Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

The Complexity of Escaping Labyrinths and Enchanted Forests

The board games The aMAZEing Labyrinth (or simply Labyrinth for short) and Enchanted Forest published by Ravensburger are seemingly simple family games. In Labyrinth, the players move though a labyrinth in order to collect specific items. To do so, they shift the tiles making up the labyrinth in order to open up new paths (and, at the same time, close paths for their opponents). We show that, even without any opponents, determining a shortest path (i.e., a path using the minimum possible number of turns) to the next desired item in the labyrinth is strongly NP-hard. Moreover, we show that, when competing with another player, deciding whether there exists a strategy that guarantees to reach one\u27s next item faster than one\u27s opponent is PSPACE-hard. In Enchanted Forest, items are hidden under specific trees and the objective of the players is to report their locations to the king in his castle. Movements are performed by rolling two dice, resulting in two numbers of fields one has to move, where each of the two movements must be executed consecutively in one direction (but the player can choose the order in which the two movements are performed). Here, we provide an efficient polynomial-time algorithm for computing a shortest path between two fields on the board for a given sequence of die rolls, which also has implications for the complexity of problems the players face in the game when future die rolls are unknown

Situación laboral de los egresados del programa de Fonoaudiología de la Universidad del Cauca

 The objective of the investigation was to describe the actual work situation of the Phonoaudiology Degree alumni of Cauca University, specifically alumni who graduated between the classes of 2003 and 2008. The design was a quantitative, descriptive, and traverse study using a sitematic stratefied system of 81 graduates. The results show that 87,65% were exercising their profession at the moment of the survey. With respect to the area of work, 61,73% were working mainly in language therapy and the remaining percentage was distributed exercising their duties between hearing and language therapy. The interviewees manifested that the main obstacles for employment were, profession ignorance by the public 38,27%, and saturation of the laboral market by 28,40%.Most were satisfied about their income received from their profession from health and educational institutions. The laboral profile of Phonoaudiologists graduating from Cauca University respondsto the areas and functions established by the 367 law of 1997 that states the following, in relation with the object at study. The majority of graduates found working in their profession and consider that their profession is very important, however, it is not distintly recognized by the public.  El objetivo del presente artículo fue describir la situación laboral y el perfil ocupacional actual de los Fonoaudiólogos egresados de las promociones correspondientes a los años 2003 al 2008. El diseño fue cuantitativo descriptivo de corte transversal, se tomó una muestra de 81 egresados desde el año 2003 al año 2008 y se utilizó un muestreo sistemático estratificado. Los resultadosmuestran que el 87,65% de los egresados ejercía la profesión al momento de la encuesta. Respecto al área de desempeño, el 61.73% se encontraba trabajando principalmente en el área de lenguaje y el porcentaje restante se distribuyó en el ejercicio de las áreas de audición y habla.los encuestados manifestaron que los principales obstáculos para la obtención de empleo fueronel desconocimiento de la profesión con el 38.27% y la saturación del mercado laboral con el 28.40%. Sobre la satisfacción de ejercicio profesional el 56,79% manifestó estarlo plenamente,pues se sienten identificados con la fonoaudiología. La situación laboral del Fonoaudiólogo de la Universidad del Cauca, responde a las áreas y funciones descritas en la ley 376 de 1997,relacionadas con su objeto de estudio. La mayor parte de los egresados se encontraron ubicados laboralmente en su profesión y consideran que la profesión es importante, pero no es muy reconocida en el medio.

Situación laboral de los egresados del programa de Fonoaudiología de la facultad ciencias de la salud de la Universidad del Cauca.

Objetivo: Conocer la situación laboral de los Fonoaudiólogos egresados de la Universidad del Cauca. Métodos: El método fue cuantitativo descriptivo de corte transversal, se tomó una muestra de 45 egresados entre el 2003 y el 2006. Resultados: Entre los resultados se encontró que el 95,6% ejercía la profesión al momento de la encuesta, el 80% ha ampliado sus estudios a nivel de posgrado o educación continua; el 26,7% se encontraba trabajando principalmente en el área de lenguaje y el 84% cumplía funciones asistenciales. Los encuestados manifestaron que los principales obstáculos para la obtención de empleo fueron el desconocimiento de la profesión con el 26,7% y la saturación del mercado laboral con el 20%, además la mayoría se encontró satisfecha con el salario recibido por sus actividades. Conclusiones: Se concluyó que la situación laboral del Fonoaudiólogo de la Universidad del Cauca, responde a las áreas y funciones establecidas por la ley 376 de 1997, que establece que este profesional debe prestar los servicios en relación con su objeto de estudio, la comunicación humana normal y sus desórdenes. Además, un alto porcentaje se encontró ubicado laboralmente en su profesión y consideran que la ética es esencial en el quehacer profesional

Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Near Detector Conceptual Design Report

International audienceThe Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is an international, world-class experiment aimed at exploring fundamental questions about the universe that are at the forefront of astrophysics and particle physics research. DUNE will study questions pertaining to the preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe, the dynamics of supernovae, the subtleties of neutrino interaction physics, and a number of beyond the Standard Model topics accessible in a powerful neutrino beam. A critical component of the DUNE physics program involves the study of changes in a powerful beam of neutrinos, i.e., neutrino oscillations, as the neutrinos propagate a long distance. The experiment consists of a near detector, sited close to the source of the beam, and a far detector, sited along the beam at a large distance. This document, the DUNE Near Detector Conceptual Design Report (CDR), describes the design of the DUNE near detector and the science program that drives the design and technology choices. The goals and requirements underlying the design, along with projected performance are given. It serves as a starting point for a more detailed design that will be described in future documents