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Life-saving coronavirus drug 'major breakthrough':
A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.
The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say.
The drug is part of the world's biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.
[...] The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, and it appears that it helps stop some of the damage that can happen when the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight off coronavirus.
[...] In the trial, led by a team from Oxford University, around 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and were compared with more than 4,000 who did not receive the drug.
For patients on ventilators, it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28%. For patients needing oxygen, it cut the risk of death from 25% to 20%.
Chief investigator Prof Peter Horby said: "This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality - and it reduces it significantly. It's a major breakthrough."
[...] Dexamethasone has been used since the early 1960s to treat a wide range of conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.
[...] The drug is given intravenously in intensive care, and in tablet form for less seriously ill patients. So far, the only other drug proven to benefit Covid patients is remdesivir, an antiviral treatment which has been used for Ebola.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @10:18PM (2 children)
> low-speed, lower-power cruise mode with a tall gear, to save fuel while driving at a constant cruising speed.
You got this part right.
> Engines do not work very hard in overdrive.
You got this part wrong...depending on the definition of "work hard".
In overdrive (compared to normal high gear) the throttle will be opened wider to produce the same amount of power, to maintain the same car speed. Since the engine is turning slower in overdrive and manifold vacuum is reduced (intake manifold closer to atmospheric pressure), the average cylinder pressure (BMEP - brake mean effective pressure) will be higher in overdrive. Higher cylinder pressures mean the combustion chamber is hotter and (in extreme cases) the chance of detonation/knock is also more likely, connecting rods/bearing loads are higher, etc. Yes, overdrive can be more efficient (less fuel consumed), but it's harder on the moving parts in the engine.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:36AM (1 child)
Higher cylinder pressure yes, larger throttle opening no. Producing the same power at a lower engine speed will almost always* be more efficient and take less air/fuel per unit time.
*There can be extreme cases where the VE or combustion efficiency are just absolute garbage at a certain RPM range. Imagine shifting into top gear while you're in a 15MPH school zone for example.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:45PM
Overdrive...the transmission output is turning faster than the engine. A lot of cars and trucks already have a slight overdrive in it's top gear but it's not labeled overdrive.