Community Perspectives on COVID-19 Recovery: A Report on 2021 Community Conversations

As Chicago works to come back from the pandemic, years of disinvestment and structural racism have made economic recovery harder for some communities than others. To have a truly equitable recovery, it's important to understand the on-going impact the pandemic has had on Black and Latinx communities hit hard by job loss, sickness, and death. In collaboration with The Chicago Community Trust and We Rise Together: For an Equitable and Just Recovery, New America Chicago commissioned a report from BECOME to learn more about how these communities were recovering and what is still needed from local and federal policymakers for these communities to not just recover but thrive.We Rise Together is a coalition of corporate and philanthropic funders working with the community to accelerate equitable economic recovery in the Chicago region. Housed at The Chicago Community Trust, We Rise Together is increasing employment opportunities for Black and Latinx workers, strengthening businesses of color, and spurring investment in disinvested neighborhoods. Because We Rise Together is committed to grounding the initiative's efforts in the lived experiences of Chicago's most marginalized communities, the decision was made to host Community Conversations across Chicago neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the pandemic.  A team from BECOME worked with New America Chicago, The Trust, and We Rise Together to plan seven Community Conversations in collaboration with nonprofits from each neighborhood. Participants had strong recommendations for support and resources to help their neighborhoods recover economically from the pandemic. Consistently, across all neighborhoods, we heard that people struggled and continue to struggle economically and emotionally as a result of the pandemic. Still, most found unexpected positives in the midst of the pandemic

Development and Dissemination of a New Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Curriculum in Digital Forensics

The Information Trust Institute (ITI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is developing an entirely new multidisciplinary undergraduate curriculum on the topic of digital forensics, and this paper presents the findings of the development process, including initial results and evaluation of a pilot offering of the coursework to students. The curriculum consists of a four-course sequence, including introductory and advanced lecture courses with parallel laboratory courses, followed by an advanced course. The content has been designed to reflect both the emerging national standards and the strong multidisciplinary character of the profession of digital forensics, and includes modules developed collaboratively by faculty experts in multiple fields of computer science, law, psychology, social sciences, and accountancy. A preliminary plan for the introductory course was presented to a workshop of digital forensics experts in May 2013 and received their strong approval. Pilot versions of the introductory and introductory lab courses were taught to a mixture of computer science and law students at the University of Illinois in the fall of 2013, and were very positively received by the students, who made it clear that they appreciated the multidisciplinary approach. The curriculum, which is designed to obviate the need for expensive labs or team-teaching by specialized faculty, will be made available to other colleges and universities in order to improve the content and quality of existing digital forensics programs, to inspire and greatly facilitate the creation of new programs, and, ultimately, to increase the number of educated practitioners. The developed resources can be used as the basis for future academic programs, distance learning, and multidisciplinary, multi-institutional programs that meet evolving digital forensics educational standards. Much of the material, including a virtual laboratory, will be provided on-line. Introductory course materials will be distributed to other institutions beginning in the summer of 2014; advanced course materials should be available for distribution in 2015. Related outreach activities have been undertaken and will be continued. Keywords: Digital forensics, Computer forensics, Curriculum development, Curriculum standards, Education standards, Training standards, Undergraduate education, Interdisciplinary studie

Sugar content and nutritional quality of child orientated ready to eat cereals and yoghurts in the UK and Latin America; does food policy matter?

Ready to eat breakfast cereals (REBCs) and yoghurts provide important nutrients to children’s diets, but concerns about their high sugar content exist. Food reformulation could contribute to sugar reduction, but policies across countries are not uniform. We aimed to compare the sugar content and nutritional quality of child-orientated REBCs and yoghurts in Latin American countries with the UK. In a cross-sectional study, nutritional information, marketing strategies, and claims were collected from the food labels and packaging of products available in Guatemala, Mexico, Ecuador and the UK. Nutritional quality was assessed using the UK Ofcom Nutrient Profiling System. In total, 262 products were analysed (59% REBCs/41% yoghurts). REBCs in the UK had a lower sugar content (mean ± SD) (24.6 ± 6.4) than products in Ecuador (34.6 ± 10.8; p < 0.001), Mexico (32.6 ± 7.6; p = 0.001) and Guatemala (31.5 ± 8.3; p = 0.001). Across countries, there were no differences in the sugar content of yoghurts. A large proportion (83%) of REBCs and 33% of yoghurts were classified as “less healthy”. In conclusion, the sugar content of REBCs in Latin America is higher than those of the UK, which could be attributed to the UK voluntary sugar reduction programme. Sugar reformulation policies are required in Guatemala, Mexico and Ecuador

Usefulness of Sōna Aspergillus Galactomannan LFA with digital readout as diagnostic and as screening tool of COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients. Data from a multicenter prospective study performed in Argentina

COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) incidence varies depending on the country. Serum galactomannan quantification is a promising diagnostic tool since samples are easy to obtain with low biosafety issues. A multicenter prospective study was performed to evaluate the CAPA incidence in Argentina and to assess the performance of the lateral flow assay with digital readout (Sōna Aspergillus LFA) as a CAPA diagnostic and screening tool. The correlation between the values obtained with Sōna Aspergillus LFA and Platelia® EIA was evaluated. In total, 578 serum samples were obtained from 185 critically ill COVID patients. CAPA screening was done weekly starting from the first week of ICU stay. Probable CAPA incidence in critically ill patients was 10.27% (19/185 patients when LFA was used as mycological criteria) and 9% (9/100 patients when EIA was used as mycological criteria). We found a very good correlation between the two evaluated galactomannan quantification methods (overall agreement of 92.16% with a Kappa statistic value of 0.721). CAPA diagnosis (>0.5 readouts in LFA) were done during the first week of ICU stay in 94.7% of the probable CAPA patients. The overall mortality was 36.21%. CAPA patients' mortality and length of ICU stay were not statistically different from for COVID (non-CAPA) patients (42.11 vs 33.13% and 29 vs 24 days, respectively). These indicators were lower than in other reports. LFA-IMMY with digital readout is a reliable tool for early diagnosis of CAPA using serum samples in critically ill COVID patients. It has a good agreement with Platelia® EIA. Lay Summary: The incidence of COVID-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) in critically-ill Argentinian patients was established (10.27%). Serum galactomannan quantification was useful as a screening tool for this mycosis. A good agreement between Platelia® EIA and Sōna Aspergillus LFA is reported.Fil: Giusiano, Gustavo Emilio. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Instituto de Medicina Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Norma Beatriz. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Vitale, Roxana Gabriela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos "Ramos Mejía"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Christian. No especifíca;Fil: Ochiuzzi, María Eugenia. Gobierno de la Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos Durand.; ArgentinaFil: Santiso, Gabriela Maria. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas "Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz"; ArgentinaFil: Cabeza, Matías Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Tracogna, Fernanda. Gobierno de la Provincia de Chaco. Hospital Julio Cecilio Perrando.; ArgentinaFil: Farias L. Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín Universidad; ArgentinaFil: Afeltra, Javier. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Gral.de Agudos "ramos Mejia". Departamento de Diagnostico y Tratamiento; ArgentinaFil: Noblega, Luciana María. No especifíca;Fil: Giuliano, Carla Valeria. Gobierno de la Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Agudos Carlos Durand.; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Guillermo Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentin

Indigenous case of mycetoma by Actinomadura madurae in Paraná (Entre Ríos, Argentina): case report and literature review of the argentinian casuistry

El micetoma es una infección granulomatosa crónica que involucra tejidos cutáneos, subcutáneos y eventualmente músculo y hueso. Puede ser causada por bacterias Gram positivas filamentosas (actinomicetomas) o por hongos (eumicetomas). Es una infección endémica de zonas subtropicales con baja humedad relativa. El objetivo de este trabajo es el de presentar un caso de actinomicetoma causado por Actinomadura madurae autóctono de la ciudad de Paraná (Entre Ríos) con el fin de demostrar que pueden darse casos esporádicos por fuera de las zonas endémicas descritas. Además, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica de los casos de micetoma descritos en Argentina y se los comparó con el caso reportado.Mycetoma is a chronic granulomatous infection involving skin, subcutaneous tissue and eventualy muscle and bone. It can be caused by Gram positive filamentous bacteria (actinomycetomas) or fungi (eumicetomas). It is an endemic infection in subtropical areas with low relative humidity. The aim of this work is to present a case of actinomycetoma caused by Actinomadura madurae in a patient from Paraná city (Entre Rios) to demonstrate that sporadic mycetoma cases may occur outside the described endemic areas. In addition, a literature review of Argentinian mycetoma cases was performed.Fil: Dudiuk, Catiana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Theill, L.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Moyano, Susana. Laboratorio Privado Avenida. Paraná, Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Barbagelata, María Sol. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Leonardelli, Florencia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Unidad de Administración Territorial; ArgentinaFil: Macedo, Daiana. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Latorre Rapella, María Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Acosta, A.. Laboratorio Privado Avenida. Paraná, Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Gamarra, S.. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Guillermo Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; Argentin

Haplotype profile comparisons cetween Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) populations from Mexico with those from Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and their implications to migratory behavior

Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas.Fil: Nagoshi, Rodney N.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Rosas Garcia, Ninfa M.. Instituto Politécnico Nacional; MéxicoFil: Meagher, Robert L.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Fleischer, Shelby J.. State University Of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Westbrook, John K.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Sappington, Thomas W.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Hay Roe, Mirian. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Thomas, Jean M. G.. United States Department Of Agriculture. Agricultural Research Service; ArgentinaFil: Murúa, María Gabriela. Gobierno de Tucumán. Ministerio de Desarrollo Productivo. Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Neutrino Masses and Lepton Flavour Violation in Thick Brane Scenarios

We address the issue of lepton flavour violation and neutrino masses in the ``fat-brane'' paradigm, where flavour changing processes are suppressed by localising different fermion field wave-functions at different positions (in the extra dimensions) in a thick brane. We study the consequences of suppressing lepton number violating charged lepton decays within this scenario for lepton masses and mixing angles. In particular, we find that charged lepton mass matrices are constrained to be quasi-diagonal. We further consider whether the same paradigm can be used to naturally explain small Dirac neutrino masses by considering the existence of three right-handed neutrinos in the brane, and discuss the requirements to obtain phenomenologically viable neutrino masses and mixing angles. Finally, we examine models where neutrinos obtain a small Majorana mass by breaking lepton number in a far away brane and show that, if the fat-brane paradigm is the solution to the absence of lepton number violating charged lepton decays, such models predict, in the absence of flavour symmetries, that charged lepton flavour violation will be observed in the next round of rare muon/tau decay experiments.Comment: 33 pages, 9 eps figure

Cell walls of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Sporothrix schenckii and Sporothrix brasiliensis exhibit bilaminate structures and sloughing of extensive and intact layers

This work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grants E-26/202.974/2015 and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grants 229755/2013-5, Brazil. LMLB is a senior research fellow of CNPq and Faperj. NG acknowledged support from the Wellcome Trust (Trust (097377, 101873, 200208) and MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Role of DNA methylation in the association of lung function with body mass index: a two-step epigenetic Mendelian randomisation study

Low lung function has been associated with increased body mass index (BMI). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the effect of BMI on lung function is mediated by DNA methylation.; We used individual data from 285,495 participants in four population-based cohorts: the European Community Respiratory Health Survey, the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults, and the UK Biobank. We carried out Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses in two steps using a two-sample approach with SNPs as instrumental variables (IVs) in each step. In step 1 MR, we estimated the causal effect of BMI on peripheral blood DNA methylation (measured at genome-wide level) using 95 BMI-associated SNPs as IVs. In step 2 MR, we estimated the causal effect of DNA methylation on FEV; 1; , FVC, and FEV; 1; /FVC using two SNPs acting as methQTLs occurring close (in cis) to CpGs identified in the first step. These analyses were conducted after exclusion of weak IVs (F statistic < 10) and MR estimates were derived using the Wald ratio, with standard error from the delta method. Individuals whose data were used in step 1 were not included in step 2.; In step 1, we found that BMI might have a small causal effect on DNA methylation levels (less than 1% change in methylation per 1 kg/m2 increase in BMI) at two CpGs (cg09046979 and cg12580248). In step 2, we found no evidence of a causal effect of DNA methylation at cg09046979 on lung function. We could not estimate the causal effect of DNA methylation at cg12580248 on lung function as we could not find publicly available data on the association of this CpG with SNPs.; To our knowledge, this is the first paper to report the use of a two-step MR approach to assess the role of DNA methylation in mediating the effect of a non-genetic factor on lung function. Our findings do not support a mediating effect of DNA methylation in the association of lung function with BMI