The Effectiveness of Governmental Nonpharmaceutical Interventions Against COVID-19 On The Control of Seasonal Influenza Transmission: An Ecological Study

Background: A range of strict nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) had been implemented in many countries to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. These NPIs might also be effective in controlling the seasonal influenza virus, which share the same transmission path with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of different NPIs for control of seasonal influenza.Methods: Data on 14 NPIs implemented in 33 countries and corresponding data on influenza virologic surveillance were collected. The influenza suppression index was calculated as the difference between the influenza-positive rate during its decline period from 2019 to 2020 and that during influenza epidemic seasons in the previous 9 years. A machine learning model was developed by using extreme gradient boosting tree (XGBoost) regressor to fit NPI data and influenza suppression index. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) was used to characterize NPIs in suppressing influenza.Results: Gathering limitation contributed the most (37.60%) among all NPIs in suppressing influenza transmission in the 2019-2020 influenza season. The top three effective NPIs were gathering limitation, international travel restriction, and school closure. Regarding the three NPIs, their intensity threshold to generate effect were restrictions on the size of gatherings less than 1000 people, travel bans on all regions or total border closure, and closing only some categories of schools, respectively. There was a strong positive interaction effect between mask wearing requirement and gathering limitation, whereas merely implementing mask wearing requirement but ignoring other NPIs would dilute mask wearing requirement’s effectiveness in suppressing influenza.Conclusions: Gathering limitation, travel bans on all regions or total border closure, and closing some levels of schools are the most effective NPIs to suppress influenza transmission. Mask wearing requirement is advised to be combined with gathering limitation and other NPIs. Our findings could facilitate the precise control of future influenza epidemics and potential pandemics.

Synthesis and Evaluation of Bioactivity of 6-[(2-Pyridinyloxy)](Benzo)Imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]Thiazine Derivatives

A series of new 6-[(pyridine-2-yl)oxy]-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazines 4a-l and their benzoannelated derivatives 4m-r was synthesized by the reaction between 3-hydroxy(benzo)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazines and substituted 2-chloropyridines under the mild conditions with the yield 53-74 %. The structure of the target compound was proven by the results of 1H NMR, 13C NMR spectrometry, and LC-MS. In silico evaluation of these drug-like compounds proved that many of them comply with the Lipinski ‘rule of five’ and the Veber rule. Antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activity of all synthesized compounds were investigated in the in vitro and in vivo experiments. According to the bio screening results, the compounds 6-[(5-сhloropyridin-2-yl)oxy]-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine 4a, 6-[(3,5-dichloropyridin-2-yl)oxy]-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine 4e and 6-{[3-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-yl]oxy}-2,3-diphenyl-6,7-dihydro-5H-imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine 4l proved antifungal activity against Candida albicans. On the other hand, 3-[(3,5-dichloropyridin-2-yl)oxy]-3,4-dihydro-2H-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine 4q proved the best antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger K 9 (MIC=15.62 µg/ml) and comparatively high antiedema activity against the carrageenan-induced edema of the hind paws of albino rats (the inflammation suppression index was 39.1 %).

Mechanisms of formation of brain bioelectrical activity suppression patterns under adverse effects caused by neurotoxicants

The aim of the stady wos to investigate the mechanisms of suppression of cerebral bioelectrical activity under adverse effects caused by neurotoxicants using inhalation anesthesia with sevoflurane. The research included 19 cases (male/female 12/7, aged 19—55, BMIs under 35) with intracerebral tumors. Patients were under medical observation and neurosurgical treatment. Invasive procedures were carried out under sevoflurane-based general anesthesia with a dose of anesthetic varying from 0,8 to 1,3 MAC (minimum alveolar concentration). Technologically advanced neurosurgical procedures involved neurophysiological polymodal monitoring, which included EEG and ECoG testing. Probit analysis results showed that, with cerebral cortex bioelectrical activity suppression index equal to 32±8%, nearly half the cases displayed a formation of an «outburst-suppression» type of pattern on the scalp EEG. The condition for half the cases displaying a formation of this type of periodic pattern is the suppression index equaling 58±7% on ECoG. Space-and-time evolution of suppression patterns, formed on the cerebral cortex, is the main reason for persistence of uninterrupted activity on EEG. The obtained results allow to further define principles of neurodynamics, which apply to acute intoxication with neurotoxicants. With regard to relative similarity of intoxication-induced coma cases, registration of periodic EEG patterns even with a low suppression index indicates a more severe form of cerebral insufficiency.

Modeling the Spectral Properties of Obtrusive Light Incident on a Window: Application to Montréal, Canada

This paper describes the use of a new obtrusive light module of the Illumina v2 model to estimate the light that may enter bedroom windows. We used the following as input to the model: (1) the sources’ flux and spectrum derived from the color images taken by astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS), (2) an association between source spectrum and angular emission, and (3) a per zone inventory of obstacles properties and lamp height. The model calculates the spectral irradiance incident to buildings’ windows taking into account the orientation of the street. By using the color information from an ISS image, we can classify pixels as a function of their spectra. With the same image, it is also possible to determine the upward photopic radiance for each pixel. Both serve as inputs to the model to calculate the spectral irradiance on any window. By having the spectral irradiance, it is possible to determine the Melatonin Suppression Index and the photopic irradiance on the window. Such information can later be used to perform epidemiological studies. The new methodology is applied to the city of Montréal in Canada for a set of houses’ locations. The computations are made for 2013 (pre-LED era).

Evaluating the Potential Health Impact of Obtrusive Light: Application to Montréal, Canada

This paper describes the use of a new obtrusive light module of the Illumina v2 model to estimate the light that may enter bedroom windows. We used as input to the model, 1- the sources’ flux and spectrum derived from the color images taken by astronauts from the international space station, 2- an association between source spectrum and angular emission, and 3- a per zone inventory of obstacles properties and lamp height. The model calculate the spectral irradiance incident to buildings’ windows taking into account for the orientation of the street. By using the color information from an ISS image, we can classify pixels as a function of their spectra. With the same image, it is also possible to determine the upward photopic radiance for each pixel. Both serve as inputs to the model to calculate the spectral irradiance on any window. By having the spectral irradiance, it is possible to determine the Melatonin Suppression Index and the photopic irradiance on the window. Such information can later be used to perform epidemiological studies. The new methodology is applied to the case of Montréal in Canada for a set of houses’ locations. The computations are made for 2013 (pre-LED era).

Adrenal Venous Sampling in Primary Aldosteronism: The Usefulness of Contralateral Suppression Index

Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the gold standard test to differentiate the unilateral from the bilateral form in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) although it may be a difficult procedure, especially the successful cannulation of the right adrenal vein. In this report, we describe a 49-year-old female patient diagnosed with PA, after investigating resistant hypertension and refractory hypokalemia. Abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a 2.5 cm adenoma on the right adrenal vein. AVS was performed under cosyntropin infusion. Aldosterone and cortisol concentrations were obtained from the right and left adrenal veins and inferior vena cava (IVC). Cortisol on each adrenal vein divided by cortisol on IVC confirmed successful cannulation of the left side only, which makes it impossible to calculate the lateralization index (LI). From the data on the left adrenal vein and IVC, the aldosterone-to-cortisol ratio divided by the IVC aldosterone-to-cortisol ratio was less than 1.0, suggesting that the left adrenal vein was suppressed with the excess aldosterone originating from the contralateral side (contralateral suppression index (CSI)). Right adrenalectomy was performed; postoperative hypoaldosteronism was confirmed. This report highlights the importance of CSI obtained in AVS when technical difficulties occur making it impossible to obtain LI, which is most commonly used to decide between surgical and clinical management of PA.