Assessment of the MERS-CoV epidemic situation in the Middle East region

The appearance of a novel coronavirus named Middle East (ME) Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has raised global public health concerns regarding the current situation and its future evolution. Here we propose an integrative maximum likelihood analysis of both cluster data in the ME region and importations in Europe to assess transmission scenario and incidence of sporadic infections. Our approach is based on a spatial-transmission model integrating mobility data worldwide and allows for variations in the zoonotic/environmental transmission and underascertainment. Maximum likelihood estimates for the ME region indicate the occurrence of a subcritical epidemic (R=0.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.30-0.77) associated with a 0.28 (95% CI 0.12-0.85) daily rate of sporadic introductions. Infections in the region appear to be mainly dominated by zoonotic/environmental transmissions, with possible underascertainment (95% CI of estimated to observed sporadic cases in the range 1.03-7.32). No time evolution of the situation emerges. Analyses of flight passenger data from the region indicate areas at high risk of importation. While dismissing an immediate threat for global health security, this analysis provides a baseline scenario for future reference and updates, suggests reinforced surveillance to limit underascertainment, and calls for increased alertness in high-risk areas worldwide.Comment: in press on Eurosurveillance, 16 pages, 3 figure

O LUGAR DO PADRASTO EM FAMÍLIAS RECOMPOSTAS

As famílias recompostas têm características próprias, e o estudo dessa nova configuração familiar revela singularidades relativas às posições ocupadas pelos seus membros. Essas posições são muito distintas das ocupadas no modelo da família nuclear. Nem sempre o adulto que assume funções parentais diante de uma criança é o pai legal ou o genitor. O foco deste trabalho é a figura do padrasto. Através de uma revisão da literatura sobre o papel do padrasto na dinâmica de famílias formadas após uma dissolução conjugal, pretende-se refletir sobre sua posição na cena familiar, dando destaque aos principais fatores relacionados à sua inclusão na família

Effects of hyperthermia on Tetrahymena : I. Localization of acid hydrolases and changes in cell ultrastructure

The effects of hypothermia on Tetrahymena pyriformis (E) were studied. Protein synthesis was greatly inhibited at elevated temperatures (33.5-34 [deg]C), although the rate of protein turnover was not initially greater than in controls. There was no evidence that cellular lesions induced by temperature shock resulted from a solubilization of lysosomal enzymes. More than 80% of both acid phosphatase and acid proteinase activity remained particle-bound, even in cells incubated at 34 [deg]C for prolonged periods. Ultrastructural studies revealed gross lesions in all types of cell organelles. These included a loss of tubules from mitochondria, disappearance of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear abnormalities, and a swelling of bodies tentatively identified as peroxisomes or primary lysosomes. Autophagic vacuoles which contained considerable membranous material seemed to accumulate during treatment, and membranous whorls and smooth-walled vesicles became quite common in the cytoplasm. Our studies are consistent with the suggestion [28] that, supraoptimal temperatures affect phospholipid-containing membranes in Tetrahymena.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32958/1/0000341.pd

Condutas legais e o comportamento na relação profissional/paciente utilizados pelos cirurgiões-dentistas atuantes na área de Ortodontia / Legal conduct and behavior in the professional/patient relationship used by dentists working in Orthodontics

Com a promulgação da Lei 8.078/90, o Direito do Consumidor ganhou fundamental relevância. Neste sentido, os cirurgiões-dentistas começaram a desenvolver relações profissionais de consumo com seus pacientes, onde a odontologia classifica-se como prestadora de serviços e o paciente o consumidor. Nem todos os profissionais fazem uso de contrato odontológico, porém, em sua grande maioria demonstram ter uma preocupação com a utilização de contratos nos procedimentos adotados. Esta revisão de literatura tem como objetivo principal o esclarecimento do tópico ‘responsabilidade civil de um profissional liberal, mais especificamente o Cirurgião-dentista/ortodontista, das sanções a que ele está sujeito no exercício de sua profissão perante à legislação atual, havendo breves comentários também do código de defesa do consumidor. Este código coloca o Cirurgião-Dentista como aquele que deve provar que se utilizou de todo o conhecimento e técnica para a execução de seu trabalho. Conclui-se então que os profissionais demonstram ter preocupação com processos jurídicos para prevenir complicações, no qual os cirurgiões- dentistas devem agir com cautela. Tão logo, é importante que sejam registrados todos os dados dos pacientes para respaldo físico e evitar possíveis problemas judiciais, bem como obterem total conhecimento das leis que regem o Direito do Consumidor

Inborn errors of OAS-RNase L in SARS-CoV-2-related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children

Funding Information: The Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Rockefeller University, the St. Giles Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01AI088364 and R21AI160576), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program (UL1TR001866), the Yale Center for Mendelian Genomics and the GSP Coordinating Center funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) (UM1HG006504 and U24HG008956), the Yale High-Performance Computing Center (S10OD018521), the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, the Meyer Foundation, the JBP Foundation, the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the "Investments for the Future" program (ANR-10-IAHU-01), the Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Excellence (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID), the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) (EQU201903007798), the ANR GenMISC (ANR-21-COVR-039), the ANRS-COV05, ANR GENVIR (ANR-20-CE93-003) and ANR AABIFNCOV (ANR-20-CO11-0001) projects, the ANR-RHU program (ANR-21-RHUS-08), the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 824110 (EASI-genomics), the HORIZON-HLTH-2021-DISEASE-04 program under grant agreement 01057100 (UNDINE), the ANR-RHU Program ANR-21-RHUS-08 (COVIFERON), the Square Foundation, Grandir - Fonds de solidarité pour l'enfance, the Fondation du Souffle, the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science, the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation (MESRI-COVID-19), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), and Paris Cité University. We acknowledge support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the NIH under award R01AI104887 to R.H.S. and S.R.W. The Laboratory of Human Evolutionary Genetics (Institut Pasteur) is supported by the Institut Pasteur, the Collège de France, the French Government's Investissement d'Avenir program, Laboratoires d'Excellence "Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases" (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID) and "Milieu Intérieur" (ANR-10-LABX-69-01), the Fondation de France (no. 00106080), the FRM (Equipe FRM DEQ20180339214 team), and the ANR COVID-19-POPCELL (ANR-21-CO14-0003-01). A. Puj. is supported by ACCI20-759 CIBERER, EasiGenomics H2020 Marató TV3 COVID 2021-31-33, the HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ID: 101057100 (UNDINE), the Horizon 2020 program under grant no. 824110 (EasiGenomics grant no. COVID-19/PID12342), and the CERCA Program/Generalitat de Catalunya. The Canarian Health System sequencing hub was funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20-01333 and COV20-01334), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RTC-2017-6471-1; AEI/FEDER, UE), Fundación MAPFRE Guanarteme (OA21/131), and Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (CGIEU0000219140 and "Apuestas científicas del ITER para colaborar en la lucha contra la COVID-19"). The CoV-Contact Cohort was funded by the French Ministry of Health and the European Commission (RECOVER project). Our studies are also funded by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic Conceptual Development of Research Organization (FNBr, 65269705) and ANID COVID0999 funding in Chile. G. Novelli and A. Novelli are supported by Regione Lazio (Research Group Projects 2020) No. A0375-2020-36663, GecoBiomark. A.M.P., M.L.D., and J.P.-T. are supported by the Inmungen-CoV2 project of CSIC. This work was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIAID, NIH. The research work of A.M.P, M.L.D., and J.P.-T. was funded by the European Commission-NextGenerationEU (Regulation EU 2020/2094), through CSIC's Global Health Platform (PTI Salud Global). I.M. is a senior clinical investigator at FWO Vlaanderen supported by a VIB GC PID grant, by FWO grants G0B5120N (DADA2) and G0E8420N, and by the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. I.M. holds an ERC-StG MORE2ADA2 grant and is also supported by ERN-RITA. A.Y. is supported by fellowships from the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and the Swiss National Science Foundation and by an Early Career Award from the Thrasher Research Fund. Y.-H.C. is supported by an A*STAR International Fellowship (AIF). M.O. was supported by the David Rockefeller Graduate Program, the New York Hideyo Noguchi Memorial Society (HNMS), the Funai Foundation for Information Technology (FFIT), the Honjo International Scholarship Foundation (HISF), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) F99 Award (F99CA274708). A.A.A. was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación MINCIENCIAS, Colombia (111584467551/CT 415-2020). D.L. is supported by a fellowship from the FRM for medical residents and fellows. E.H. received funding from the Bank of Montreal Chair of Pediatric Immunology, Foundation of CHU Sainte-Justine, CIHR grants PCC-466901 and MM1-181123, and a Canadian Pediatric Society IMPACT study. Q.P.-H. received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ATAC, 101003650), the Swedish Research Council, and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Work in the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease was supported by NIH grants P01AI138398-S1, 2U19AI111825, R01AI091707-10S1, and R01AI161444; a George Mason University Fast Grant; the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation; the Meyer Foundation; and the Bawd Foundation. R.P.L. is on the board of directors of both Roche and the Roche subsidiary Genentech. J.L.P. was supported by a Francois Wallace Monahan Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Rockefeller University and by a European Molecular Biology Organization Long-Term Fellowship (ALTF 380-2018). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare and severe condition that follows benign COVID-19. We report autosomal recessive deficiencies of OAS1, OAS2, or RNASEL in five unrelated children with MIS-C. The cytosolic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-sensing OAS1 and OAS2 generate 2'-5'-linked oligoadenylates (2-5A) that activate the single-stranded RNA-degrading ribonuclease L (RNase L). Monocytic cell lines and primary myeloid cells with OAS1, OAS2, or RNase L deficiencies produce excessive amounts of inflammatory cytokines upon dsRNA or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) stimulation. Exogenous 2-5A suppresses cytokine production in OAS1-deficient but not RNase L-deficient cells. Cytokine production in RNase L-deficient cells is impaired by MDA5 or RIG-I deficiency and abolished by mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) deficiency. Recessive OAS-RNase L deficiencies in these patients unleash the production of SARS-CoV-2-triggered, MAVS-mediated inflammatory cytokines by mononuclear phagocytes, thereby underlying MIS-C.publishersversionpublishe

Planning for the next influenza H1N1 season: a modelling study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The level of herd immunity before and after the first 2009 pandemic season is not precisely known, and predicting the shape of the next pandemic H1N1 season is a difficult challenge.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a modelling study based on data on medical visits for influenza-like illness collected by the French General Practitioner Sentinel network, as well as pandemic H1N1 vaccination coverage rates, and an individual-centred model devoted to influenza. We estimated infection attack rates during the first 2009 pandemic H1N1 season in France, and the rates of pre- and post-exposure immunity. We then simulated various scenarios in which a pandemic influenza H1N1 virus would be reintroduced into a population with varying levels of protective cross-immunity, and considered the impact of extending influenza vaccination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the first pandemic season in France, the proportion of infected persons was 18.1% overall, 38.3% among children, 14.8% among younger adults and 1.6% among the elderly. The rates of pre-exposure immunity required to fit data collected during the first pandemic season were 36% in younger adults and 85% in the elderly. We estimated that the rate of post-exposure immunity was 57.3% (95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) 49.6%-65.0%) overall, 44.6% (95%CI 35.5%-53.6%) in children, 53.8% (95%CI 44.5%-63.1%) in younger adults, and 87.4% (95%CI 82.0%-92.8%) in the elderly.</p> <p>The shape of a second season would depend on the degree of persistent protective cross-immunity to descendants of the 2009 H1N1 viruses. A cross-protection rate of 70% would imply that only a small proportion of the population would be affected. With a cross-protection rate of 50%, the second season would have a disease burden similar to the first, while vaccination of 50% of the entire population, in addition to the population vaccinated during the first pandemic season, would halve this burden. With a cross-protection rate of 30%, the second season could be more substantial, and vaccination would not provide a significant benefit.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These model-based findings should help to prepare for a second pandemic season, and highlight the need for studies of the different components of immune protection.</p

The Ups and Downs in Women's Employment: Shifting Composition or Behavior from 1970 to 2010?

This paper tracks factors contributing to the ups and downs in women’s employment from 1970 to 2010 using regression decompositions focusing on whether changes are due to shifts in the means (composition of women) or due to shifts in coefficients (inclinations of women to work for pay). Compositional shifts in education exerted a positive effect on women’s employment across all decades, while shifts in the composition of other family income, particularly at the highest deciles, depressed married women’s employment over the 1990s contributing to the slowdown in this decade. A positive coefficient effect of education was found in all decades, except the 1990s, when the effect was negative, depressing women’s employment. Further, positive coefficient results for other family income at the highest deciles bolstered married women’s employment over the 1990s. Models are run separately for married and single women demonstrating the varying results of other family income by marital status. This research was supported in part by an Upjohn Institute Early Career Research Award

Altimetry for the future: Building on 25 years of progress

In 2018 we celebrated 25 years of development of radar altimetry, and the progress achieved by this methodology in the fields of global and coastal oceanography, hydrology, geodesy and cryospheric sciences. Many symbolic major events have celebrated these developments, e.g., in Venice, Italy, the 15th (2006) and 20th (2012) years of progress and more recently, in 2018, in Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 25 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry. On this latter occasion it was decided to collect contributions of scientists, engineers and managers involved in the worldwide altimetry community to depict the state of altimetry and propose recommendations for the altimetry of the future. This paper summarizes contributions and recommendations that were collected and provides guidance for future mission design, research activities, and sustainable operational radar altimetry data exploitation. Recommendations provided are fundamental for optimizing further scientific and operational advances of oceanographic observations by altimetry, including requirements for spatial and temporal resolution of altimetric measurements, their accuracy and continuity. There are also new challenges and new openings mentioned in the paper that are particularly crucial for observations at higher latitudes, for coastal oceanography, for cryospheric studies and for hydrology. The paper starts with a general introduction followed by a section on Earth System Science including Ocean Dynamics, Sea Level, the Coastal Ocean, Hydrology, the Cryosphere and Polar Oceans and the ‘‘Green” Ocean, extending the frontier from biogeochemistry to marine ecology. Applications are described in a subsequent section, which covers Operational Oceanography, Weather, Hurricane Wave and Wind Forecasting, Climate projection. Instruments’ development and satellite missions’ evolutions are described in a fourth section. A fifth section covers the key observations that altimeters provide and their potential complements, from other Earth observation measurements to in situ data. Section 6 identifies the data and methods and provides some accuracy and resolution requirements for the wet tropospheric correction, the orbit and other geodetic requirements, the Mean Sea Surface, Geoid and Mean Dynamic Topography, Calibration and Validation, data accuracy, data access and handling (including the DUACS system). Section 7 brings a transversal view on scales, integration, artificial intelligence, and capacity building (education and training). Section 8 reviews the programmatic issues followed by a conclusion