Why do some primate mothers carry their infant's corpse? A cross-species comparative study

Non-human primates respond to the death of a conspecific in diverse ways, some of which may present phylogenetic continuity with human thanatological responses. Of these responses, infant corpse carrying by mothers (ICC) is the most frequently reported. Despite its prevalence, quantitative analyses of this behaviour are scarce and inconclusive. We compiled a database of 409 published cases across 50 different primate species of mothers' responses to their infants' deaths and used Bayesian phylogenetic regressions with an information-theoretic approach to test hypotheses proposed to explain between- and within-species variation in ICC. We found that ICC was more likely when the infant's death was non-traumatic (e.g. illness) versus traumatic (e.g. infanticide), and when the mother was younger. These results support the death detection hypothesis, which proposes that ICC occurs when there are fewer contextual or sensory cues indicating death. Such an interpretation suggests that primates are able to attain an awareness of death. In addition, when carried, infant age affected ICC duration, with longer ICC observed for younger infants. This result suggests that ICC is a by-product of strong selection on maternal behaviour. The findings are discussed in the context of the evolution of emotion, and implications for evolutionary thanatology are proposed

Rehabilitation needs of persons discharged from an African trauma center

Background: The study prospectively assessed the functional impairments and rehabilitation needs of Africans admitted to a regional trauma center. It also acts as a pilot study to demonstrate the practical use of the Language Independent Functional Evaluation (L.I.F.E.) software in an acute hospital setting. Methods: A 5 page questionnaire was used to gather demographic data (age, sex, medical diagnosis, education, housing type, place of residency, occupation), cause of disability/injury, severity of disability or functional impairment, and rehabilitation treatment received (types of rehab, frequency of treatment, duration of therapy, follow up therapy, equipment). Functional status on discharge was evaluated with the L.I.F.E. scale. Results: 84 consecutive consenting subjects were recorded. The predominant disability/injury of respondents involved the lower extremities (70%), followed by upper extremities (23%). The mechanisms of injury were largely related to auto accidents (69%). Falls made up 17% of these injuries and 14% were related to violence. Eleven subjects had disability measured using L.I.F.E and all were classified as having major disabilities. Only 14 patients (17%) received any rehabilitation therapy which consisted of only physical therapy provided at a frequency of once a day for less than one week duration. Conclusion: This study found that most persons admitted to a sophisticated trauma unit in Ghana are discharged without adequate rehabilitation services, and that the level of disability experienced by these people can be measured,  even while they are still sick and in the hospital, using L.I.F.E. The implications are clear: African trauma systems must measure the long term outcomes from their treatments and provide the inpatient medical rehabilitation services that are a standard of care for trauma victims elsewhere in the world

Hepatic Steatosis, Rather Than Underlying Obesity, Increases the Risk of Infection and Hospitalization for COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a risk factor for SARS-COV2 infection and is often associated with hepatic steatosis. The aim of this study was to determine if pre-existing hepatic steatosis affects the risk of infection and severity for COVID-19. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study (UK Biobank). Univariate and stepwise multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed on liver phenotypic biomarkers to determine if these variables increased risk of testing positive and being hospitalized for COVID-19; then compared to previously described risk factors associated with COVID-19, including age, ethnicity, gender, obesity, socio-economic status. SETTING: UK biobank study. PARTICIPANTS: 502,506 participants (healthy at baseline) in the UK Biobank, of whom 41,791 underwent MRI (aged 50–83) for assessment of liver fat, liver fibro-inflammatory disease, and liver iron. Positive COVID-19 test was determined from UK testing data, starting in March 2020 and censored in January 2021. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Liver fat measured as proton density fat fraction (PDFF%) MRI and body mass index (BMI, Kg/m2) to assess prior to February 2020 using MRI of the liver to assess hepatic steatosis. RESULTS: Within the imaged cohort (n = 41, 791), 4,458 had been tested and 1,043 (2.49% of the imaged population) tested positive for COVID-19. Individuals with fatty liver (≥10%) were at increased risk of testing positive (OR: 1.35, p = 0.007) and those participants with obesity and fatty liver, were at increased risk of hospitalization with a positive test result by 5.14 times (p = 0.0006). CONCLUSIONS: UK Biobank data revealed obese individuals with fatty liver disease were at increased risk of infection and hospitalization for COVID-19. Public policy measures and personalized medicine should be considered in order to protect these high-risk individuals

Impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-COVID inpatient care in southern Spain

We assessed the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on non-COVID hospital admissions, non-COVID mortality, factors associated with non-COVID mortality, and changes in the profile of non-COVID patients admitted to hospital. We used the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set with diagnosis grouped according to the Diagnostic Related Groups. A total of 10,594 patients (3% COVID-19; 97% non-COVID) hospitalised during the first wave in 2020 (27-February/07-June) were compared with those hospitalised within the same dates of 2017-2019 (average annual admissions: 14,037). We found a decrease in non-COVID medical (22%) and surgical (33%) hospitalisations and a 25.7% increase in hospital mortality among non-COVID patients during the first pandemic wave compared to pre-pandemic years. During the officially declared sub-period of excess mortality in the area (17-March/20-April, in-hospital non-COVID mortality was even higher (58.7% higher than the pre-pandemic years). Non-COVID patients hospitalised during the first pandemic wave (compared to pre-pandemic years) were older, more frequently men, with longer hospital stay and increased disease severity. Hospitalisation during the first pandemic wave in 2020, compared to hospitalisation during the pre-pandemic years, was an independent risk factor for non-COVID mortality (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.07-1.57, p = 0.008), reflecting the negative impact of the pandemic on hospitalised patients

Jacobi Polynomials as su(2, 2) Unitary Irreducible Representation

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CORRELACIÓN ENTRE CARGA DE TRABAJO, SÍNDROME DE BURNOUT Y CALIDAD DE VIDA EN UNA UNIDAD DE CRÍTICOS

Objetives To detect Burnout Syndrome in nurses working in the resuscitation unit; Assessing their life quality, and correlating work load, Burnout Syndrome and life quality. Methods Descriptive and cross section study. Sample: Nursing personnel of the resuscitation unit at the CHUS hospital. Two questionnaires were used: Test of Life quality, Satisfaction and Pleasure, and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Results According to the MBI average obtained in the three sections: Emotional Tiredness, Depersonalization, and Personal Fulfillment, the following facts were observed: On average a higher MBI score in women than in men, as well as a higher score in married persons than in singles. Emotional tiredness and personal fulfillment are lower in men than in women. Meanwhile, depersonalization is higher in men. Conclusions Personnel with 3 to 6 years of experience in the unit: higher emotional tiredness; from 6 to 9 years: Higher level of depersonalization; More than 9 years: maximum level of personal fulfillment.Objetivos Detectar Síndrome de Burnout entre los DUE de Reanimación; evaluar calidad de vida y correlacionar carga de trabajo, S. Burnout y calidad de vida. Métodos Estudio descriptivo y transversal. Muestra: plantilla de DUE de Reanimación CHUS. Se emplearon dos cuestionarios: Test de Calidad de Vida, Satisfacción y Placer y el Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Resultados Según la media obtenida del MBI en los tres apartados (cansancio emocional, despersonalización, realización personal) se observó: una media de puntuación del MBI superior en la mujer que en el hombre; mayor en casados que en solteros. El cansancio emocional y la realización personal son menores en el hombre que en la mujer y la despersonalización es superior en el hombre. Conclusiones De 3 a 6 años, mayor cansancio emocional; de 6 a 9, mayor nivel de despersonalización; personal con más de 9 años de antigüedad en el servicio, máximo grado de realización personal

2D-cadmium MOF and gismondine-like zinc coordination network based on the N-(2-tetrazolethyl)-4′-glycine linker

We have designed and synthesized two new metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) using the novel N-(2-tetrazolethyl)-4′-glycine spacer (TeGly)2−. These materials exhibit intense photoluminescence.This work was supported by the MEC of Spain (Project CTQ2011-24478) and the Junta de Andalucía (FQM-1484). D. F.-J. thanks the Royal Society for a University Research Fellowship.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Royal Society of Chemistry via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5NJ00011

Quantitative study of hydration of C3S and C2S by thermal analysis. Evolution and composition of C-S-H gels formed

This research is part of a European project (namely, CODICE project), main objective of which is modelling, at a multi-scale, the evolution of the mechanical performance of non-degraded and degraded cementitious matrices. For that, a series of experiments were planned with pure synthetic tri-calcium silicate (C3S) and bi-calcium silicate (C2S) (main components of the Portland cement clinker) to obtain different calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H) gel structures during their hydration. The characterization of those C–S–H gels and matrices will provide experimental parameters for the validation of the multi-scale modelling scheme proposed. In this article, a quantitative method, based on thermal analyses, has been used for the determination of the chemical composition of the C–S–H gel together with the degree of hydration and quantitative evolution of all the components of the pastes. Besides, the microstructure and type of silicate tetrahedron and mean chain length (MCL) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 29Si magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR, respectively. The main results showed that the chemical compositions for the C–S–H gels have a CaO/SiO2 M ratio almost constant of 1.7 for both C3S and C2S compounds. Small differences were found in the gel water content: the H2O/SiO2 M ratio ranged from 2.9 ± 0.2 to 2.6 ± 0.2 for the C3S (decrease) and from 2.4 ± 0.2 to 3.2 ± 0.2 for the C2S (increase). The MCL values of the C–S–H gels, determined from 29Si MAS NMR, were 3.5 and 4 silicate tetrahedron, for the hydrated C3S and C2S, respectively, remaining almost constant at all hydration periods

The WACMOS-ET project, part 2 : evaluation of global terrestrial evaporation data sets

The WAter Cycle Multi-mission Observation Strategy - EvapoTranspiration (WACMOS-ET) project aims to advance the development of land evaporation estimates on global and regional scales. Its main objective is the derivation, validation, and intercomparison of a group of existing evaporation retrieval algorithms driven by a common forcing data set. Three commonly used process-based evaporation methodologies are evaluated: the Penman-Monteith algorithm behind the official Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) evaporation product (PM-MOD), the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM), and the Priestley-Taylor Jet Propulsion Laboratory model (PT-JPL). The resulting global spatiotemporal variability of evaporation, the closure of regional water budgets, and the discrete estimation of land evaporation components or sources (i.e. transpiration, interception loss, and direct soil evaporation) are investigated using river discharge data, independent global evaporation data sets and results from previous studies. In a companion article (Part 1), Michel et al. (2016) inspect the performance of these three models at local scales using measurements from eddy-covariance towers and include in the assessment the Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) model. In agreement with Part 1, our results indicate that the Priestley and Taylor products (PT-JPL and GLEAM) perform best overall for most ecosystems and climate regimes. While all three evaporation products adequately represent the expected average geographical patterns and seasonality, there is a tendency in PM-MOD to underestimate the flux in the tropics and subtropics. Overall, results from GLEAM and PT-JPL appear more realistic when compared to surface water balances from 837 globally distributed catchments and to separate evaporation estimates from ERA-Interim and the model tree ensemble (MTE). Nonetheless, all products show large dissimilarities during conditions of water stress and drought and deficiencies in the way evaporation is partitioned into its different components. This observed inter-product variability, even when common forcing is used, suggests that caution is necessary in applying a single data set for large-scale studies in isolation. A general finding that different models perform better under different conditions highlights the potential for considering biome- or climate-specific composites of models. Nevertheless, the generation of a multi-product ensemble, with weighting based on validation analyses and uncertainty assessments, is proposed as the best way forward in our long-term goal to develop a robust observational benchmark data set of continental evaporation

No evidence of mycobacterium tuberculosis in dogs living with pulmonary tuberculosis patients

La tuberculosis (TB) es una enfermedad infecciosa en el humano, con alta morbilidad y mortalidad. Los caninos son también susceptibles a infecciones por Mycobacterium tuberculosis, de allí que el presente estudio buscó evidenciar la presencia de la micobacteria en 58 caninos que conviven con pacientes con TB pulmonar en Lima, Perú. Se tomaron placas radiográficas de tórax y muestras de hisopado faríngeo, saliva, fluido bronquial, orina y heces de los caninos. Se utilizó microscopía fluorescente con tinción auramina O, cultivo Löwenstein Jensen y se aplicó la metodología MODS (Sensibilidad a Drogas por Observación Microscópica). Se recolectó información epidemiológica para definir la relación paciente-mascota. La costumbre de esputar en el piso de la casa, el lamido del esputo del paciente por el can y el contacto afectivo con la mascota fueron prácticas encontradas que podrían promover la transmisión de M. tuberculosis de los humanos a las mascotas; sin embargo, ninguno de los caninos evaluados presentó clínica o microbiológicamente evidencia de TB. No se pudo determTuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease primarily of humans which produces high morbidity and mortality. Dogs are also susceptible to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections; therefore, the present study searched for evidence of the presence of this pathogen in 58 dogs that live with human pulmonary TB patients in Lima, Peru. Chest Xray was performed and pharyngeal swab, saliva, bronchial fluid, urine and feces samples were taken from dogs. Fluorescence microscopy was performed with auramine O staining and TB culture by the Löwenstein Jensen and the Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility (MODS) methods. Epidemiological data was collected to define the patient-pet relationship. The custom of spitting on the floor of the house, the dog licking patient’s sputum and the affective contact with the pet were practices identified during the study that might facilitate the transmission of M. tuberculosis from human to pets. However, none of the dogs presented clinical or microbiological evidence of TB. Transmission of MTB in dogs that live with pulmonary TB patients could not be determined