Hypozincemia in COVID-19 Patients Correlates With Stronger Antibody Response

Zinc ion as an enzyme cofactor exhibits antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity during infection, but circulating zinc ion level during Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate serum zinc ion level in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and healthy subjects, as well as its correlation with antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. 114 COVID-19 patients and 48 healthy subjects (38 healthy volunteers and 10 close contacts of patients with COVID-19) were included. Zinc ion concentration and levels of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike 1 + Spike 2 proteins, nucleocapsid protein, and receptor-binding domain in serum were measured. Results showed that the concentration of zinc ion in serum from COVID-19 patients [median: 6.4 nmol/mL (IQR 1.5 – 12.0 nmol/mL)] were significantly lower than that from the healthy subjects [median: 15.0 nmol/mL (IQR 11.9 – 18.8 nmol/mL)] (p < 0.001) and the difference remained significant after age stratification (p < 0.001) or when the patients were at the recovery stage (p < 0.001). Furthermore, COVID-19 patients with more severe hypozincemia showed higher levels of IgG against the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Further studies to confirm the effect of zinc supplementation on improving the outcomes of COVID-19, including antibody response against SARS-CoV-2, are warranted.

Israel Kirzner’s Presence in the History of Economic Thought: A Review of His Professional Engagement in Honor of His 91 Years

This paper analyzes the presence of Israel Kirzner in the History of Economic Thought and focusing on his professional engagement with other economists. His academic trajectory is contextualized on three milestones of the recent history of the Austrian School. The first one is the ending of the socialist economic calculation debate, when the Austrian was considered unconvincing due to the economics’ shift to a general equilibrium model of the economy; in the aftermath of the debate, Kirzner entered at the New York University’s PhD program and was mentored by Ludwig von Mises. At this point, Kirzner started to develop his ideas on entrepreneurship and to aim an audience wider than his Austrian peers. The second is the Austrian Revival in the 1970s, in which the prestigious recovery stage of the Austrian School, thanks to Kirzner assuming a leadership role in the process. The third is in the 1980s, when a more consolidated Austrian School attempts to define itself, as Kirzner retains an Austrian vision founded on the synthesis between Mises and Hayek. It is concluded that Kirzner’s professional engagement was fundamental in the recovery of Austrian theory. He communicated Austrian ideas to a wider audience and synthetized Misesian and Hayekian proposals on the market process. These efforts allow us to recognize a Kirznerian view of the Austrian School, established with the traditional microeconomic theory, but including greater subjectivity on the interpretation of economic phenomena, becoming a more general, more realistic theory.

On the tropospheric response to transient stratospheric momentum torques

An idealised model is used to examine the tropospheric response to sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs), by imposing transient stratospheric momentum torques tailored to mimic the wave-forcing impulse associated with spontaneously-occurring SSWs. Such an approach enables us to examine both the ∼2-3-week forcing stage of an SSW during which there is anomalous stratospheric wave-activity convergence, as well as the recovery stage during which the wave forcing abates and the stratosphere radiatively recovers over 2-3 months. It is argued that applying a torque is better suited than a heating perturbation for examining the response to SSWs, due to the meridional circulation that is induced to maintain thermal-wind balance (i.e., the ‘Eliassen adjustment’); an easterly torque yields downwelling at high latitudes and equatorward flow below, similar to the wave-induced circulation that occurs during spontaneously-occurring SSWs, whereas a heating perturbation yields qualitatively opposite behavior and thus cannot capture the initial SSW evolution. During the forcing stage, the meridional circulation in response to an impulse comparable to the model’s internal variability is able to penetrate down to the surface and drive easterly-wind anomalies via Coriolis torques acting on the anomalous equatorward flow. During the recovery stage, after which the tropospheric flow has already responded, the meridional circulation associated with the stratosphere’s radiative recovery provides the persistent stratospheric forcing that drives the high-latitude easterly anomalies, which is then augmented by synoptic-wave feedbacks that drive and amplify the annular-mode response. In comparison, planetary waves are found to play a relatively small role.

Constrain on Oil Recovery Stage during Oil Shale Subcritical Water Extraction Process Based on Carbon Isotope Fractionation Character

In this work, Huadian oil shale was extracted by subcritical water at 365 °C with a time series (2–100 h) to better investigate the carbon isotope fractionation characteristics and how to use its fractionation characteristics to constrain the oil recovery stage during oil shale in situ exploitation. The results revealed that the maximum generation of oil is 70–100 h, and the secondary cracking is limited. The carbon isotopes of the hydrocarbon gases show a normal sequence, with no “rollover” and “reversals” phenomena, and the existence of alkene gases and the CH4-CO2-CO diagram implied that neither chemical nor carbon isotopes achieve equilibrium in the C-H-O system. The carbon isotope (C1–C3) fractionation before oil generation is mainly related to kinetics of organic matter decomposition, and the thermodynamic equilibrium process is limited; when entering the oil generation area, the effect of the carbon isotope thermodynamic equilibrium process (CH4 + 2H2O ⇄ CO2 + 4H2) becomes more important than kinetics, and when it exceeds the maximum oil generation stage, the carbon isotope kinetics process becomes more important again. The δ13CCO2−CH4 is the result of the competition between kinetics and thermodynamic fractionation during the oil shale pyrolysis process. After oil begins to generate, δ13CCO2−CH4 goes from increasing to decreasing (first “turning”); in contrast, when exceeding the maximum oil generation area, it goes from decreasing to increasing (second “turning”). Thus, the second “turning” point can be used to indicate the maximum oil generation area, and it also can be used to help determine when to stop the heating process during oil shale exploitation and lower the production costs.

Comparative Physiological, Biochemical, and Proteomic Responses of Photooxidation-Prone Rice Mutant 812HS under High Light Conditions

Photosynthetic efficiency decreases as light energy surpasses the photosynthesis capacity. This study was designed to investigate the potential effects of high-intensity light on the photooxidation-prone mutant 812HS of rice and its wild-type 812S during yellow and recovering stages. Results showed that in the yellowing stage, light oxidation occurs due to the exposure of mutant 812HS leaves to the high sunlight, which causes yellowing of the leaves, leading to a reduction in the photochemical activities, physiological mechanisms, and protein contents in mutant 812HS. In the recovery stage, mutant 812HS leaves were exposed to the maximum high brightness, the mutant’s leaves were draped with a dark cover to decrease the exposure of leaves of the plants from direct sunlight, which leads to the restoration of the green color again to the mutant 812HS leaves, leading to improving the performance of the photochemical activities, physiological mechanisms, and protein contents in mutant 812HS. Exposing leaves of mutant 812HS to high light at the yellow stage also resulted in a decrease in the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) in carotenoids content and chlorophyll a and b. Similarly, chlorophyll fluorescence of mutant 812HS decreased in (O-I-J-I-P) curves, and the ATP content, Mg2+-ATPase, and Ca2+-ATPase activities also decreased. An increase in energy dissipation was observed, while ABS/RC, DI0/RC, and TR0/RC values in mutant 812HS at the yellow stage increased. During photooxidation, an increase in O2•– and H2O2 contents was observed in mutant 812HS. While O2•– and H2O2 contents were decreased in mutant 812HS at the recovery stage. The rate of thylakoid membrane protein content was significantly decreased in mutant 812HS at the yellow stage, while at the recovery stage, there was no significant decrease. Our findings showed that photooxidation prompted oxidative damages and lipid peroxidation that caused severe damages to the membranes of the cell, photosynthetic pigments degradation, protein levels, and photosynthesis inhibition in mutant 812HS.

Comprehensive investigation of low salinity waterflooding in carbonate reservoirs

Waterflooding has been practiced as a secondary recovery mechanism for many years with no regard to the composition of the injected brine. However, in the last decade, there has been an interest to understand the impact of the injected water composition and the low salinity waterflooding (LSWF) in oil recovery. LSWF has been investigated through various laboratory tests as a promising method for improving oil recovery in carbonate reservoirs. These experiments showed diverse mechanisms and results. In this study, a comprehensive review and analysis for results of more than 300 carbonate core flood experiments from published work were performed to investigate the effects of several parameters (injected water, oil, and rock properties along with the temperature) on oil recovery from carbonate rock. The analysis of the results showed that the water composition is the key parameter for successful waterflooding (WF) projects in the carbonate rocks. However, the salinity value of the injected water seems to have a negligible effect on oil recovery in both secondary and tertiary recovery stages. The study indicated that waterflooding with optimum water composition can improve oil recovery up to 30% of the original oil in place. In addition, the investigation showed that changing water salinity from LSWF to high salinity waterflooding can lead to an incremental oil recovery of up to 18% in the tertiary recovery stage. It was evident that applying the optimum composition in the secondary recovery stage is more effective than applying it in the tertiary recovery stage. Furthermore, the key parameters of the injected water and rock properties in secondary and tertiary recovery stages were studied using Fractional Factorial Design. The results revealed that the concentrations of Mg2+, Na+, K+, and Cl− in the injected water are the greatest influence parameters in the secondary recovery stage. However, the most dominant parameters in the tertiary recovery stage are the rock minerals and the concentration of K+, HCO3−, and SO42− in the injected water. In addition, it appears that the anhydrite percentage in the carbonate reservoirs may be an effective parameter in the tertiary WF. Also, there are no clear relations between the incremental oil recovery and the oil properties (total acid number or total base number) in both secondary and tertiary recovery stages. In addition, the results of the analysis showed an incremental oil recovery in all ranges of the studied flooding temperatures. The findings of this study can help to establish guidelines for screening and designing optimum salinity and composition for WF projects in carbonate reservoirs.

Leadership styles in supply chain disruptions: a multimethod evaluation based on practitioner insights

PurposeThe authors empirically determine the stages and leadership styles that enhance the effectiveness of firm response and recovery efforts during each stage.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use an inductive exploratory approach and mixed-method research design. Study 1 uses a combination of qualitative data gathered through two rounds of exploratory focus groups (26 managers and executives), Q-sorting (60 participants) and a confirmatory focus group (6 experts) to highlight how expert practitioners perceive the staged progression of a supply chain disruption. Study 2 uses responses from 90 experienced managers in an experimental vignette to determine the most effective leadership style during each stage.FindingsExpert practitioners are strongly partial to a two-staged disruption model that includes an early/response and late/recovery stage. They consider decisiveness to be the most effective style in the response stage. However, in the recovery stage, a style that combines decisiveness and task-centered leadership is perceived to be the most effective. Further, effective leadership hinges on applying distinct styles depending on the progression of events during supply chain disruptions.Originality/valueEmpirical evidence and validation of conceptual models on leadership behavior during crises are essentially nonexistent in the literature. This study is likely the first to pursue the subject of leadership during stages of crises and the first to offer empirical evidence thereof. Relatedly, the authors contribute to the growing research on crisis management, which is likely to receive even more attention as the frequency and size of crises facing organizations increase.

New early phenotypic markers for cucumber green mottle mosaic virus disease in cucumbers exposed to fluctuating extreme temperatures

Studies of early stages of cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) disease have been recently focused on plant molecular responses. However, extreme diurnal environmental temperatures, characteristic of global climate changes, could affect plant susceptibility and disease phenotype progression. Our studies of CGMMV disease progression, under simulated extreme temperature waves, have revealed two new disease initiation phenotypes that developed gradually, preceding severe symptom manifestations of post-recovery CGMMV systemic infections. 'Early post-recovery stage' bright yellow islands (BYIs) with defined boundaries amid asymptomatic leaf blades were first emerging followed by 'late post-recovery stage' BYIs with diffused boundaries. A deduced CGMMV disease progression scheme, postulating BYI symptom occurrence time-windows, revealed BYIs in field grown cucumber plants exposed to extreme diurnal temperatures. Profiling ontology of cucumber differentially expressed genes in BYIs vs the associated dark-green surrounding tissues disclosed activation of jasmonic acid (JA) pathway in 'early post-recovery stage' BYIs. JA signaling was inactivated in 'late post-recovery stage' BYIs concomitant with increasing expressions of JA signaling inhibitors and downregulation of JA responsive phenylpropanoid pathway. Our results disclosed a new phenotypic description of CGMMV disease initiation, characteristic of cucumbers grown under extreme environmental temperature fluctuations. The BYI phenotypes could define a time-window for CGMMV disease management applications.