COVID-19 and Precarious Employment: Consequences of the Evolving Crisis

The world of work is facing an ongoing pandemic and an economic downturn with severe effects worldwide. Workers trapped in precarious employment (PE), both formal and informal, are among those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we call attention to at least 5 critical ways that the consequences of the crisis among workers in PE will be felt globally: (a) PE will increase, (b) workers in PE will become more precarious, (c) workers in PE will face unemployment without being officially laid off, (d) workers in PE will be exposed to serious stressors and dramatic life changes that may lead to a rise in diseases of despair, and (e) PE might be a factor in deterring the control of or in generating new COVID-19 outbreaks. We conclude that what we really need is a new social contract, where the work of all workers is recognized and protected with adequate job contracts, employment security, and social protection in a new economy, both during and after the COVID-19 crisis

Uncommon overoxidative catalytic activity in a new halo‐tolerant alcohol dehydrogenase

Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) are versatile and useful enzymes employed as biocatalysts, especially for the selective oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols, and for the reduction of carbonyl moieties. A new alcohol dehydrogenase (HeADH‐II) has been identified from the genome of the halo‐adapted bacterium Halomonas elongata, which proved stable in the presence of polar organic solvents and salt exposure. Unusual for this class of enzymes, HeADH‐II lacks enantiopreference and is capable of oxidizing both alcohols and aldehydes, enabling a direct overoxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids. HeADH‐II was coupled with a NADH‐oxidase from Lactobacillus pentosus (LpNOX) to increase the process yields and allowing recycling of the cofactor. The enzymatic oxidation of primary alcohols was also paired with in situ condensation of the intermediate aldehydes with hydroxylamine to prepare the corresponding aldoximes, with particular attention to perillartine (a powerful sweetener), whose enzymatic synthesis starting from natural sources, leads to an equally natural product

Immune cells as targets for cardioprotection: New players and novel therapeutic opportunities

New therapies are required to reduce myocardial infarct (MI) size and prevent the onset of heart failure in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), one of the leading causes of death and disability globally. In this regard, the immune cell response to AMI, which comprises an initial pro-inflammatory reaction followed by an anti-inflammatory phase, contributes to final MI size and post-AMI remodelling (left ventricular (LV) size and function). The transition between these two phases is critical in this regard, with a persistent and severe pro-inflammatory reaction leading to adverse LV remodelling and increased propensity for developing heart failure. In this review article, we provide an overview of the immune cells involved in orchestrating the complex and dynamic inflammatory response to AMI – these include neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages, and emerging new players such as dendritic cells, lymphocytes, pericardial lymphoid cells, and their interaction with cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and cardiac fibroblasts. We discuss potential reasons for past failures of anti-inflammatory cardioprotective therapies, and highlight emerging new treatment targets for modulating the immune cell response to AMI, as a potential therapeutic strategy to improve clinical outcomes in AMI patients. This article is part of a Cardiovascular Research Spotlight Issue entitled ‘Cardioprotection Beyond the Cardiomyocyte’, and emerged as part of the discussions of the European Union (EU)-CARDIOPROTECTION Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action, CA16225