Intermetallic coinage metal-catalyzed functionalization of alkanes with ethyl diazoacetate : gold as a ligand

The complexes [Au2M2(C6F5)4(NCMe)2]n (M = Cu, 1; M = Ag, 2) have been tested as catalysts for the functionalization of alkanes by the carbene insertion methodology, using ethyl diazoacetate as the carbene source. Moderate to high conversions have been obtained. The observed selectivities seem to favor the proposal that the active metal for catalysis is the Cu/Ag center, the Au(C6F5)2 unit acting as a spectator ligand in both cases.DGI for funding (CTQ2008-00042/BQU and CTQ2010-20500-C02-02

Producción de maíz en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú

Se presentan las variedades nativas de maíz producidas en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú, Costa Rica.Universidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaConsejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano/[]/CSUCA/Costa RicaUniversidad Estatal a Distancia/[]/UNED/Costa RicaComunidad indígena de Matambú/[]//Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM)UCR::Sedes Regionales::Sede del Atlántico::Recinto de Paraíso::Finca Experimental Interdisciplinaria de Modelos Agroecológicos (FEIMA

Mejoramiento de la producción de hortalizas, maíz y frijol en comunidades indígenas (Territorio Indígena de Matambú)

Este proyecto tuvo como finalidad aportar en el mejoramiento de la producción de hortalizas, maíz y frijol en el territorio indígena de Matambú, de tradición cultural indígena chorotega, a partir de la investigación-acción y el estudio comparado, con el propósito último de contribuir en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional de este pueblo. Se realizó mediante la evaluación del comportamiento productivo de hortalizas en hidroponía y en ambiente protegido, la puesta en valor de las semillas criollas de maíz y frijol existentes en el territorio, y el estudio sobre la tradición culinaria y el uso tradicional agrícola de estos cultivos tradicionales, con la participación activa de escolares, agricultores, docentes y miembros de la comunidad en general.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM

Hidroponía en Guanacaste: una experiencia en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú

Resumen de conferenciaEl objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar el desempeño de la producción de hortalizas en hidroponía en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú, utilizando diferentes sustratos, con el fin de identificar su eficacia como método de producción de alimentos en esta zona. Se construyeron dos módulos de hidroponía en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú, uno en el poblado de Matambú (12 m2) y otro en Matambuguito (14,4 m2). En Matambú se evaluaron cuatro sustratos diferentes, y en Matambuguito, seis. Se procedió a sembrar lechuga y pak choi en los módulos de hidroponía de Matambú, y sólo lechuga en el caso de Matambuguito. Luego de cinco semanas, se evaluó el crecimiento y rendimiento de estos cultivos en los diferentes sustratos, en ambas localidades. Se logró demostrar que en la zona de Matambú es posible producir hortalizas de hoja mediante la técnica de la hidroponía. Se establecieron diferencias en la producción de hortalizas según el tipo de sustrato utilizado en hidroponía. Se comprobó que es factible el uso de piedra caliza como sustrato en hidroponía, sobretodo si se utiliza en mezcla con lombricompost, y con una granulometría adecuada. Los sustratos utilizados demostraron ser capaces de sostener la producción hortícola en forma satisfactoria, aunque hay diferencias importantes entre los tratamientos, siendo los mejores sustratos 100 % piedra de río, piedra caliza mezcla (75 %) + lombricompost (25 %), 100 % lombricompost, y 100 % fibra de coco; el peor tratamiento fue 100 % piedra caliza quintilla.Universidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaInstituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia Agropecuaria/[]/INTA/Costa RicaConsejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano/[]/CSUCA/GuatemalaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM

Aportes interdisciplinarios desde las Ciencias Sociales y Agrícolas a la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional: una experiencia en el Territorio Indígena de Matambú, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

La investigación busca aportar en el mejoramiento de la producción de hortalizas, maíz y frijol en el territorio indígena de Matambú, a partir de la investigación-acción y el estudio comparado, con el fin de contribuir en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional de este pueblo, mediante la organización comunitariaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad Estatal a Distancia/[]/UNED/Costa RicaConsejo Superior Universitario Centroamericano/[]/CSUCA/Costa RicaComunidad indígena de Matambú/[]//Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Estación Experimental Agrícola Fabio Baudrit Moreno (EEAFBM)UCR::Sedes Regionales::Sede del Atlántico::Recinto de Paraíso::Finca Experimental Interdisciplinaria de Modelos Agroecológicos (FEIMA

Lessons from the COVID-19 air pollution decrease in Spain: Now what?

We offer an overview of the COVID-19 -driven air quality changes across 11 metropolises in Spain with the focuson lessons learned on how continuing abating pollution. Trafficflow decreased by up to 80% during the lockdownand remained relatively low during the full relaxation (June and July). After the lockdown a significant shift frompublic transport to private vehicles (+21% in Barcelona) persisted due to the pervasive fear that using publictransport might increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which need to be reverted as soon as possible. NO2levels fell below 50% of the WHO annual air quality guidelines (WHOAQGs), but those of PM2.5were reducedless than expected due to the lower contributions from traffic, increased contributions from agricultural and do-mestic biomass burning, or meteorological conditions favoring high secondary aerosol formation yields. Evenduring the lockdown, the annual PM2.5WHOAQG was exceeded in cities within the NE and E regions withhigh NH3emissions from farming and agriculture. Decreases in PM10levels were greater than in PM2.5due to reduced emissions from road dust, vehicle wear, and construction/demolition. Averaged O3daily maximum 8-h(8hDM) experienced a generalized decrease in the rural receptor sites in the relaxation (June–July) with−20%reduced mobility. For urban areas O38hDM responses were heterogeneous, with increases or decreases depend-ing on the period and location. Thus, after canceling out the effect of meteorology, 5 out of 11 cities experiencedO3decreases during the lockdown, while the remaining 6 either did not experience relevant reductions or in-creased. During the relaxation period and coinciding with the growing O3season (June–July), most cities expe-rienced decreases. However, the O3WHOAQG was still exceeded during the lockdown and full relaxationperiods in several cities. For secondary pollutants, such as O3and PM2.5, further chemical and dispersion model-ing along with source apportionment techniques to identify major precursor reduction targets are required toevaluate their abatement potential

Autoantibodies against the immunodominant sCha epitope discriminate the risk of sudden death in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy

In Chagas disease (ChD) caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, new biomarkers to predict chronic cardiac pathology are urgently needed. Previous studies in chagasic patients with mild symptomatology showed that antibodies against the immunodominant R3 epitope of sCha, a fragment of the human basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor like 5, correlated with cardiac pathology. To validate sCha as a biomarker and to understand the origin of anti-sCha antibodies, we conducted a multicenter study with several cohorts of chagasic patients with severe cardiac symptomatology. We found that levels of antibodies against sCha discriminated the high risk of sudden death, indicating they could be useful for ChD prognosis. We investigated the origin of the antibodies and performed an alanine scan of the R3 epitope. We identified a minimal epitope MRQLD, and a BLAST search retrieved several T. cruzi antigens. Five of the hits had known or putative functions, of which phosphonopyruvate decarboxylase showed the highest cross-reactivity with sCha, confirming the role of molecular mimicry in the development of anti-sCha antibodies. Altogether, we demonstrate that the development of antibodies against sCha, which originated by molecular mimicry with T. cruzi antigens, could discriminate electrocardiographic alterations associated with a high risk of sudden death.Ministerio de Economía y competitividad and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (SAF2015-63868-R (MINECO/FEDER) to N.G., and SAF2016-75988-R (MINECO/FEDER) to M.F.); Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (PGC2018-096132-BI00 (MICINN/FEDER) to N.G.); Universidad Autónoma de Madrid-Banco de Santander Inter-University Cooperation Grant with Latin América (CEAL-AL/2015-12 to N.G.); Red de Investigación de Centros de Enfermedades Tropicales (RICET RD12/0018/0004 to M.F.); and Comunidad de Madrid (S-2010/BMD-2332 to M.F.). CBMSO institutional grants from Fundación Ramón Areces and Banco de Santande

Effectiveness of Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic Vaccination in a Population at High Risk of Mpox: A Spanish Cohort Study

Background: With over 7,500 cases notified since April 2022, Spain has experienced the highest incidence of mpox in Europe. From July 12th onwards, the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic (MVA-BN) smallpox vaccine was offered as pre-exposure prophylaxis for individuals at high-risk of mpox, including those receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (HIV-PrEP). Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of one dose of MVA-BN vaccine as pre-exposure against mpox virus (MPXV) infection in persons on HIV-PrEP. Methods: We conducted a national retrospective cohort study between July 12 and December 12, 2022. Individuals ≥18 years, receiving HIV-PrEP as of July 12 and with no previous MPXV infection or vaccination were eligible. Each day, we matched individuals receiving a first dose of MVA-BN vaccine and unvaccinated controls of the same age group and region. We used a Kaplan-Meier estimator and calculate risk ratios (RR) and vaccine effectiveness (VE = 1-RR). Results: We included 5,660 matched pairs, with a median follow-up of 62 days (interquartile range 24-97). Mpox cumulative incidence was 5.6 per 1,000 (25 cases) in unvaccinated and 3.5 per 1,000 (18 cases) in vaccinated. No effect was found during days 0-6 post-vaccination (VE -38.3; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): -332.7; 46.4), but VE was 65% in ≥7 days (95%CI 22.9; 88.0) and 79% in ≥14 days (95%CI 33.3; 100.0) post-vaccination. Conclusions: One dose of MVA-BN vaccine offered protection against mpox in a most-at-risk population shortly after the vaccination. Further studies need to assess the VE of a second dose and the duration of protection over time.S

Autoimmune Diseases and COVID-19 as Risk Factors for Poor Outcomes: Data on 13,940 Hospitalized Patients from the Spanish Nationwide SEMI-COVID-19 Registry

(1) Objectives: To describe the clinical characteristics and clinical course of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases (ADs) compared to the general population. (2) Methods: We used information available in the nationwide Spanish SEMI-COVID-19 Registry, which retrospectively compiles data from the first admission of adult patients with COVID-19. We selected all patients with ADs included in the registry and compared them to the remaining patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality during admission, readmission, and subsequent admissions, and secondary outcomes were a composite outcome including the need for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), or death, as well as in-hospital complications. (3) Results: A total of 13,940 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were included, of which 362 (2.6%) had an AD. Patients with ADs were older, more likely to be female, and had greater comorbidity. On the multivariate logistic regression analysis, which involved the inverse propensity score weighting method, AD as a whole was not associated with an increased risk of any of the outcome variables. Habitual treatment with corticosteroids (CSs), age, Barthel Index score, and comorbidity were associated with poor outcomes. Biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) were associated with a decrease in mortality in patients with AD. (4) Conclusions: The analysis of the SEMI-COVID-19 Registry shows that ADs do not lead to a different prognosis, measured by mortality, complications, or the composite outcome. Considered individually, it seems that some diseases entail a different prognosis than that of the general population. Immunosuppressive/immunoregulatory treatments (IST) prior to admission had variable effects

Frequency, risk factors, and outcomes of hospital readmissions of COVID-19 patients

To determine the proportion of patients with COVID-19 who were readmitted to the hospital and the most common causes and the factors associated with readmission. Multicenter nationwide cohort study in Spain. Patients included in the study were admitted to 147 hospitals from March 1 to April 30, 2020. Readmission was defined as a new hospital admission during the 30 days after discharge. Emergency department visits after discharge were not considered readmission. During the study period 8392 patients were admitted to hospitals participating in the SEMI-COVID-19 network. 298 patients (4.2%) out of 7137 patients were readmitted after being discharged. 1541 (17.7%) died during the index admission and 35 died during hospital readmission (11.7%, p = 0.007). The median time from discharge to readmission was 7 days (IQR 3-15 days). The most frequent causes of hospital readmission were worsening of previous pneumonia (54%), bacterial infection (13%), venous thromboembolism (5%), and heart failure (5%). Age [odds ratio (OR): 1.02; 95% confident interval (95% CI): 1.01-1.03], age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index score (OR: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.06-1.21), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR: 1.84; 95% CI: 1.26-2.69), asthma (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04-2.22), hemoglobin level at admission (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.86-0.99), ground-glass opacification at admission (OR: 0.86; 95% CI:0.76-0.98) and glucocorticoid treatment (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.00-1.66) were independently associated with hospital readmission. The rate of readmission after hospital discharge for COVID-19 was low. Advanced age and comorbidity were associated with increased risk of readmission