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

Essays on Consumer Preferences for Foods

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how food attributes affect consumers' preferences for food. Data was collected with experiments using different auction mechanisms, sensory evaluations, and surveys. The first study investigates whether consumers from different cultures are willing to pay more for a soda that is sweetened with sugar cane compared to high fructose corn syrup. Data was collected from a blind tasting and Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) experimental auction mechanism conducted in Pullman, WA and in Cali-Colombia. I estimate consumers' willingness to pay based on the bids submitted during the experiment.The second study investigates how quality traits influence willingness to pay for apples. This study investigates consumers' willingness to pay under scenarios with three information treatments: 1) external quality traits are provided; 2) internal quality traits are provided; and 3) both external and internal quality traits are provided. Data was collected via tastings, second-price auctions, and consumer surveys conducted in Pullman, Washington; Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Portland, Oregon. Consumers' willingness to pay is estimated based on the bids submitted during the experiment. The findings include that consumers are willing to pay more with additional information.The third study analyzes consumers' rankings and ratings for apple quality traits based on the same survey utilized in the second study. Consumers ranked apple quality traits on a scale from 1 to 9, where 1 is the least important and 9 is the most important. Additionally, consumers rated the importance of quality traits on a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 extremely unimportant and 7 is extremely important. We estimate two ordered probit models and find that consumers give more importance to flavor, crispness, external appearance, firmness, juiciness and internal appearance compared to phytonutrient content

El COVID-19 y sus efectos económicos y sociales en Cali y el Valle del Cauca

El foro del Banco Mundial, en sus diversos informes, muestra cómo las restricciones dispuestas para controlar la propagación del virus y aliviar así la presión sobre los sistemas de salud han tenido un enorme impacto en el crecimiento económico. Como señala el informe Perspectivas económicas mundiales (Banco Mundial [BM], 2021): “La COVID-19 ha desatado una crisis mundial sin precedentes, una crisis sanitaria mundial que, además de generar un enorme costo humano, está llevando a la recesión mundial más profunda desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial”. Este informe, además, preveía que la economía mundial y los ingresos per cápita se contraerían y empujarían a millones de personas a la pobreza extrema, lo cual fue totalmente claro al ver como la economía mundial se contrajo en 3,6 % en el crecimiento del PIBPrimera edició

Consumer preferences for apple quality traits

This study investigates the marginal values consumers place on apple quality traits as part of a larger SCRI project whose goal is to increase the long-term economic sustainability of Rosacea crops by increasing the U.S. per-capita consumption of fruits. Information on consumers’ preferences and the value they place on fruit quality is important and may help breeders better establish trait priorities and make the breeding process more efficient. We conducted sensory tasting tests and experimental auctions in order to study consumer preferences for apple quality traits. We find that consumers value more some quality traits depending on the information they have to make their decision. Size and color are important when consumers have information based on appearance, and sweetness and crispness are important when consumers have information based on sensory tasting tests

Memorias II congreso internacional de investigación "San Martín Investiga" 2021

El Congreso internacional San Martín Investiga, es un espacio de discusión sobre los avances en el campo de la salud y la educación. Permite a investigadores de distintas nacionalidades dialogar sobre sus avances de investigación. Como espacio abierto, se presentan las memorias del evento en idioma español e inglés para un intercambio abierto con la comunidad académica mundial. Se aclara que la Fundación Universitaria San Martín no se hace responsable por los conceptos emitidos por los investigadores en sus trabajos y que cualquier inquietud puede ser remitida a los autores. The International Research Congress San Martín Investiga is a space for discussion on advances in the field of social science and health science. It allows researchers of different nationalities to discuss their research advances. As an open space, the proceedings of the event are presented in Spanish and English for an open exchange with the world academic community. It is clarified that the Fundación Universitaria San Martin is not responsible for the concepts issued by the researchers in their work and that any concerns can be referred to the authors

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data