Respiratory Disease Surveillance in the Middle East and Latin America during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2022.

Characterizing the epidemiology of circulating respiratory pathogens during the COVID-19 pandemic could clarify the burden of acute respiratory infections and monitor outbreaks of public health and military relevance. The US Department of Defense supported 2 regions for influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections surveillance, one in the Middle East through US Naval Medical Research Unit EURAFCENT, and another in Latin America through US Naval Medical Research Unit SOUTH. During 2020‒2022, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, we collected a total of 16,146 nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples from sentinel sites in Jordan (n = 11,305) and Latin America (n = 4,841).

Characterizing local pig breeds as reservoirs for the domestic pig genetic variability worldwide via contributions to gene diversity and allelic richness.

Contributions to gene diversity and allelic richness were computed in a total of 2,260 domestic pig genotypes, sharing 53,626 autosomal SNPs, belonging to 98 pig subpopulations worldwide (41 Asian, 696 genotypes; 20 American, 262 genotypes; and 37 European, 686 genotypes), using 616 pig samples belonging to 5 different Cosmopolitan pig breeds as an outgroup, to ascertain if local pig subpopulation can be considered reservoirs of genetic diversity for the whole domestic pig species worldwide. Assessments were carried out for the whole dataset and separately for the American-European and Asian subsets. Effective population size was computed at the subpopulation level using molecular coancestry and linkage disequilibrium information to ensure that estimates of contributions to diversity were not affected by demographic issues.

Oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-Diformylfuran on Alkali Doped Ru/C Catalysts. Electron Properties of Ruthenium Species as Descriptor of Catalytic Activity.

Selective aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural into 2,5-diformylfuran has been achieved on alkali doped Ru/C catalyst. Optimization of Ru metal nanoparticles, as well as the nature and amount of the alkali dopant have been performed. The results showed that doping the Ru/C catalyst with controlled amount of potassium increases the catalytic activity, 2.

One-pot chemo- and photo-enzymatic linear cascade processes.

The combination of chemo- and photocatalyses with biocatalysis, which couples the flexible reactivity of the photo- and chemocatalysts with the highly selective and environmentally friendly nature of enzymes in one-pot linear cascades, represents a powerful tool in organic synthesis. However, the combination of photo-, chemo- and biocatalysts in one-pot is challenging because the optimal operating conditions of the involved catalyst types may be rather different, and the different stabilities of catalysts and their mutual deactivation are additional problems often encountered in one-pot cascade processes. This review explores a large number of transformations and approaches adopted for combining enzymes and chemo- and photocatalytic processes in a successful way to achieve valuable chemicals and valorisation of biomass.

Population dynamics of potentially harmful haplotypes: a pedigree analysis.

Background: The identification of low-frequency haplotypes, never observed in homozygous state in a population, is considered informative on the presence of potentially harmful alleles (candidate alleles), putatively involved in inbreeding depression. Although identification of candidate alleles is challenging, studies analyzing the dynamics of potentially harmful alleles are lacking. A pedigree of the highly endangered Gochu Asturcelta pig breed, including 471 individuals belonging to 51 different families with at least 5 offspring each, was genotyped using the Axiom PigHDv1 Array (658,692 SNPs).

Noble-Metal-Free Carbon Encapsulated CoNi Alloy Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of 5-(Hydroxymethyl) Furfural to Tetrahydrofurandiol in Aqueous Media.

The selective hydrogenation of 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) into 2,5-bis-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran (BHMTHF) in flow reactor using water as a green solvent, has been achieved on a non-noble metal catalyst based on monodispersed CoNi alloy nanoparticles covered by a thin carbon layer. The alloyed catalyst containing CoNi (molar ratio 1 : 1) was prepared in a one-step synthesis following a hydrothermal method. Total conversion of HMF with 91 % selectivity to BHMTHF was achieved.

Approaching autozygosity in a small pedigree of Gochu Asturcelta pigs.

Background: In spite of the availability of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array data, differentiation between observed homozygosity and that caused by mating between relatives (autozygosity) introduces major difficulties. Homozygosity estimators show large variation due to different causes, namely, Mendelian sampling, population structure, and differences among chromosomes. Therefore, the ascertainment of how inbreeding is reflected in the genome is still an issue.

Ascertaining the genetic background of the Celtic-Iberian pig strain: A signatures of selection approach.

Celtic-Iberian pig breeds were majority in Spain and Portugal until the first half of the 20th century. In the 1990s, they were nearly extinct as a result of the introduction of foreign improved pig breeds. Despite its historical importance, the genetic background of the Celtic-Iberian pig strain is poorly documented.

Copy Number Variation Regions Differing in Segregation Patterns Span Different Sets of Genes.

Copy number variations regions (CNVRs) can be classified either as segregating, when found in both parents, and offspring, or non-segregating. A total of 65 segregating and 31 non-segregating CNVRs identified in at least 10 individuals within a dense pedigree of the Gochu Asturcelta pig breed was subjected to enrichment and functional annotation analyses to ascertain their functional independence and importance. Enrichment analyses allowed us to annotate 1018 and 351 candidate genes within the bounds of the segregating and non-segregating CNVRs, respectively.

COVID-19 Attitudes and Vaccine Hesitancy among an Agricultural Community in Southwest Guatemala: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Despite offering free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines starting July 2021, Guatemala has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Latin America. From 28 September 2021 to 11 April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of community members, adapting a CDC questionnaire to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine access and hesitancy. Of 233 participants ≥ 12 years, 127 (55%) received ≥1 dose of COVID-19 and 4 (2%) reported prior COVID-19 illness.

Neutrophil Structural and Functional Alterations After High Mechanical Shear Stress Exposure.

Patients on mechanical circulatory support are prone to infections, increasing morbidity and mortality. These circulatory support devices generate high mechanical shear stress (HMSS) that can causes trauma to blood. When leukocytes become damaged, their immune response function may be impaired or weakened, leading to increased infection vulnerability.

Deploying a robotic positive psychology coach to improve college students' psychological well-being.

Despite the increase in awareness and support for mental health, college students' mental health is reported to decline every year in many countries. Several interactive technologies for mental health have been proposed and are aiming to make therapeutic service more accessible, but most of them only provide one-way passive contents for their users, such as psycho-education, health monitoring, and clinical assessment. We present a robotic coach that not only delivers interactive positive psychology interventions but also provides other useful skills to build rapport with college students.

Segregation patterns and inheritance rate of copy number variations regions assessed in a Gochu Asturcelta pig pedigree.

Copy Number Variation Regions (CNVR) were subjected to pedigree analysis to contribute to the understanding of their segregation patterns. Up to 492 Gochu Asturcelta pig individuals forming 478 different parents-offspring trios (61 different families) were genotyped using the Axiom_PigHDv1 Array (658,692 SNPs). CNVR calling, performed using two different platforms (PennCNV and QuantiSNP), allowed to identify a total of 344 candidate CNVR on the 18 porcine autosomes covering about 106.

Clinical and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Agricultural Workers, Guatemala.

We evaluated clinical and socioeconomic burdens of respiratory disease in banana farm workers in Guatemala. We offered all eligible workers enrollment during June 15-December 30, 2020, and annually, then tracked them for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) through self-reporting to study nurses, sentinel surveillance at health posts, and absenteeism. Workers who had ILI submitted nasopharyngeal swab specimens for testing for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2, then completed surveys at days 0, 7, and 28.

Understanding Mendelian errors in SNP arrays data using a Gochu Asturcelta pig pedigree: genomic alterations, family size and calling errors.

Up to 478 Gochu Asturcelta pig parents-offspring trios (61 different families) were genotyped using the Axiom_PigHDv1 Array to identify the causes of Mendelian errors (ME). Up to 545,364 SNPs were retained. Up to 40,540 SNPs gathering 292,297 allelic mismatches were identified and were overlapped with SINEs and LINEs (Sscrofa genome 11.

Challenges and lessons learned from the rapid operationalization of a prospective cohort to study the natural history and neurodevelopmental outcomes of postnatal Zika virus infection among infants and children in rural Guatemala.

During the course of the 2015-2017 outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas, the emerging virus was recognized as a congenital infection that could damage the developing brain. As the Latin American ZIKV outbreak advanced, the scientific and public health community questioned if this newly recognized neurotropic flavivirus could affect the developing brain of infants and young children infected after birth. We report here the study design, methods and the challenges and lessons learned from the rapid operationalization of a prospective natural history cohort study aimed at evaluating the potential neurological and neurodevelopmental effects of postnatal ZIKV infection in infants and young children, which had become epidemic in Central America.

Feasibility of implementing a telephone-based frailty assessment.

Background: Despite the growing literature on the importance of identifying and managing frailty, its assessment has been limited in clinical settings. With the goal of integrating frailty assessment into routine clinical practice, this quality improvement project aimed to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of administering a telephone-based frailty assessment.

Methods: Between 9/2020 and 6/2021, we identified 169 established patients with serious illnesses in an academic primary care-geriatric clinic.

Enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic strategies to produce highly valuable chiral amines from biomass with ω-transaminases on 2D zeolites.

Amino transaminases (ATAs) have been supported on a 2D ITQ-2 zeolite through electrostatic interactions, resulting in a highly stable active biocatalyst to obtain a variety of valuable chiral amines starting from prochiral ketones derived from biomass. We have extended the biocatalyst applications by designing a chemo-enzymatic process that allows, as the first step, prochiral ketones to be obtained from biomass-derived compounds through an aldol condensation-reduction step using a bifunctional metal/base catalyst. The prochiral ketone is subsequently converted into the chiral amine using the immobilized ATA.

Identification and Characterization of Copy Number Variations Regions in West African Taurine Cattle.

A total of 106 West African taurine cattle belonging to the Lagunaire breed of Benin (33), the N'Dama population of Burkina Faso (48), and N'Dama cattle sampled in Congo (25) were analyzed for Copy Number Variations (CNVs) using the BovineHDBeadChip of Illumina and two different CNV calling programs: PennCNV and QuantiSNP. Furthermore, 89 West African zebu samples (Bororo cattle of Mali and Zebu Peul sampled in Benin and Burkina Faso) were used as an outgroup to ensure that analyses reflect the taurine cattle genomic background. Analyses identified 307 taurine-specific CNV regions (CNVRs), covering about 56 Mb on all bovine autosomes.

High SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and Rapid Neutralizing Antibody Decline among Agricultural Workers in Rural Guatemala, June 2020-March 2021.

Essential agricultural workers work under occupational conditions that may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission. Data from an agricultural worker cohort in Guatemala, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG (anti-N IgG) testing were used to estimate past infections and analyze risk factors associated with seropositivity at enrollment and association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The stability of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses were assessed in a subset of participants.

Acquired platelet defects are responsible for nonsurgical bleeding in left ventricular assist device recipients.

Background: Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have been used as a standard treatment option for patients with advanced heart failure. However, these devices are prone to adverse events. Nonsurgical bleeding (NSB) is the most common complication in patients with continuous flow (CF) LVADs.

Selective Conversion of HMF into 3-Hydroxymethylcyclopentylamine through a One-Pot Cascade Process in Aqueous Phase over Bimetallic NiCo Nanoparticles as Catalyst.

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has been successfully valorized into 3-hydroxymethylcyclopentylamine through a one-pot cascade process in aqueous phase by coupling the hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of HMF into 3-hydroxymethylcyclopentanone (HCPN) with a subsequent reductive amination with ammonia. Mono- (Ni@C, Co@C) and bimetallic (NiCo@C) nanoparticles with different Ni/Co ratios partially covered by a thin carbon layer were prepared and characterized. Results showed that a NiCo catalyst, (molar ratio Ni/Co=1, Ni Co @C), displayed excellent performance in the hydrogenative ring-rearrangement of HMF into HCPN (>90 % yield).

Clinical and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Plantation Workers: Preliminary Results from the Guatemala Agricultural Workers and Respiratory Illness Impact (AGRI) Study.

We evaluated the clinical and socioeconomic burdens of respiratory disease in a cohort of Guatemalan banana plantation workers. All eligible workers were offered enrollment from June 15-December 30, 2020, and annually, then followed for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) through: 1) self-reporting to study nurses, 2) sentinel surveillance at health posts, and 3) absenteeism. Workers with ILI submitted nasopharyngeal swabs for influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 testing, then completed surveys at days 0, 7, and 28.

Frequency of depression and quality of life in patients with diabetes mellitus in public health facilities in Metropolitan Lima.

Introduction: Diabetes is one of the main pandemics in recent years. Its association with depression increases the risk of mortality and morbidity. The coexistence of both diseases leads to poor management of diabetes, which leads to a worse quality of life.