Early Career Perspectives For the NASA SMD Bridge Program

In line with the Astro2020 Decadal Report State of the Profession findings and the NASA core value of Inclusion, the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Bridge Program was created to provide financial and programmatic support to efforts that work to increase the representation and inclusion of students from under-represented minorities in the STEM fields. To ensure an effective program, particularly for those who are often left out of these conversations, the NASA SMD Bridge Program Workshop was developed as a way to gather feedback from a diverse group of people about their unique needs and interests. The Early Career Perspectives Working Group was tasked with examining the current state of bridge programs, academia in general, and its effect on students and early career professionals. The working group, comprised of 10 early career and student members, analyzed the discussions and responses from workshop breakout sessions and two surveys, as well as their own experiences, to develop specific recommendations and metrics for implementing a successful and supportive bridge program. In this white paper, we will discuss the key themes that arose through our work, and highlight select recommendations for the NASA SMD Bridge Program to best support students and early career professionals.Comment: White paper developed by the Early Career Perspectives Working Group for the NASA SMD Bridge Program Workshop. 11 page

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative sars-cov-2 infection: An international cohort study

Background The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (740%) had emergency surgery and 280 (248%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (261%) patients. 30-day mortality was 238% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (512%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 380% (219 of 577), accounting for 817% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 175 [95% CI 128-240], p<00001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (230 [165-322], p<00001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3-5 versus grades 1-2 (235 [157-353], p<00001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (155 [101-239], p=0046), emergency versus elective surgery (167 [106-263], p=0026), and major versus minor surgery (152 [101-231], p=0047). Interpretation Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Estimulación electromagnética como coadyuvante en el tratamiento de fracturas diafisarias de fémur: Ensayo clínico aleatorio.

Introduction: There is controversy in medical literature regarding the use of electromagnetic fields to promote bone healing. Methods: After designing and building devices capable of generating an electromagnetic field for this study, their safety was confirmed and the electromagnetic therapy was randomly allocated and compared to placebo in patients with fracture of the femoral diaphysis. Treatment began six weeks after the fracture and it was administered once a day, during 1 h, for eight consecutive weeks. Twenty devices were built, 10 of which were placebo-devices. Between June 2008 and October 2009, 64 patients were randomized in two different hospitals and were followed for 24 weeks. The mean age was 30 years (18-59) and 81% were males. Results: Healing observed at week 12 was 75% vs. 58% (p= 0.1); at week 18, it was 94% vs. 80% (p= 0.15); and at week 24, it was 94% vs. 87% (p= 0.43) for the device group and the placebo group, respectively. Discussion: This study suggests that an electromagnetic field stimulus can promote earlier bone healing compared to placebo in femoral diaphyseal fractures. Faster bone healing translates into sooner weight bearing, which – in turn – permits quicker return to normal daily activities. Introducción: El uso de estimulación electromagnética como coadyuvante en la consolidación de fracturas es controversial en la literatura médica. Métodos: Para este estudio, se diseñó y construyó un dispositivo capaz de generar un campo electromagnético. Tras confirmar su seguridad se asignaron pacientes aleatoriamente con fractura diafisaria de fémur a recibir terapia electromagnética o placebo. La estimulación inició a las seis semanas de la fractura, 1 h diaria, por ocho semanas consecutivas. Se construyeron 20 dispositivos, 10 reales y 10 dispositivos-placebo. Entre junio 2008 y octubre 2009, ingresaron 64 pacientes al estudio de dos instituciones y fueron seguidos durante 24 semanas. El promedio de edad de los pacientes fue de 30 años (rango 18-59) y 81% eran de sexo masculino. Resultados: La consolidación observada para el grupo con el dispositivo y el grupo placebo fue: en la semana 12, 75% vs. 58% (p =0.1); en la semana 18, 94% vs. 80% (p =0.15) y en la semana 24, 94% vs. 87% (p =0.43). Discusión: Este estudio muestra una tendencia a la consolidación más temprana al estar expuesto a un campo electromagnético frente a placebo. Una consolidación más temprana permite un apoyo precoz y, así, más rápida reincorporación al trabajo y a las actividades cotidianas

Atmospheric and Radiometric Correction Algorithms for the Multitemporal Assessment of Grasslands Productivity

A key step in the processing of satellite imagery is the radiometric correction of images to account for reflectance that water vapor, atmospheric dust, and other atmospheric elements add to the images, causing imprecisions in variables of interest estimated at the earth’s surface level. That issue is important when performing spatiotemporal analyses to determine ecosystems’ productivity. In this study, three correction methods were applied to satellite images for the period 2010–2014. These methods were Atmospheric Correction for Flat Terrain 2 (ATCOR2), Fast Line-of-Sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH), and Dark Object Substract 1 (DOS1). The images included 12 sub-scenes from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and the Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors. The images corresponded to three Permanent Monitoring Sites (PMS) of grasslands, ‘Teseachi’, ‘Eden’, and ‘El Sitio’, located in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. After the corrections were applied to the images, they were evaluated in terms of their precision for biomass estimation. For that, biomass production was measured during the study period at the three PMS to calibrate production models developed with simple and multiple linear regression (SLR and MLR) techniques. When the estimations were made with MLR, DOS1 obtained an R2 of 0.97 (p < 0.05) for 2012 and values greater than 0.70 (p < 0.05) during 2013–2014. The rest of the algorithms did not show significant results and DOS1, which is the simplest algorithm, resulted in the best biomass estimator. Thus, in the multitemporal analysis of grassland based on spectral information, it is not necessary to apply complex correction procedures. The maps of biomass production, elaborated from images corrected with DOS1, can be used as a reference point for the assessment of the grassland condition, as well as to determine the grazing capacity and thus the potential animal production in such ecosystems

Spatial Analysis of Temperate Forest Structure: A Geostatistical Approach to Natural Forest Potential

Forest ecosystems represent an important means of ecosystem services; they are key as carbon sinks, water collectors, soil stabilizers, suppliers of great biological diversity, among other benefits. In addition, regionalization based on forest conditions provides a valuable approach to understanding and analyzing spatial patterns, which is useful as a tool for the implementation of forest ecosystem protection and conservation programs. In this research, the structure of a temperate forest in the western Sierra Madre region of Mexico was analyzed and characterized. The study unit was the watershed and the analysis used a geospatial approach combined with multivariate techniques such as: Principal Component Analysis, Cluster Analysis (CA), Discriminant Analysis (DA) and Multivariate Analysis of Variance. We evaluated the relationships among spectral satellite data, thematic maps and structural forest variables. A total of 345 watersheds were grouped based on these variables. The grouping of watersheds under low, medium and high production conditions was carried out with CA, defining 3 groups. The validation of the grouping was performed through DA, estimating errors with the restitution method, as well as with the cross-validation method. Significant differences were found among the groups. The grouping of watersheds provides observable evidence of the variability of the forest condition throughout the area. This study allows identifying forest areas with different levels of productivity and can help to detect levels of vulnerability and ecological fragility in natural forests in temperate zones

CD4+ T Cell Immune Specificity Changes After Vaccination in Healthy And COVID-19 Convalescent Subjects

The immune response promoted by SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is relevant to develop novel vaccines and optimized prevention strategies. We analyzed the adaptive immunity in healthy donors (HD) and convalescent individuals (CD), before and after administering BNT162b2 vaccine. Our results revealed specific changes in CD4+ T cell reactivity profile in vaccinated HD and CD, with an increase in S1 and S2 positive individuals, proportionally higher for S2. On the contrary, NCAP reactivity observed in HD and CD patients was no longer detectable after vaccination. Despite the substantial antibody response in CD, MPro-derived peptides did not elicit CD4+ lymphocyte activation in our assay in either condition. HD presented an increment in anti-S and anti-RBD IgG after first dose vaccination, which increased after the second vaccination. Conversely, anti-S and anti-RBD IgG and IgA titers increased in already positive CD after first dose administration, remaining stable after second dose inoculation. Interestingly, we found a strong significant correlation between S1-induced CD4+ response and anti-S IgA pre-vaccination, which was lost after vaccine administration.This work was supported by grants to AA: FIS PI19/01491 (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III with co-funding from the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FEDER) and Sociedad Cooperativa de Viviendas Buen Suceso, S.Coop.Mad. To AA and FS-M: CIBER Cardiovascular from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III with co-funding from the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional; FEDER). To FS-M: SAF2017-82886-R (Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MINECO)), HR17-00016 (“La Caixa” Banking Foundation), “Fondos Supera COVID19” (Banco de Santander and CRUE), “Ayuda Covid 2019” and “Inmunovacter” REACT-UE (Comunidad de Madrid). To MV: Spanish National Research Council (CSIC, project number 202020E079 and CSIC-COVID19-028).Peer reviewe