A call to strengthen local governance for preventing and mitigating global crises.

Deforestation and land conversion have dramatic consequences to biodiversity and disease emergence, but they are also deep-rooted in historical forces involved in environmental injustice. Global guidelines tackling global crises approach the problem using top-down formulas that often fail to match local needs and priorities, and are rarely evaluated for local suitability, implications, and impacts. Motivated by the report of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) workshop, published in 2020, we reflect on how drivers of zoonotic disease emergence are linked to historical injustices and how global initiatives tackling global crises are prone to reproducing colonial structures. We provide examples of local governance strengthening through horizontal and interdisciplinary collaborations, and how the support of local solutions can build resilience against global crises.

The Role of Mucoadhesion and Mucopenetration in the Immune Response Induced by Polymer-Based Mucosal Adjuvants.

Mucus is a viscoelastic gel that acts as a protective barrier for epithelial surfaces. The mucosal vehicles and adjuvants need to pass through the mucus layer to make drugs and vaccine delivery by mucosal routes possible. The mucoadhesion of polymer particle adjuvants significantly increases the contact time between vaccine formulations and the mucosa; then, the particles can penetrate the mucus layer and epithelium to reach mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. This review presents the key findings that have aided in understanding mucoadhesion and mucopenetration while exploring the influence of physicochemical characteristics on mucus-polymer interactions. We describe polymer-based particles designed with mucoadhesive or mucopenetrating properties and discuss the impact of mucoadhesive polymers on local and systemic immune responses after mucosal immunization. In future research, more attention paid to the design and development of mucosal adjuvants could lead to more effective vaccines.

AKI in Patients With COVID-19 Supported on ECMO: A Single Center Experience in Mexico

BACKGROUND AND AIMS AKI is a common complication in critically ill patients, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been presented directly associated with damage by the virus, due to the severity of the disease and secondary to treatment, that is, secondary to the crosstalk of organs and the crosstalk of support equipment, such as the extracorporeal oxygenation membrane (ECMO), which has been used in patients with severe respiratory failure. According to the international bibliography, the incidence of AKI in ECMO ranges from 26% to 85% depending on the characteristics of the patient, the percentage that requires KRT is around 45%. OBJECTIVE Our hospital is a national reference center for ECMO support therapy as for lung transplantation, it is the only center that has an active program, so understanding the epidemiology of AKI associated with ECMO in our population is important, in addition to representing a part of the experience in Latin America. METHOD Retrospective and descriptive studies were included all patients 18 years or older connected to ECMO with a diagnosis of severe pneumonia for COVID-19 from June 2020 to August 2021. Data were collected in Excel and using the ECMO Team platform data that is shared in the ELSO. Descriptive data analysis was performed with SPSS V21 and Excel. RESULTS A total of 48 patients were connected to ECMO for COVID-19 severe pneumonia in our center, of which 39 were men. Average age 49 years (min 21 year, max 68 year), average weight 93 kg (min 55 kg, max 125 kg) 25 patients (52%) with AKI, 22 (45%) required KRT and 100% CKRT. Of them, 10 patients (20%) have kidney recovery function, all of them get out form ECMO. From all, 45% patients died, these 45% were still in ECMO. In most of the cases, the AKI cause is multifactorial, but the most common cause identified was sepsis, the second nephrotoxicity (antibiotics like vancomycin and colistin) and the third hemolysis (an ECMO membrane complication). About the indication of star KRT: 50% fluid overload, 30% acidosis and uremia and 20% anuria. A total of 100% of patients were in ECMO-VV at time CKRT started, all were connected in parallel in ECMO in post-blood pump and return pre-blood pump, with no coagulation problems as long as they have the ECMO anticoagulation, 93% patients with heparin and 7% with argatroban for HIT suspicious. As data to highlight from our population, there is the first bilateral lung transplant secondary to COVID-19 in Latin America and the longest air transfer in ECMO in the world. CONCLUSION In our center, the AKI, KRT and mortality in patients with ECMO are much like other centers reported. In COVID-19, there is not yet very clear evidence and more studies should be done. This is the first study in Mexico about ECMO, AKI and COVID-19.

Review of the Quality of YouTube Videos Recommending Exercises for the COVID-19 Lockdown.

BACKGROUND: The world is experiencing a pandemic caused by COVID-19. Insufficient physical activity can increase the risk of illness. Trying to replicate a normal search that any user/patient could do in YouTube, the objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of YouTube videos related to home exercises during lockdown and their adherence to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. METHODS: A simple search was carried out on YouTube. The first 150 videos were selected. After applying exclusion criteria, 68 videos were analyzed and evaluated. Two statistical analyses based on machine learning techniques were carried out. Videos were classified according to principal component analysis (PCA) models as 'Relevant' and 'Non-Relevant'. Popularity was assessed using the video power index (VPI). Information's quality and accuracy were gauged using the DISCERN scale and global quality score (GQS). Reliability and credibility of information that can be found on health-related websites was assessed using the Health On the Net Code (HONCode). Exercises were evaluated according to WHO recommendations. RESULTS: DISCERN, HONCode, and GQS scored a mean of 2.29, 58.95, and 2.32, respectively. The PCA calculation allowed videos to auto-classify into high- and low-quality videos. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of YouTube videos recommending exercises during lockdown is low and doesn't reflect WHO recommendations. Effective strategies and tools capable of indicating the quality of this information are needed to filter out erroneous or non-rigorous information that may affect people's health. These tools should help any user/viewer to distinguish videos of high and low quality.

SMART-LAMP: A Smartphone-Operated Handheld Device for Real-Time Colorimetric Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases via Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification.

Nucleic acid amplification diagnostics offer outstanding features of sensitivity and specificity. However, they still lack speed and robustness, require extensive infrastructure, and are neither affordable nor user-friendly. Thus, they have not been extensively applied in point-of-care diagnostics, particularly in low-resource settings. In this work, we have combined the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology with a handheld portable device (SMART-LAMP) developed to perform real-time isothermal nucleic acid amplification reactions, based on simple colorimetric measurements, all of which are Bluetooth-controlled by a dedicated smartphone app. We have validated its diagnostic utility regarding different infectious diseases, including Schistosomiasis, Strongyloidiasis, and COVID-19, and analyzed clinical samples from suspected COVID-19 patients. Finally, we have proved that the combination of long-term stabilized LAMP master mixes, stored and transported at room temperature with our developed SMART-LAMP device, provides an improvement towards true point-of-care diagnosis of infectious diseases in settings with limited infrastructure. Our proposal could be easily adapted to the diagnosis of other infectious diseases.

Serological evidence of exposure of Bornean wild carnivores to feline-related viruses at the domestic animal-wildlife interface.

We conducted an exploratory serological survey to evaluate the exposure of Bornean wild carnivores to several viruses common to domestic felids, at interface areas between protected forest and industrial agriculture in the Kinabatangan floodplain (Sabah, Malaysia). Blood samples, collected from wild carnivores (n = 21) and domestic cats (n = 27), were tested for antibodies against feline coronavirus (FCoV), feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV), feline herpesvirus (FHV) and feline calicivirus (FCV), using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits. Anti-FCoV antibodies were detected in most species, including one flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps, [1/2]), leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis, [2/5]), Malay civets (Viverra tangalunga, [2/11]) and domestic cats (Felis catus, [2/27]). Anti-FCV antibodies were present in all domestic cats and one flat-headed cat, while anti-FPLV antibodies were identified in Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi, [2/2]), domestic cats [12/27] and Malay civets [2/11]. Anti-FHV antibodies were only detected in domestic cats [2/27]. Our findings indicate pathogen transmission risk between domestic and wild carnivore populations at the domestic animal-wildlife interface, emphasizing the concern for wildlife conservation for several endangered wild carnivores living in the area. Special consideration should be given to species that benefit from their association with humans and have the potential to carry pathogens between forest and plantations (e.g., Malay civets and leopard cats). Risk reduction strategies should be incorporated and supported as part of conservation actions in human-dominated landscapes.

Impact of novel microbial secondary metabolites on the pharma industry.

Microorganisms are remarkable producers of a wide diversity of natural products that significantly improve human health and well-being. Currently, these natural products comprise half of all the pharmaceuticals on the market. After the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming 85 years ago, the search for and study of antibiotics began to gain relevance as drugs. Since then, antibiotics have played a valuable role in treating infectious diseases and have saved many human lives. New molecules with anticancer, hypocholesterolemic, and immunosuppressive activity have now been introduced to treat other relevant diseases. Smaller biotechnology companies and academic laboratories generate novel antibiotics and other secondary metabolites that big pharmaceutical companies no longer develop. The purpose of this review is to illustrate some of the recent developments and to show the potential that some modern technologies like metagenomics and genome mining offer for the discovery and development of new molecules, with different functions like therapeutic alternatives needed to overcome current severe problems, such as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, antibiotic resistance, and other emerging diseases. KEY POINTS: • Novel alternatives for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. • Second wave of efforts of microbial origin against SARS-CoV-2 and related variants. • Microbial drugs used in clinical practice as hypocholesterolemic agents, immunosuppressants, and anticancer therapy.

Covid-19 pandemic and effect of containment measures in the Peruvian population: A SIR mathematical modeling

Introduction: The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic varies in each population;it has been complicating health systems worldwide. Objective: to analyze the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, estimating the effect of the containment measures practiced in Peru. Material and Method: The SIR epidemiological mathematical modeling was applied, estimating the COVID-19 evolution in our population. Data analysis was performed following the SIR mathematical model with defined ordinary differential equations to simulate epidemiological behavior;and it was executed in the RStudio programming language. Results: Containment measures decreased the propagation rate, reducing 30% of infected cases until the peak day of infection;however, it is still above the effective reproductive number to control the epidemic and it shows an erratic trend, the result of government actions being 61% in the practice of containment measures. Conclusions: Containment measures are necessary if strategies are considered to make their role effective in our population.