Perceived risk of infection and death from COVID-19 among community members of low- and middle-income countries: A cross-sectional study [version 1; peer review: awaiting peer review]

Background: Risk perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are considered important as they impact community health behaviors. The aim of this study was to determine the perceived risk of infection and death due to COVID-19 and to assess the factors associated with such risk perceptions among community members in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa, Asia, and South America. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted in 10 LMICs in Africa, Asia, and South America from February to May 2021. A questionnaire was utilized to assess the perceived risk of infection and death from COVID-19 and its plausible determinants. A logistic regression model was used to identify the factors associated with such risk perceptions. Results: A total of 1,646 responses were included in the analysis of the perceived risk of becoming infected and dying from COVID-19. Our data suggested that 36.4% of participants had a high perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, while only 22.4% had a perceived risk of dying from COVID-19. Being a woman, working in healthcare-related sectors, contracting pulmonary disease, knowing people in the immediate social environment who are or have been infected with COVID-19, as well as seeing or reading about individuals infected with COVID-19 on social media or TV were all associated with a higher perceived risk of becoming infected with COVID-19. In addition, being a woman, elderly, having heart disease and pulmonary disease, knowing people in the immediate social environment who are or have been infected with COVID-19, and seeing or reading about individuals infected with COVID-19 on social media or TV had a higher perceived risk of dying from COVID-19. Conclusions: The perceived risk of infection and death due to COVID-19 are relatively low among respondents; this suggests the need to conduct health campaigns to disseminate knowledge and information on the ongoing pandemic

Priorities for Mediterranean marine turtle conservation and management in the face of climate change

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potential solutions for marine turtle conservation, we explored the perceptions of key actors across 18 countries in the Mediterranean. These actors evaluated their perceived relative importance of 19 adaptation and mitigation measures that could safeguard marine turtles from climate change. Of importance, despite differences in expertise, experience and focal country, the perceptions of researchers and management practitioners largely converged with respect to prioritizing adaptation and mitigation measures. Climate change was considered to have the greatest impacts on offspring sex ratios and suitable nesting sites. The most viable adaptation/mitigation measures were considered to be reducing other pressures that act in parallel to climate change. Ecological effectiveness represented a key determinant for implementing proposed measures, followed by practical applicability, financial cost, and societal cost. This convergence in opinions across actors likely reflects long-standing initiatives in the Mediterranean region towards supporting knowledge exchange in marine turtle conservation. Our results provide important guidance on how to prioritize measures that incorporate climate change in decision-making processes related to the current and future management and protection of marine turtles at the ocean-basin scale, and could be used to guide decisions in other regions globally. Importantly, this study demonstrates a successful example of how interactive processes can be used to fill the knowledge-action gap between research and management.This work was conducted under FutureMares EU project that received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869300. The Mediterranean Marine Turtle Working Group was established in 2017 and is continuously supported by MedPAN and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The work of AC was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project Number: 2340).Peer reviewe

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants

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

Antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Nannochloropsis oculata

The present work is carried out to evaluate potential applications of aqueous extracts of two microalgae Isochrysis galbana (PEA) and Nannochloropsis oculata (PEB) containing mainly polysaccharides. The monosaccharide composition of microalgal extracts was determined. GC–MS analyses after derivatization show that glucose is the major compound in both microalgae PEA (56.88 %) and PEB (68.23 %). Mannitol (38.8 %) and inositol (20.32 %) are respectively the second major compounds in PEA and PEB. Silylation of monosaccharides allows the determination of sorbitol that attained 3.38 % in PEB. The determination of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties were also analyzed. Antioxidant activity was evaluated from the DPPH scavenging activity. PEA and PEB show a concentration dépendent DPPH·radical scavenging activity. At concentration of 10 mg/mL, both PEA and PEB exhibit an antioxidant activity of 41.45 and 59.07 %, respectively. PEB and PEA are able to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria, Grampositive bacteria and three Candida species. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated on human HeLa cervical cancer cells. HeLa cell proliferation was totally inhibited after treatment with PEA and PEB (1 mg/mL) and the inhibition was dose dependent (from 0.031 to 1 mg/mL). Their anticholinesterase activity was also investigated against butyrylcholinesterase enzymes. These polysaccharides possess interesting antimicrobial, anticancer and anticholinesterase activities that could represent an additional value for these microalgal products. -- Keywords : algae ; DPPH ; cytotoxic activity ; antimicrobial activity ; polysaccharides ; GC-MS

Antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic and anticholinesterase activities of water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Nannochloropsis oculata

The present work is carried out to evaluate potential applications of aqueous extracts of two microalgae Isochrysis galbana (PEA) and Nannochloropsis oculata (PEB) containing mainly polysaccharides. The monosaccharide composition of microalgal extracts was determined. GC–MS analyses after derivatization show that glucose is the major compound in both microalgae PEA (56.88 %) and PEB (68.23 %). Mannitol (38.8 %) and inositol (20.32 %) are respectively the second major compounds in PEA and PEB. Silylation of monosaccharides allows the determination of sorbitol that attained 3.38 % in PEB. The determination of antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties were also analyzed. Antioxidant activity was evaluated from the DPPH scavenging activity. PEA and PEB show a concentration dependent DPPH·radical scavenging activity. At concentration of 10 mg/mL, both PEA and PEB exhibit an antioxidant activity of 41.45 and 59.07 %, respectively. PEB and PEA are able to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria, Grampositive bacteria and three Candida species. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated on human HeLa cervical cancer cells. HeLa cell proliferation was totally inhibited after treatment with PEA and PEB (1 mg/mL) and the inhibition was dose dependent (from 0.031 to 1 mg/mL). Their anticholinesterase activity was also investigated against butyrylcholinesterase enzymes. These polysaccharides possess interesting antimicrobial, anticancer and anticholinesterase activities that could represent an additional value for these microalgal products

Chemical composition and bioactivities of the essential oil from different organs of Ferula communis L. growing in Tunisia

The essential oils obtained by the hydrodistillation from the fresh flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of Ferula communis L., growing in Tunisia were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Thirty-two components were identified in the oil of flowers with camphor (18.3 %), α-pinene (15.3 %), and β-eudesmol (9.3 %) as the main constituents. Twenty-nine compounds were identified in the oil of stems with β-eudesmol (28.1 %), δ-eudesmol (11.1 %), and α-eudesmol (9.6 %) as the main compounds. Twenty compounds were characterized in the oil of roots with dillapiole (7.9 %), guaiol (7.3 %), and spathulenol (6.8 %). In the oil of leaves, α-eudesmol (25.2 %), β-eudesmol (20.7 %), δ-eudesmol (10.1 %), and caryophyllene oxide (7.2 %) were found as the main constituents. This study was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidant activity using DPPH (2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), reducing power, and catalase activity. We tested also the antibacterial, cytotoxic, and cholinesterase inhibition properties of the essential oil of different organs of F. communis. The essential oil of the stems showed the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 = 0.03 ± 0.001 mg mL-1), in DPPH assay and the important result of catalase (303.03 μmol H2O2 degraded/min/protein) of F. communis. The antibacterial activity of the oil was determined by micro-well dilution assay. The best results (MIC = 0.156 ± 0.02 mg mL-1) were exhibited by the essential oil of the leaves of F. Communis against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Besides, the strongest cytotoxic activity against Hela cells was shown with essential oils' leaves with an inhibition percentage of 79.05 % at the concentration of 500 μg mL-1. However, the best inhibition percentage of A 549 cells was detected for essential oils' leaves with an inhibition percentage of 54.56 % at 250 μg mL-1. Our finding showed that the essential oil of the flowers was the most active, with 64.623 % of inhibition against butyrylcholinesterase at 10 mg mL-1 from the incubation time of 30 min

Application of APTES-Anti-E-cadherin film for early cancer monitoring

International audienc

Changes in Physical Fitness, Muscle Damage and Cognitive Function in Elite Rugby Players over a Season

International audienceThis study proposes to monitor the physical, immune and cognitive responses and adaptations of elite rugby players throughout the season based on the loads performed. Anthropometric measurements, physical fitness tests (e.g., muscle strength and power, linear and change-of-direction speed, cardiorespiratory fitness) and analyses of serum concentrations of markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase [CK] and lactate dehydrogenase [LDH]) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were carried out over a sporting season (24 weeks) for 17 elite rugby players (10 forwards and 7 backs) aged 18.91 ± 0.76 years. The physical fitness test results show improvements in the performance of both forwards and backs over the season (p < 0.05), with an advantage for backs compared with forwards in most tests (p < 0.05). Muscle damage markers decreased at the end of the season compared with the baseline levels for forwards (p < 0.05). CK levels were unchanged for the backs, but there were increased LDH concentrations at the end of the season compared with baseline (p < 0.05). Serum BDNF levels decreased for the total group between the second and third sampling (p < 0.05). The muscular and physical capacities of rugby players differ according to their playing position. Immune responses and adaptations, as well as BDNF levels, vary throughout the season and depend on the physical load performed

Development of a New Integrated Easy to Use Micro-electrochemical Platform for Food Analysis and Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Detection

A new electrochemical platform was established during this work for food diagnosis and carrying on tests in situ for the detection of different toxin species. It has the advantage to be easy to use, portable and can help to conduct such tests in a very specific way, instantly and doesn't require expensive equipments or laborious experiments. This entire platform is based on combining an electronic portable system with home manufactured screen printed sensors, and running both cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques for electro analytical experiments. The detection of staphylococcal enterotoxin type B will be carried as an application in order to validate the well performance of this electrochemical workstation