Worldwide distribution of genetic factors related to severity of COVID-19 infection.

Background: Genome-wide association studies of COVID-19 severity have been carried out mostly on European or East Asian populations with small representation of other world regions. Here we explore the worldwide distribution and linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns of genetic variants previously associated with COVID-19 severity.

Methods: We followed up the results of a large Spanish genome-wide meta-analysis on 26 populations from the 1000 Genomes Project by calculating allele frequencies and LD scores of the nine most significant SNPs.

Biocatalysis: An Eco-Friendly Scenario for the Manufacturing of APIs.

Nowadays, the worldwide demand for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) requires novel, cost-effective, safe, and environmentally friendly synthetic processes [...

Multiple-Inputs Convolutional Neural Network for COVID-19 Classification and Critical Region Screening From Chest X-ray Radiographs: Model Development and Performance Evaluation.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is becoming one of the largest, unprecedented health crises, and chest X-ray radiography (CXR) plays a vital role in diagnosing COVID-19. However, extracting and finding useful image features from CXRs demand a heavy workload for radiologists.

Objective: The aim of this study was to design a novel multiple-inputs (MI) convolutional neural network (CNN) for the classification of COVID-19 and extraction of critical regions from CXRs.

Biotechnological and Biomedical Applications of Enzymes Involved in the Synthesis of Nucleosides and Nucleotides.

Nucleic acid derivatives are involved in cell growth and replication, but they are also particularly important as building blocks for RNA and DNA synthesis [...

Green Production of Cladribine by Using Immobilized -Deoxyribosyltransferase from Stabilized through a Double Covalent/Entrapment Technology.

Nowadays, enzyme-mediated processes offer an eco-friendly and efficient alternative to the traditional multistep and environmentally harmful chemical processes. Herein we report the enzymatic synthesis of cladribine by a novel 2'-deoxyribosyltransferase (NDT)-based combined biocatalyst. To this end, NDT (NDT) was successfully immobilized through a two-step immobilization methodology, including a covalent immobilization onto glutaraldehyde-activated biomimetic silica nanoparticles followed by biocatalyst entrapment in calcium alginate.

Magnetic micro-macro biocatalysts applied to industrial bioprocesses.

The use of magnetic biocatalysts is highly beneficial in bioprocesses technology, as it allows their easy recovering and enhances biocatalyst lifetime. Thus, it simplifies operational processing and increases efficiency, leading to more cost-effective processes. The use of small-size matrices as carriers for enzyme immobilization enables to maximize surface area and catalysts loading, also reducing diffusion limitations.

Cultural Differences in Stress-Related Psychological, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Oral Health Factors of Professors.

With the aim to explore cultural differences in stress-related psychological, nutrition, physical activity, and oral health factors between Spanish and Latin American professors, we analysed stress-related factors in 598 professors (39.9% male, 60.1% female, 41.

Mechanism of Water Dynamics in Hyaluronic Dermal Fillers Revealed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry.

H spin-lattice nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation experiments were performed for five kinds of dermal fillers based on hyaluronic acid. The relaxation data were collected over a broad frequency range between 4 kHz and 40 MHz, at body temperature. Thanks to the frequency range encompassing four orders of magnitude, the dynamics of water confined in the polymeric matrix was revealed.

Sustainable production of nucleoside analogues by a high-efficient purine 2'-deoxyribosyltransferase immobilized onto Ni chelate magnetic microparticles.

The present work aims to develop a magnetic biocatalyst for customized production of nucleoside analogues using mutant His-tagged purine 2'-deoxyribosyltransferase from Trypanosoma brucei (TbPDT) immobilized onto Ni chelate magnetic iron oxide porous microparticles (MTbPDT). Biochemical characterization revealed MTbPDT5 as optimal candidate for further studies (10,552 IU g; retained activity 54% at 50 °C and pH 6.5).

Sustainable synthesis of uridine-5'-monophosphate analogues by immobilized uracil phosphoribosyltransferase from Thermus thermophilus.

Nowadays enzymatic synthesis of nucleic acid derivatives is gaining momentum over traditional chemical synthetic processes. Biotransformations catalyzed by whole cells or enzymes offer an ecofriendly and efficient alternative to the traditional multistep chemical methods, avoiding the use of chemical reagents and organic solvents that are expensive and environmentally harmful. Herein we report for the first time the covalent immobilization a uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT).

Structural and functional characterization of thermostable biocatalysts for the synthesis of 6-aminopurine nucleoside-5'-monophospate analogues.

The present work describes the functional and structural characterization of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase 2 from Thermus thermophilus HB8 (TtAPRT2). The combination of structural and substrate specificity data provided valuable information for immobilization studies. Dimeric TtAPRT2 was immobilized onto glutaraldehyde-activated MagReSyn®Amine magnetic iron oxide porous microparticles by two different strategies: a) an enzyme immobilization at pH 8.

Higher use of techniques studied and performance in melee combat produce a higher psychophysiological stress response.

We aimed to analyse the effectiveness of an operative training in soldiers' psychophysiological and melee combat performance. Nineteen soldiers performed a 50-hr training for 10 weeks. After training, they were divided into two groups: higher performance group (HPG) and lower performance group (LPG), then they conducted a realistic melee simulation where psychophysiological response, task performance, and the utilization of techniques learned were measured.

The association between serum uric acid and blood pressure in different age groups in a healthy Chinese cohort.

High serum uric acid (sUA) has been reported to be a risk factor for hypertension however, whether this is the case for all age groups is not clear. We examined the association between sUA concentrations and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) in different age groups in a cohort of healthy Chinese participants.A total of 1082 healthy participants aged from 41 to 70 years were included.

Resveratrol increases nucleus pulposus matrix synthesis through activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway under mechanical compression in a disc organ culture.

Disc nucleus pulposus (NP) matrix homeostasis is important for normal disc function. Mechanical overloading seriously decreases matrix synthesis and increases matrix degradation. The present study aims to investigate the effects of resveratrol on disc NP matrix homeostasis under a relatively high-magnitude mechanical compression and the potential mechanism underlying this process.

Psychophysiological response in parachute jumps, the effect of experience and type of jump.

We aimed to analyse the effect of experience and type of parachute jump on the psychophysiological responses of jumpers. We analysed blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, blood glucose, lactate and creatinkinase, leg strength, isometric hand strength, cortical arousal, specific fine motor skills, self-confidence and cognition, and somatic and state anxiety, before and after four different parachute jumps: a sport parachute jump, a manual tactical parachute jump, tandem pilots, and tandem passengers. Independently of the parachute jump, the psychophysiological responses of experienced paratroopers were not affected by the jumps, except for an increase in anaerobic metabolism.

Psycho-physiological response in an automatic parachute jump.

Parachute jump is an extreme activity that elicits an intense stress response that affects jumpers' body systems being able to put them at risk. The present research analysed modifications in blood oxygen saturation (BOS), heart rate (HR), cortisol, glucose, lactate, creatine kinase (CK), muscles strength, cortical arousal, autonomic modulation, pistol magazine reload time (PMRT) and state anxiety before and after an automatic open parachute jump in 38 male Spanish soldiers (25.6 ± 5.

Experience modulates the psychophysiological response of airborne warfighters during a tactical combat parachute jump.

We aimed to analyse the effect of experience level in the psychophysiological response and specific fine motor skills of novel and expert parachute warfighters during a tactical combat parachute jump. We analysed blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, salivary cortisol, blood glucose, lactate and creatinkinase, leg strength, isometric hand-grip strength, cortical arousal, specific fine motor skills and cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confident before and after a tactical combat parachute jump in 40 warfighters divided in two group, novel (n=17) and expert group (n=23). Novels presented a higher heart rate, lactate, cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and a lower self-confident than experts during the jump.

Age-dependent, polyclonal hyperactivation of T cells is reduced in TNF-negative gld/gld mice.

The generalized lymphoproliferative disorder (gld) mouse strain is characterized by severe splenomegaly/lymphadenopathy, the production of autoimmune antibodies, and the appearance of CD4/CD8-negative T cells. An additional TNF deficiency of gld/gld mice attenuates the course of the disorder through a yet-unknown mechanism. In this study, we could demonstrate that the reduced splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy in B6.

Use of snake venom fractions in the coagulation laboratory.

Snake venom toxins are now regularly used in the coagulation laboratory for assaying haemostatic parameters and as coagulation reagents. Snake venom thrombin-like enzymes (SVTLE) are used for fibrinogen and fibrinogen breakdown product assay as well as detecting dysfibrinogenaemias. Significantly, because SVTLE are not inhibited by heparin, they can be used for defibrinating samples that contain the anticoagulant before assay of haemostatic variables.