Lifeboat Foundation

50% of people who die of covid19 have bacterial co-infections. Procalcitonin (PCT) tests may be needed to predict who will have severe infections, and how to respond with adaquate treatment. Clearly the wrong testing is being done. People need 3 tests for covid. People need antigen tests, antibody tests, and Procalcitonin (PCT) tests to see the severity of sickness a person will have.

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a widely used biomarker to assess the risk of bacterial infection and disease progression. In patients with bacterial sepsis, suspected or confirmed lower respiratory tract infections, including community-acquired pneumonia, acute bronchitis and acute exacerbations of COPD, PCT can be a useful decision-making tool for antibiotic therapy (Schuetz et al. 2018). In addition, early evidence suggests that PCT may also be a valuable tool in identifying COVID-19 patients who may be at risk for bacterial co-infection.

Procalcitonin is widely used to assess the risk of bacterial infection and disease progression. Can it be an additional tool to identify COVID-19 patients at risk of severe disease?

Continue reading “The Role of Procalcitonin for Risk Assessment and Treatment of COVID-19 Patients” »

Lactoferrin is a nutrient classically found in mammalian milk. It binds iron and is transferred via a variety of receptors into and between cells, serum, bile, and cerebrospinal fluid. It has important immunological properties, and is both antibacterial and antiviral. In particular, there is evidence that it can bind to at least some of the receptors used by coronaviruses and thereby block their entry. Of importance are Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) and the host receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as based on other activities lactoferrin might prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from attaching to the host cells. Lactoferrin (and more specifically enteric-coated LF because of increased bioavailability) may consequently be of preventive and therapeutic value during the present COVID-19 pandemic.

Lactoferrin (LF) or lactotransferrin has recently come under the spotlight, particularly with regards to the new coronavirus pandemic that started in 2019 (COVID-19). Diet and supplements support a well-functioning immune system, and favorably influence the body’s ability to fight infection. Although LF is produced by the body itself, as a secretion by exocrine glands (such as maternal milk or tears) and secondary granules of human neutrophils (1), it can also be taken as a supplement, where it then acts as nutraceutical or functional food. Our particular focus is on its role as an oral supplement. Here we also collate some of the evidence that shows how LF may be an important nutrient to support host immunity, including as an antibacterial and antiviral agent, but particularly with the current COVID-19 pandemic in mind.

We summarize what is already known about LF, including its immunological properties, as well as its antibacterial and antiviral activities. We also discuss how LF uses Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) on cell surfaces to facilitate entry. This is of particular importance to coronaviruses, as these viruses are considered to bind to the host cell by attaching first to HSPGs using them as preliminary docking sites on the host cell surface. LF is known to interfere with some of the receptors used by coronaviruses, it may thus contribute to the prevention and treatment of SARS CoV-2 infections. In COVID-19 infection, LF may therefore have a role to play, not only sequestering iron and inflammatory molecules that are severely increased during the cytokine burst, but also possibly in assisting by occupying receptors and HSPGs.

« In the form it is known today, macroeconomics began in 1936 with the publication of John Maynard Keynes’s “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money”. Its subsequent history can be divided into three eras. The era of policy which was guided by Keynes’s ideas began in the 1940s. By the 1970s it had encountered problems that it could not solve and so, in the 1980s, the monetarist era, most commonly associated with the work of Milton Friedman, began. In the 1990s and 2000s economists combined insights from both approaches. But now, in the wreckage left behind by the coronavirus pandemic, a new era is beginning. What does it hold? »

It is not yet clear where it will lead.

Ultrashort laser pulses induce unusual sound waves via a structural instability in a material.

RIKEN physicists have initiated unusual sound waves in a flake using ultrashort pulses of laser light and then created videos of their movement using electron microscopy. This advance should help engineers to achieve higher precision control of heat flow and sound in nanodevices using light.

A supersensitive dopamine detector can help in the early diagnosis of several disorders that result in too much or too little dopamine, according to a group led by Penn State and including Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and universities in China and Japan.

Dopamine is an important neurotransmitter that can be used to diagnose disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.

“If you can develop a very sensitive, yet simple-to-use and portable, detector that can identify a wide range of dopamine concentration, for instance in sweat, that could help in non-invasive monitoring of an individual’s health,” said Aida Ebrahimi, assistant professor of electrical engineering, Penn State, and a corresponding author on a paper published Aug. 7 in Science Advances.

Space calendar 2020: Upcoming rocket launches, meteor showers, Mars missions and more!

Here’s everything significant happening in space science and solar system exploration for the rest of the year.

#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Space Traffic Management – Impact of Large Constellations on Military Operations in Space.

🌚 #SpaceWatchGL

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch. Global and Joint Air Power Competence Centre, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Space Traffic Management – Impact of Large Constellations on Military Operations in Space”, originally published by the Joint Air Power Competence Centre for the Conference Read Ahead 2020.

Continue reading “#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Space Traffic Management – Impact of Large Constellations on Military Operations in Space” »

Researchers applaud as a million cannibal ants escape their nuclear bunker prison and head out into the world. Good for those ants.

Are you worried about AI collecting your facial data from all the pictures you have ever posted or shared? Researchers have now developed a method for hindering facial recognition.

It is a commonly accepted fact nowadays that the images we post or share online can and might find themselves being used by third parties for one reason or another. It may not be something we truly agree with, but it’s a fact that most of us have accepted as an undesirable consequence of using freely available social media apps and websites.

Continue reading “An Algorithm Has Been Developed to Obstruct AI Facial Recognition, and It’s Free to Use” »