Subscript>2</Subscript>)

Biologically active F- and E/D-type-prostane ring isomers (F₂-IP and E₂/D₂-IP, respectively) are produced in situ by non-enzymatic peroxidation of arachidonic acid esterified to GroPCho (PtdCho-IP) and are universally distributed in tissue lipoproteins and cell membranes. Previous work has shown that platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolases (PAF-AH) are the main endogenous PLA₂ involved in degradation of PtdCho-IP. The present study shows that the PtdCho-IP are also subject to hydrolysis by group IIA, V and X secretory PLA₂, which also have a wide peripheral tissue distribution. For this demonstration, we compared the LC/MS profiles of PtdCho-IP of auto-oxidized plasma lipoproteins after incubation for 1–4 h (37 °C) in the absence or presence of recombinant human sPLA₂ (1–2.5 µg/ml). In the absence of exogenously added sPLA₂ the total PtdCho-IP level after 4 h incubation reached 15.9, 21.6 and 8.7 nmol/mg protein of LDL, HDL and HDL₃, respectively. In the presence of group V or group X sPLA₂ (2.5 µg/ml), the PtdCho-IP was completely hydrolyzed in 1 h, while in the presence of group IIA sPLA₂ (2.5 µg/ml) the hydrolysis was less than 25% in 4 h, although it was complete after 8–24 h incubation. This report provides the first demonstration that PtdCho-IP are readily hydrolyzed by group IIA, V and X sPLA₂. A co-location of sPLA₂ and the substrates in various tissues has been recorded. Thus, the initiation of interaction and production of isoprostanes in situ are highly probable.     

A Bench‐Scale Study of Conditioning Behaviour in Oil Sands Slurries

Proper conditioning of an oil sand/water slurry is essential for the efficient extraction of bitumen. The conditioning process depends on such variables as ore grade, temperature, mixing intensity, mixing time, and water composition. A technique has been developed in which a microscope and video cameras are used to observe a slurry stirred in a glass cell to evaluate, on a comparative basis, the effect of conditioning parameters on bitumen recovery. Several ores and their blends were studied and found to exhibit large differences in their conditioning behaviour. The method offers the capability of diagnosing ore processability problems and optimizing slurry conditioning.