Smart vest turns fish into underwater spies: a glimpse into aquatic life like never before

AEROSPACE INFORMATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

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STRUCTURES AND APPLICATIONS OF THE UNDERWATER VEST.

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CREDIT: MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING

Researchers have introduced an innovative underwater vest equipped with an antioxidant MXene hydrogel for the sensitive recognition of fish locomotion. This novel device aims to deepen our understanding of aquatic life by enabling precise monitoring of fish behavior in their natural habitats.

Traditional techniques for observing fish behavior, largely dependent on vision-based systems, face substantial limitations, such as a confined range of observation and a limited duration of operation underwater. In response to these challenges, the research team has pioneered a wearable electronic device that adeptly captures disturbances in the water flow caused by the movements of fish. This innovation is realized through a "smart vest" designed for fish, utilizing an advanced MXene hydrogel known for its remarkable sensitivity to changes in water pressure. The device features a pair of pseudocapacitive pressure-sensing units, offering a robust and noninvasive approach for the in-depth study of aquatic behaviors. These findings were detailed in an article (DOI: 10.1038/s41378-024-00675-8) released on March 22, 2024, in Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

This vest is designed to precisely capture the subtle nuances of fish movement, offering a window into their natural behaviors without interference. The heart of the vest's technology is its innovative hydrogel electrodes, which ingeniously combine MXene nanosheets with holey-reduced graphene oxide, further enhanced by ionic liquids. This blend not only boosts the electrodes' sensitivity to minute movements but also ensures their longevity in aquatic environments, overcoming traditional barriers of underwater research tools. The breakthrough lies in the vest's ability to detect the flow field disturbances created by fish as they navigate their watery realms. Whether a fish turns, speeds up, or dips, the vest's pseudocapacitive pressure-sensing units register these actions with unparalleled precision.

Dr. Jiafei Hu, the lead researcher from the National University of Defense Technology, highlighted the breakthrough nature of their wearable device, stating, "This wearable device significantly advances aquatic research. It transcends the constraints of traditional systems and paves the way for comprehensive studies on fish behavior and their ecological interactions."

The introduction of the underwater vest signifies a major advancement in research methodologies, enabling precise, real-time insights into fish behaviors and their environmental dynamics. Its implications for environmental conservation, aquatic ecosystem studies, and the development of sophisticated monitoring technologies are profound and far-reaching.

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References

DOI

10.1038/s41378-024-00675-8

Original Source URL

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-024-00675-8

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 62304259).

About Microsystems & Nanoengineering

Microsystems & Nanoengineering is an online-only, open access international journal devoted to publishing original research results and reviews on all aspects of Micro and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems from fundamental to applied research. The journal is published by Springer Nature in partnership with the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, supported by the State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology.

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JOURNAL

Microsystems & Nanoengineering

DOI

10.1038/s41378-024-00675-8 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

An underwater vest containing an antioxidant MXene hydrogel for sensitive recognition of fish locomotion

 

Waterproof ‘e-glove’ could help scuba divers communicate

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

 

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A WATERPROOF E-GLOVE MAKES IT EASIER FOR SCUBA DIVERS TO COMMUNICATE UNDERWATER.

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CREDIT: ADAPTED FROM ACS NANO 2024, DOI: 10.1021/ACSNANO.3C13221

When scuba divers need to say “I’m okay” or “Shark!” to their dive partners, they use hand signals to communicate visually. But sometimes these movements are difficult to see. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have constructed a waterproof “e-glove” that wirelessly transmits hand gestures made underwater to a computer that translates them into messages. The new technology could someday help divers communicate better with each other and with boat crews on the surface.

E-gloves — gloves fitted with electronic sensors that translate hand motions into information —  are already in development, including designs that allow the wearer to interact with virtual reality environments or help people recovering from a stroke regain fine motor skills. However, rendering the electronic sensors waterproof for use in a swimming pool or the ocean, while also keeping the glove flexible and comfortable to wear, is a challenge. So Fuxing Chen, Lijun Qu, Mingwei Tian and colleagues wanted to create an e-glove capable of sensing hand motions when submerged underwater.

The researchers began by fabricating waterproof sensors that rely on flexible microscopic pillars inspired by the tube-like feet of a starfish. Using laser writing tools, they created an array of these micropillars on a thin film of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a waterproof plastic commonly used in contact lenses. After coating the PDMS array with conductive layer of silver, the researchers sandwiched two of the films together with the pillars facing inward to create a waterproof sensor. The sensor — roughly the size of a USB-C port — is responsive when flexed and can detect a range of pressures comparable to the light touch of a dollar bill up to the impact of water streaming from a garden hose. The researchers packaged 10 of these waterproof sensors within self-adhesive bandages and sewed them over the knuckles and first finger joints of their e-glove prototype.

To create a hand-gesture vocabulary for the researchers’ demonstration, a participant wearing the e-glove made 16 gestures, including “OK” and “Exit.” The researchers recorded the specific electronic signals generated by the e-glove sensors for each corresponding gesture. They applied a machine learning technique for translating sign language into words to create a computer program that could translate the e-glove gestures into messages. When tested, the program translated hand gestures made on land and underwater with 99.8% accuracy. In the future, the team says a version of this e-glove could help scuba divers communicate with visual hand signals even when they cannot clearly see their dive partners.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Shiyanjia Lab, National Key Research and Development Program, Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong Province in China, Shandong Province Key Research and Development Plan, Shandong Provincial Universities Youth Innovation Technology Plan Team, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province of China, Shandong Province Science and Technology Small and Medium sized Enterprise Innovation Ability Enhancement Project, Natural Science Foundation of Qingdao, Qingdao Key Technology Research and Industrialization Demonstration Projects, Qingdao Shinan District Science and Technology Plan Project, and Suqian Key Research and Development Plan.

The paper’s abstract will be available on April 10 at 8 a.m. Eastern time here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.3c13221

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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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JOURNAL

ACS Nano

DOI

10.1021/acsnano.3c13221 

ARTICLE TITLE

Underwater Gesture Recognition Meta-Gloves for Marine Immersive Communication

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Apr-2024

 

Microplastic ‘hotspots’ identified in Long Island Sound

Forensic and environmental experts have teamed up to develop a new scientific method to pinpoint microplastic pollution ‘hotspots’ in open waters

STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY

 

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CONCENTRATION OF ALL TYPES OF MICROPLASTIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC MICROFIBER POLLUTION FOUND IN THIS STUDY OVERLAID ON A HEAT MAP SHOWING THE CONCENTRATION OF SHIPPING TRAFFIC (ALL TYPES) AND A HEATMAP SHOWING POPULATION DENSITY. IN ALL CASES, RED INDICATES HIGHER NUMBERS. 

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CREDIT: STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY

Forensic and environmental experts have teamed up to develop a new scientific method to pinpoint microplastic pollution ‘hotspots’ in open waters.

A study by Staffordshire University, The Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean and Central Wyoming College trialled the technique in New York’s Long Island Sound.

 

Professor Claire Gwinnett from Staffordshire University explained: “Long Island Sound was a location of interest because it has lots of factors that can cause pollution.

“It is an estuary that has high populations of wildlife, it is a busy transport route frequented by cargo ships and is a popular fishing area. Located adjacent to New York City, it is also highly populated and a major tourist destination.”

Funded, in part, by the National Geographic Society, the study saw samples collected from the deck of the 60′ oceanographic sailing research vessel, American Promise. The team took 1 litre ‘grab samples’ of surface water every 3 miles from the East River along the middle of Long Island Sound to The Race, where it meets Rhode Island Sound.

Grab sampling allows analysis of specific locations, with the researchers applying a statistical approach to identify hotspots where microplastics were most in evidence.

“People often use the term ‘hotspot’ but it is not scientifically defined. Previous studies have used largely subjective methods, without the use of any rules or thresholds that differentiate hotspots from non-hotspots,” Professor Gwinnett commented.

“Our study proposed a simple yet objective method for determining hotspots using standard deviation values. This is the first time that this has been done.”

Two primary and two secondary hotspots were observed, near either end of the sampling area. There is potentially a “bottleneck” effect in the narrower zones or, conversely, a dilution effect in the wider section of Long Island Sound. Similarly, hotspots were observed as being close to or in line with a river mouth, specifically the Thames and Connecticut Rivers.

Overlaying heat maps of various types of shipping and vessel traffic with the microparticle heat map from this study shows potential similarities. In particular, between areas of high recreational and passenger vessel traffic and higher microplastic concentration.

Professor Gwinnett said: “We need to consider factors that might influence these results, such as population, geography and human use. The identified hotspots, however, were found in both densely populated areas and adjacent to some of the least densely populated land areas surrounding Long Island Sound.

“The first step in combatting this type of pollution is by characterizing microparticle samples so that we can begin to understand where they might have come from.”

97% of samples contained man-made particulates. Microparticles were classified as 76.14% fibres and 23.86% fragments. 47.76% of the fibres were synthetic and 52.24% were non-synthetic.

Forensic science approaches developed by Staffordshire University were used to analyse the microparticles – including type, colour, shape, material, presence of delusterant and width – which identified 30 unique categories of potential sources of pollution.

Rachael Miller, Expedition lead and Rozalia Project Founder, explained: “Unlike larger fragments of plastic, which may exhibit clear features that easily identify its original source, such as bottle cap ridges or a partial logo, this is generally very difficult for microparticles unless an analysis approach which fully characterizes the particle is used.

“Identifying a specific type of item from which a microparticle came from e.g. pair of jeans, carpet, tyre or personal hygiene product increases the likelihood of discovering the mechanism for transport to the environment. That, in turn, increases opportunities to prevent a subset of microplastic pollution.”

The authors are now calling for reference databases of potential pollutants of waterways. PhD researcher Amy Osbourne specialises in forensic fibre analysis at Staffordshire University after progressing from the undergraduate degree in Forensic Investigation.

She said: “We cannot confidently identify the sources of pollution without being able to cross reference samples against large, easily searched known provenance databases. Such databases are already used in forensic science when identifying sources of evidence found at crime scenes.

“For example, we might begin with a database of all the different types of fishing nets or tarpaulins that we know are commonly used in areas like Long Island Sound.”

Professor Gwinnett added: “While more research is needed to fully understand microplastics concentrations and implications of this pollution, the very presence is enough to engage in solution development and solution-deployment.”

Read the full paper Microplastic and anthropogenic microfiber pollution in the surface waters of the East River and Long Island Sound, USA.

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JOURNAL

Regional Studies in Marine Science

DOI

10.1016/j.rsma.2023.103360 

ARTICLE TITLE

Microplastic and anthropogenic microfiber pollution in the surface waters of the East River and Long Island Sound, USA

 

Deforestation harms biodiversity of the Amazon’s perfume-loving orchid bees

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

 

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A SPECIMEN FROM THE GENUS EUGLOSSA COLLECTED DURING THE STUDY IN RONDÔNIA, BRAZIL.

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CREDIT: K. CHRISTOPHER BROWN

LAWRENCE — A survey of orchid bees in the Brazilian Amazon state of Rondônia, carried out in the 1990s, is shedding new light the impact of deforestation on the scent-collecting pollinators, which some view as bellwethers of biodiversity in the neotropics.

The findings, from a researcher at the University of Kansas, are published today in the peer-reviewed journal Biological Conservation.

“This study on orchid bees was an add-on to previous research on stingless bees. Orchid bees are so easy to collect, so we added them to our broader survey of bee biodiversity across this rapidly developing region in the Amazon,” said lead author J. Christopher Brown, professor of geography & atmospheric science at KU. “We’ve known for decades that particular fragrances like eucalyptus oil, for example, attract male orchid bees, which naturally collect similar fragrances from orchids to use in mating. All you do is dip cotton balls into a variety of chemical attractants and hang these on a string in the open air. The bees start arriving in minutes, hovering around the baits and displaying their often metallic-hued blue and green colors.” 

A specimen from the genus Euglossa collected during the study in Rondônia, Brazil.

Brown said that this ease of collection, in part, has made orchid bees, native to the tropical rainforests of the Americas, a regular subject of studies to determine the impact of deforestation and forest fragmentation on biodiversity. In a region of intense deforestation, the bees, because they are pollinators, help reveal the toll on local ecosystems more broadly.

“They were among the first types of organisms studied to understand the impact of that deforestation on the general biology and ecology of an area,” he said. The researchers identified species of orchid bee, Eulaema nigrita and 11 other species, that are particularly associated with degraded vs. preserved environments, respectively.”

Of the experience in the field with orchid bees, Brown said, “I had previously seen orchid bees in museum collections, but seeing them in the field was a wholly different experience. It’s breathtaking seeing these bees appear at the baits out of nowhere.”

Brown conducted all the fieldwork in 1996 based on a methodology developed with Marcio Oliveira, currently of the National Institute for Amazonian Research in Manaus, who was a fellow graduate student at the time.

“He suggested that, given our opportunity to collect stingless bees in Rondônia, we should also include orchid bees in our research,” Brown said. “To achieve this, we developed the methodology with the assistance of two young beekeepers from the region who temporarily abandoned their farming activities to join us in collecting bees throughout the state of Rondônia. Due to various commitments, publication was delayed. Fortunately, the scientific community appreciates the sharing of long-past data and observations.” 

While the data concerns bees that lived decades ago, their scientific value remains high. In part, this is because the survey covered a much broader geographic area — the entire state of Rondônia — than previous studies of orchid bees. The researchers said their aim was to discover impacts on orchid bees beyond the scale of forest patches and fragments.

“Reviewers acknowledged the age of our data but commended the diversity of species we discovered and our unique methodology,” Brown said. “While conventional studies involve yearlong collection efforts in a handful of forest fragments, we sampled the bee population in 130 locations across the state in just an hour at each location. This unconventional approach revealed a wealth of bee diversity previously undocumented by others. Our results serve as an important baseline for future studies of biodiversity in the region.” 

The survey revealed one of the most diverse communities of orchid bees ever found (2,497 individuals, represented by five genera and 48 species across 12 collection zones and 130 sample locations). A rare species of parasitic bee (Aglae caerulea), one that lays eggs in the nests of other species, was found along with two species that are new to science. 

However, the researchers report their work revealed the “richness, abundance and composition” of the bee populations were “signficantly impacted by agricultural colonization after as little as 10-17 years of settlement by colonist farmers and ranchers.”

Brown said protecting orchid bee habitat and rainforests in general could largely be a matter of internal Brazilian politics and economics, but there were ways to boost their conservation.  

“We are optimistic that stricter enforcement of environmental laws under Brazil’s new administration will lead to lower deforestation rates in the Amazon,” Brown said. “Additionally, there have been market-oriented strategies, such as the moratorium on purchases of soybeans from recently deforested land, that have slowed deforestation, an important finding from previous work published in PLOS ONE."

According to Brown, consumers largely are unaware of these conservation efforts because they are primarily organized at a high level involving agreements among large transportation companies, major soybean producers and large international environmental organizations.

“Our research highlighted the substantial reduction in deforestation resulting from these agreements,” he said. “In light of this, the question arises: What actions can consumers take? Many of these initiatives are led by prominent environmental organizations that wield influence with both industry and government. When these organizations yield tangible results, individuals may consider contributing to support their endeavors, particularly if the cause aligns with their interests and is scientifically backed. Such contributions can make a discernible impact.”

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JOURNAL

Biological Conservation

DOI

10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110560 

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

10-Apr-2024

Long-term satellite observations show climatological characteristics of isolated deep convection over the Tibetan Plateau

INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

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SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF IDCS PER RAINY SEASON (JUN–SEP) AVERAGED DURING 2001–2020

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CREDIT: YING NA

The Tibetan Plateau is a prevalent region for deep convection owing to its unique thermodynamic forcing. Deep convection can exist as isolated deep convection (IDC), which is small in size, or mesoscale convective systems (MCSs), which are convective storms organized into larger and longer-lived systems. Most previous research has focused on MCSs over the Tibetan Plateau, but less so on IDC systems (hereafter, IDCs).

Dr. Ying Na from Wuxi University, and Dr. Chaofan Li from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, examined the climatological features of IDCs by using high-resolution satellite observations in June to September during 2001–2020. The results have recently been published in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters.

According to this study, IDCs mainly concentrate over the southern Tibetan Plateau. The number of IDCs per rainy season over the Tibetan Plateau ranges from approximately 10 to 140, with an average value of 54.2. The initiation time of IDCs exhibits an obvious diurnal cycle, with the peak at 1400–1500 LST (local standard time) and the valley at 0900–1000 LST, indicating the effect of daytime sensible heating from the plateau. Most IDCs only last a few hours, with around 90% lasting no more than five hours. IDCs generally have a cold cloud area of 7422.9 km2, containing a precipitation area of approximately 65%. The larger the IDC, the larger the fraction of intense precipitation it contains.

Although the spatial and temporal scales of IDCs are small, their contribution in terms of precipitation is important. IDCs contribute approximately 20%–30% of all precipitation, and approximately 30%–40% of extreme precipitation, over the Tibetan Plateau, with some areas contributing up to 70% in July and August. Dr. Li, the corresponding author of the study, emphasizes that “IDCs over the Tibetan Plateau account for a larger fraction than MCSs, indicating their important role in the region”. A comprehensive understanding of IDCs will be helpful for weather prediction and disaster mitigation, and it is worth examining how well state-of-the-art models perform in simulating them.

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JOURNAL

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

DOI

10.1016/j.aosl.2024.100489 

ARTICLE TITLE

Isolated deep convections over the Tibetan Plateau in the rainy season during 2001–2020

 

Studies uncovered why urine sprayed by (TOM) cats emits a pungent odor

IWATE UNIVERSITY, JAPAN

Cats communicate with others through their scents. One of their scent marking behaviors is spraying urine on vertical surfaces such as walls and furniture. Although spraying plays an essential role in the feline world, it often poses challenges for pet owners because of its strong and pungent odor. Consequently, the website is overflowing with posts discussing the issue of cat spraying. Notably, sprayed urine has a more pungent odor on the human nose than normal urine in their litter boxes. While it is believed that sprayed urine contains additional chemicals possibly derived from anal sac secretions, scientific evidence supporting this remains unclear. Japanese researchers examined why the sprayed urine had distinctive smell compared to the normal urine.

The researchers initially compared the chemical profiles of volatile organic compounds emitted from sprayed urine, normal urine, and bladder urine collected using ureteral catheters. Chemical analyses revealed a high degree of similarity in these profiles within the same individuals. Behavioral analyses further demonstrated that cats perceived the sprayed urine and urine remaining in the bladder after spraying as similar odors, whereas the odors of another cat’s urine were perceived as different. According to Prof. Masao Miyazaki, a leader of the research project, the data indicate that the sprayed urine originates from bladder urine without supplementation with chemicals from other secretory glands.

Given the high degree of similarity of volatile chemical profiles between sprayed urine and naturally normal urine, researchers examined why sprayed urine emits a pungent odor from another perspective. They observed that cat urine samples easily adhered to the inner surface of plastic syringes when they transferred the samples into glass vials for urinary volatile analyses. “This observation prompted us to explore the underlying mechanisms.” said Reiko Uenoyama, the paper’s first author. Twenty years ago, Prof. Miyazaki discovered that healthy cats excrete a substantial amount of a urinary protein named cauxin (curiosity in Japanese), which contributes to the production of sulfur-containing odorants responsible for the distinct catty smell. "Generally, the wettability of a liquid on solid surface increases as the surface tension decreases. Based on this knowledge, we hypothesized that the high protein concentration in cat urine might reduce the surface tension of cat urine, enhancing the emission of urinary volatile compounds from the large vertical surface area that was spread over the urine.” said Uenoyama.

As anticipated, the surface tension was reduced with increasing concentrations of the urinary protein cauxin. At the same protein concentration, the wettability was higher in the cauxin solution than in the control solution containing albumin, a major protein contained in mammalian blood. When comparing the surface tension of cat urine with and without proteins, they confirmed that urine with proteins exhibited significantly lower surface tension than deproteinized urine. Interestingly, the urine with proteins also demonstrated greater adhesion to vertically positioned glass plates than the deproteinized urine. In their observations, odorants responsible for the distinctive catty smell were detectable in an artificial miniature garden designed to mimic natural environments in which a block sprayed with tomcat urine was placed. In contrast, no such odorant was below the detection limit in another garden where the same urine was poured directly into sandy soil and then covered. “The difference in environmental odors between the two gardens, despite using the same urine sample, can be explained by most of the urinary volatile chemicals being trapped in the porous structure of the sandy soil. This phenomenon did not occur in the urine adhering to the surface of the block. Additionally, liquid droplets of sprayed urine can easily dry on the surface of the block, resulting in greater emissions of volatile chemicals from the scent mark rapidly as compared to from normal urine.” as explained by Miyazaki.

In conclusion, feline sprayed urine originates solely from the bladder, without any contribution from other secretions. However, despite this exclusive source, sprayed urine emits a strong and pungent odor owing to enhanced adhesion on vertical surfaces. The specific urinary protein, cauxin, plays a crucial role in scent marking by not only producing cat-specific odorants but also by enhancing the emission of urinary volatile chemicals by increasing the wettability of the sprayed urine. This study may provide insights into addressing the distinct smell associated with sprayed urine.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Chemical Ecology

DOI

10.1007/s10886-024-01490-1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

News article

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Sprayed urine emits a pungent odor due to its increased adhesion to vertical objects via urinary proteins rather than to changes in its volatile chemical profile in domestic cats

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Apr-2024

 

Survivors of severe COVID face persistent health problems

Most of those who were discharged to long-term acute care centers had ailments that lasted for more than a year

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SAN FRANCISCO

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2024/04/sanders-seeks-public-input-for-long.html

UC San Francisco researchers examined COVID-19 patients across the United States who survived some of the longest and most harrowing battles with the virus and found that about two-thirds still had physical, psychiatric, and cognitive problems for up to a year later. 

The study, which appears April 10, 2024, in the journal Critical Care Medicine, reveals the life-altering impact of SARS-CoV-2 on these individuals, the majority of whom had to be placed on mechanical ventilators for an average of one month. 

Too sick to be discharged to a skilled nursing home or rehabilitation facility, these patients were transferred instead to special hospitals known as long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). These hospitals specialize in weaning patients off ventilators and providing rehabilitation care, and they were a crucial part of the pandemic response. 

Among the 156 study participants, 64% reported having a persistent impairment after one year, including physical (57%), respiratory (49%), psychiatric (24%), and cognitive (15%). Nearly half, or 47%, had more than one type of problem. And 19% continued to need supplemental oxygen.

The long-term follow up helps to outline the extent of the medical problems experienced by those who became seriously ill with COVID early in the pandemic. 

“We have millions of survivors of the most severe and prolonged COVID illness globally,” said the study’s first author, Anil N. Makam, MD, MAS, an associate professor of medicine at UCSF. “Our study is important to understand their recovery and long-term impairments, and to provide a nuanced understanding of their life-changing experience.”

Disabilities from long-term hospital stays

Researchers recruited 156 people who had been transferred for COVID to one of nine LTACHs in Nebraska, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, and Connecticut between March 2020 and February 2021. They questioned them by telephone or online a year after their hospitalization. The average total length of stay in the hospital and the LTACH for the group was about two months. Their average age was 65, and most said they had been healthy before getting COVID. 

In addition to their lingering ailments from COVID, the participants also had persistent problems from their long hospital stays, including painful bedsores and nerve damage that limited the use of their arms or legs. 

“Many of the participants we interviewed were most bothered by these complications, so preventing these from happening in the first place is key to recovery,” Makam said.

Although 79% said they had not returned to their usual health, 99% had returned home, and 60% of those who had previously been employed said they had gone back to work. 

They were overwhelmingly grateful to have survived, often describing their survival as a “miracle.” But their recovery took longer than expected.

The results underscore that it is normal to for someone who has survived such severe illness to have persistent health problems. 

“The long-lasting impairments we observed are common to survivors of any prolonged critical illness, and not specific to COVID, and are best addressed through multidisciplinary rehabilitation,” Makam said. 

Authors: Additional UCSF co-authors include Oanh Kieu Nguyen, MD, MAS, Eddie Espejo, MA, Cinthia Blat, MPH, W. John Boscardin, PhD and Kenneth E. Covinsky, MD, MPH. 

Funding: The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (K23AG052603), the UCSF Research Evaluation and Allocation Committee (Carson and Hampton Research Funds) and the National Association of Long Term Hospitals. The authors had no conflicts of interest to disclose. 

 

About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at https://ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet.

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JOURNAL

Critical Care Medicine