Atmospheric sources of trace element contamination in cultivated urban areas: A review

Producing food in cities has garnered increasing attention over the past decade. Although there are ecological and social benefits, cultivated urban areas (CUAs) also bear contamination hazards, including from trace elements (TEs). Trace element contamination has been studied extensively in CUAs, but atmospheric sources remain understudied and poorly understood. A brief discussion is offered on atmospheric particulate deposition processes in cities and their implications for urban food production. Available findings are discussed and contrasted. Existing research assesses atmospheric deposition indirectly or otherwise lacks controls for other TE contaminants. There is little to no engagement with methodological guidelines from the atmospheric sciences, which reduces confidence in the findings so far attained. Suggestions are delineated to combine techniques used in the atmospheric sciences with the robust methodologies already generated by studies on TE contamination in CUAs, such as isotope and TE ratios analyses

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

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

Infection palustre à l'accouchement et issue de la grossesse à Bécédi (Côte d'Ivoire)

Les auteurs ont étudié le statut parasitologique et sérologique de 108 nouveau-nés issus de 102 accouchements survenus au 2ème trimestre 1987 à la maternité de Bécédi en Côte d'Ivoire. La fréquence du parasitisme des différents sangs étudiés (mère, cordon, délivrance) varie de 8 à 14 %, les anticorps sont retrouvés dans 81 à 83 % des cas. La parité influe sur la fréquence des lésions placentaires, mais pas sur celles du parasitisme. Les enfants nés avec un placenta pathologique ont un poids de naissance plus bas. L'étude de rétrospective des 11070 accouchements des dernières années montre que les poids de naissance sont plus bas lors des deux premières grossesses. (Résumé d'auteur

Infection palustre à l'accouchement et issue de la grossesse à Bécédi (Côte d'Ivoire)

Les auteurs ont étudié le statut parasitologique et sérologique de 108 nouveau-nés issus de 102 accouchements survenus au 2ème trimestre 1987 à la maternité de Bécédi en Côte d'Ivoire. La fréquence du parasitisme des différents sangs étudiés (mère, cordon, délivrance) varie de 8 à 14 %, les anticorps sont retrouvés dans 81 à 83 % des cas. La parité influe sur la fréquence des lésions placentaires, mais pas sur celles du parasitisme. Les enfants nés avec un placenta pathologique ont un poids de naissance plus bas. L'étude de rétrospective des 11070 accouchements des dernières années montre que les poids de naissance sont plus bas lors des deux premières grossesses. (Résumé d'auteur

Mechanical behavior and ultrasonic non-destructive characterization of elastic properties of cordierite-based ceramics

International audienceThe structural and morphological evolutions of cordierite-based ceramics produced from stevensite/andalusite mixture sintered from 1150 to 1350 °C were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical behavior was investigated by three-point bending and Brazilian tests. The elastic properties were evaluated using ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT). XRD results revealed that the main crystalline phase formed at 1300 and 1350 °C was cordierite with traces of mullite. A linear-elastic behavior followed by brittle fracture was observed in three-point bending test with the presence of multiple discontinuities. Flexural and diametral compression strength values of cordierite sintered at 1300 °C were 39.4±4 and 21.8±2 MPa, respectively. The elastic properties such as Young's modulus (38.7–45.1 GPa), shear modulus (17.90–19.42 GPa) and Poisson ratio (0.08–1.6) of cordierite-based ceramics produced at 1350 and 1300 °C were also determined