Deciles’ average income as a variable to anchor politicians’ wage

We propose deciles average income, deficit and natural resource rents as objective variables to measure politicians’ economic performance. We begin by reviewing the literature linking politicians and their institutional choices to the macroeconomic environment. To continue, we review the relation between those macroeconomic variables and income percentiles. In order to evaluate how well they sum up politicians’ performance, we then use the variables previously reviewed to throw a generalized least squares estimation from panel data in a set of countries. Our results point towards the possibility of using those variables to anchor an incentive contract for politicians

Development bank financing in the context of the COVID-19 crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean

The world’s financing needs multiplied rapidly from 2020 onward owing to the effects of a systemic crisis considered to have been the worst global crisis since the Second World War: that unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, flows from China, FDI and other inflows of international cooperation and multilateral resources which had been the largest in the region for some years fell back from their pre-pandemic levels. In this context, the debate about the fundamental role of development banks in alleviating market constraints in a crisis has come to the fore. The present study seeks to contribute to that debate by analysing information compiled in a database of multilateral, regional, subregional and national development bank financing measures, priorities and amounts in Latin America and the Caribbean for the specific purpose of addressing the needs of the countries given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021.Abstract .-- Introduction . -- I. How development banks responded to COVID-19: financial support by each type of institution, broken down by destination country and subregion .-- II. How development banks responded to COVID-19: financial support by sector and economic agent .-- III. The response of development banks to COVID-19: the main instruments .-- IV. The response of development banks to COVID-19: country cases .-- V. Conclusions and policy recommendations

Bonos de impacto: coordinación e innovación para el financiamiento de inversiones con resultados sociales

Los bonos de impacto son un innovador mecanismo de financiamiento que busca atraer inversión privada hacia políticas públicas sociales, con énfasis en intervenciones preventivas o de atención temprana parala salud, la educación y la administración de justicia. Asimismo, ofrecen la posibilidad de compartir algunos de los riesgos inherentes a la innovación de políticas, y su financiamiento, con inversionistas privados. Destacando el potencial de los bonos de impacto como un mecanismo para encontrar soluciones innovadoras a los desafíos de la política social, este documento evalúa el papel de los bonos de impacto en la formulación, implementación y evaluación de políticas públicas.Resumen .-- Introducción .-- I. Los bonos de impacto .-- II. Evolución reciente .-- III. Oportunidades y desafíos de los bonos de impacto .-- IV. Los bonos de impacto y el diseño de políticas públicas basadas en evidencia .-- V. Los bonos de impacto como mecanismo financiero para los ensayos de control aleatorio .-- VI. Conclusiones

Genomic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 in Egypt: insights into spike protein thermodynamic stability

The overall pattern of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic so far has been a series of waves; surges in new cases followed by declines. The appearance of novel mutations and variants underlie the rises in infections, making surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 mutations and prediction of variant evolution of utmost importance. In this study, we sequenced 320 SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes isolated from patients from the outpatient COVID-19 clinic in the Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt 57357 (CCHE 57357) and the Egypt Center for Research and Regenerative Medicine (ECRRM). The samples were collected between March and December 2021, covering the third and fourth waves of the pandemic. The third wave was found to be dominated by Nextclade 20D in our samples, with a small number of alpha variants. The delta variant was found to dominate the fourth wave samples, with the appearance of omicron variants late in 2021. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that the omicron variants are closest genetically to early pandemic variants. Mutation analysis shows SNPs, stop codon mutation gain, and deletion/insertion mutations, with distinct patterns of mutations governed by Nextclade or WHO variant. Finally, we observed a large number of highly correlated mutations, and some negatively correlated mutations, and identified a general inclination toward mutations that lead to enhanced thermodynamic stability of the spike protein. Overall, this study contributes genetic and phylogenetic data, as well as provides insights into SARS-CoV-2 viral evolution that may eventually help in the prediction of evolving mutations for better vaccine development and drug targets

PepFect 14, a novel cell-penetrating peptide for oligonucleotide delivery in solution and as solid formulation

Numerous human genetic diseases are caused by mutations that give rise to aberrant alternative splicing. Recently, several of these debilitating disorders have been shown to be amenable for splice-correcting oligonucleotides (SCOs) that modify splicing patterns and restore the phenotype in experimental models. However, translational approaches are required to transform SCOs into usable drug products. In this study, we present a new cell-penetrating peptide, PepFect14 (PF14), which efficiently delivers SCOs to different cell models including HeLa pLuc705 and mdx mouse myotubes; a cell culture model of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD). Non-covalent PF14-SCO nanocomplexes induce splice-correction at rates higher than the commercially available lipid-based vector Lipofectamine™ 2000 (LF2000) and remain active in the presence of serum. Furthermore, we demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating this delivery system into solid formulations that could be suitable for several therapeutic applications. Solid dispersion technique is utilized and the formed solid formulations are as active as the freshly prepared nanocomplexes in solution even when stored at an elevated temperatures for several weeks. In contrast, LF2000 drastically loses activity after being subjected to same procedure. This shows that using PF14 is a very promising translational approach for the delivery of SCOs in different pharmaceutical forms

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Financiamiento de la banca de desarrollo en el marco de la crisis del COVID-19 en América Latina y el Caribe

Desde 2020, el mundo vio multiplicadas a gran velocidad sus necesidades de financiamiento ante los efectos de una crisis sistémica, considerada como la peor crisis global desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial: la desatada por la pandemia del COVID-19. Adicionalmente, los flujos de financiamiento de mayor importancia en la región durante los últimos años se manifestaron en caída relativa a años anteriores (flujos privados, flujos provenientes de China, IED y otros flujos de cooperación internacional o recursos multilaterales). En tal contexto, se ha puesto en relieve el debate sobre el rol fundamental de la banca de desarrollo para paliar las limitaciones de los mercados en una situación de crisis. Este trabajo propone contribuir a dicho debate, a partir del análisis de información recopilada en una base de datos que recogió medidas, prioridades y montos de financiamiento de la banca de desarrollo multilateral, regional, subregional y nacional─ de América Latina y el Caribe, especialmente destinadas a atender las necesidades de los países ante los efectos de la pandemia de COVID-19 entre 2020 y 2021.Resumen .-- Introducción .-- I. Respuestas de la Banca de Desarrollo ante la COVID-19: apoyo financiero de cada tipo de institución, por países y subregiones destinatarias .-- II. Respuestas de la Banca de Desarrollo ante la COVID-19: apoyo financiero por sectores y agentes económicos .-- III. Respuestas de la Banca de Desarrollo ante la COVID-19: principales instrumentos .-- IV. Respuestas de la Banca de Desarrollo ante la COVID-19: casos de países comentados .-- V. Conclusiones y recomendaciones de políticas