Introduction
Pregnant women are vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. Neutralizing antibodies against the SARS‐CoV‐2 spike (S) protein protect from ...severe disease. This study analyzes the antibody titers to SARS‐CoV‐2 S protein in pregnant women and their newborns at delivery, and six months later.
Methods
We conducted a prospective study on pregnant women with confirmed SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and newborns. Antibody (IgG, IgM, and IgA) titers were determined using immunoassays in serum and milk samples. An angiotensin‐converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor‐binding inhibition assay to the S protein was performed on the same serum and milk samples.
Results
At birth, antibodies to SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein were detected in 81.9% of mothers' sera, 78.9% of cord blood samples, and 63.2% of milk samples. Symptomatic women had higher antibody titers (IgG, IgM, and IgA) than the asymptomatic ones (P < 0.05). At six months postpartum, IgG levels decreased drastically in children's serum (P < 0.001) but remained high in mothers' serum. Antibody titers correlated positively with its capacity to inhibit the ACE2–spike protein interaction at baseline in maternal sera (R2 = 0.203; P < 0.001), cord sera (R2 = 0.378; P < 0.001), and milk (R2 = 0.564; P < 0.001), and at six months in maternal sera (R2 = 0.600; P < 0.001).
Conclusions
High antibody levels against SARS‐CoV‐2 spike protein were found in most pregnant women. Due to the efficient transfer of IgG to cord blood and high IgA titers in breast milk, neonates may be passively immunized to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. Our findings could guide newborn management and maternal vaccination policies.
Comparison of the CIELab and CIEDE2000 color difference formulas Gómez-Polo, Cristina, PhD; Muñoz, María Portillo, PhD; Lorenzo Luengo, Mari Cruz, PhD ...
The Journal of prosthetic dentistry,
2016, January 2016, 2016-Jan, 2016-01-00, 20160101, Letnik:
115, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract Statement of problem Many color specification systems and color differences have been proposed to improve the correlation between color measurement and visual perception. Although color ...differences can be quantified using either the CIELab formula (ΔE*ab ) or the recently introduced CIEDE2000 formula (ΔE00), which captures the perceived color difference better is unknown. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the CIELab and CIEDE2000 formulas to determine which best reflects the difference in color perception and whether color perception differs by sex. Material and methods Forty participants grouped 18 dental resin disks (color range: from 73.6 to 87.5 for L*; from −1.6 to 3.4 for a*; from 18.1 to 36.6 for b*), the only requirement being that each group was formed of disks with chromatically indistinguishable colors. Each participant was free to choose the number and composition of the groups. With the results obtained, a dissimilarity matrix was generated, and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS) was applied to it to obtain the coordinates of the disks within a Euclidean space. Results The linear correlation coefficient between the interpoint distances of the MDS configuration (MDS_total sample) and the color differences with the CIELab formula (ΔE*ab ) was 0.176 ( P =.029), whereas with the CIEDE2000 formula (ΔE00) it was 0.289 ( P <.001). For the configuration obtained in the women’s group (MDS_w), the correlation between the interpoint distances and the CIELab color differences was 0.230 ( P =.004), and the CIEDE2000 color difference was 0.328 ( P <.001). For the configuration obtained in the men’s group (MDS_m), the color differences calculated with both formulas reflected the perceived differences more poorly. Conclusions Within the limitations of this study, the CIEDE2000 formula reflected the color differences perceived by the human eye better than the CIELab formula (ΔE*ab ). In addition, women were confirmed to be more sensitive than men to color differences.
In 1975 a watershed moment captivated Mexico as indigenous peoples from across the country came together on the Island of Janitzio for the First National Congress of Indigenous Peoples. The congress ...was a federal government initiative intended to preempt an independent indigenous movement. But indigenous groups circumvented the intended containment policies of the congress and made bold demands for political self-determination.Using previously unavailable documents, María L. O. Muñoz examines the events that led to the congress, the meeting itself, and developments after the assembly. Muñoz shows how indigenous leaders working within Mexico's Department of Colonization and Agrarian Affairs (DAAC) sidestepped state attempts to control indigenous communities, and how they made bold demands that redefined the ways federal and state governments engaged withpueblos indígenas.Through research in previously untapped archives, Muñoz is able to trace the political history of the indigenous leaders and government officials who redefined the ways indigenous peoples engaged with governments. She illustrates the fluid and evolving power relationships of the key players with a focus on the twelve years of populism in the last decades of the twentieth century.This book challenges the discourse of unquestioned power and hegemony of the national ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), and it illustrates how indigenous communities in Mexico reimagined their roles in the social, political, and economic life of the nation.
Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that acute poisoning from exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides in agricultural workers causes adverse health effects. However, neuropsychological ...and cognitive effects of chronic occupational exposure to OP pesticides remain controversial.
Objective: To identify, evaluate, and systematize existing evidence regarding chronic exposure to OP pesticides and neuropsychological effects in farmworkers.
Methods: Using the PubMed search engine, a systematic review process was implemented and replicated according to the PRISMA statement. Eligibility criteria included workers over 18 years of age exposed to OP pesticides as well as assessment of neuropsychological and cognitive functioning. Search terms were in English and Spanish languages and included organophosphate and workers.
Results: Of the search results, 33 of 1,256 articles meet eligibility criteria. Twenty-four studies found an association between chronic occupational exposure to OP pesticides and low neuropsychological performance in workers. We classified nine of the studies to have study design limitations. Studies indicated occupational exposure to OP pesticides is linked to difficulties in executive functions, psychomotor speed, verbal, memory, attention, processing speed, visual-spatial functioning, and coordination. Nine studies find no relationship between OP pesticides exposure and neuropsychological performance.
Conclusions: Overall, evidence suggests an association between chronic occupational exposure to OP pesticides and neuropsychological effects. However, there is no consensus about the specific cognitive skills affected.
From the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, images of crisis and reform dominated talk of Cameroon's economy. Doing Business in Cameroon examines the aftermath of that period of turbulence and ...unpredictability in the northern city of Ngaoundéré. Taking the everyday encounters between business actors and state bureaucrats as its point of departure, the book vividly illustrates the backstage and interconnected dynamics of four different sectors (cattle trade, trucking, public contracting, and NGO work). Drawing on his training in law and social anthropology, the author is able to clarify intricate policy dynamics and abstruse legal developments for readers. A widespread picture emerges of actors grappling with the long-term implications of selective or suspended enforcement of legal rules. The book deftly illuminates a set of shifting configurations in which economic outcomes like monetary gains or the circulation of goods are achieved by foregoing the possibility of relying on or complying with the law.
•High efficiency of alkaline and alkaline peroxide pretreatments at mild conditions.•There is a limit in biomass dissolution above which hydrolysis yields do not improve.•Similar hydrolysis yields of ...pretreated biomass with half of the recommended enzyme dose.•The proposed pretreatments could be alternated depending on residue recalcitrance.
The current study explores alkaline and alkaline peroxide pretreatments in order to achieve a method to improve saccharification of agricultural residues for ethanol production. The effects of reagent concentration and pretreatment time at 30°C and atmospheric pressure on biomass dissolution after the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated biomass were investigated. In fact, although all pretreatments tested improved enzymatic hydrolysis of native residues, the best results were not achieved for the highest biomass loss. The maximum conversions to reducing sugars in the hydrolysis stage of 77.5% and 92.6% were obtained for rice hulls and straw pretreated by alkaline peroxide (4%, 24h) and alkaline (1%, 48h) methods, respectively. For both pretreated residues, the reduction to more than half the recommended enzyme loading allowed obtaining more than 94% the reducing sugars attained with the recommended dose.
•Analyses the competitiveness of eight tourist regions of Northern Portugal.•Uses Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE).•Applies the Geometrical Analysis for ...Interactive Aid (GAIA).•Assesses the competitiveness using Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index (TTCI).•Shows that the Porto Metropolitan Area is the leader presenting strengths in almost all indicators.
The competitiveness of tourism destinations is a key issue because it enables destinations to know their position with regard to their competitors. The aim of this paper is threefold: (1) to address the measurement of the competitiveness of tourism destinations at the regional level, (2) to show the suitability of using multi-criteria techniques to measure competitiveness, and (3) to apply the PROMETHEE and GAIA methods within a competitiveness study of eight tourist destinations located in the Northern Region of Portugal. The Metropolitan Area of Porto is the first in the ranking, followed by Cávado and Douro. The results of such an analysis show the comparative strengths and weaknesses of destinations, and allow them to identify their true competitors as well as those other destinations that are most similar to them.
Summary
Next‐generation whole‐genome shotgun assemblies of complex genomes are highly useful, but fail to link nearby sequence contigs with each other or provide a linear order of contigs along ...individual chromosomes. Here, we introduce a strategy based on sequencing progeny of a segregating population that allows de novo production of a genetically anchored linear assembly of the gene space of an organism. We demonstrate the power of the approach by reconstructing the chromosomal organization of the gene space of barley, a large, complex and highly repetitive 5.1 Gb genome. We evaluate the robustness of the new assembly by comparison to a recently released physical and genetic framework of the barley genome, and to various genetically ordered sequence‐based genotypic datasets. The method is independent of the need for any prior sequence resources, and will enable rapid and cost‐efficient establishment of powerful genomic information for many species.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies, acting as relevant financial market actors, should take a stand on working towards achieving a more sustainable development. In this ...context, the objective of this paper is, on the one hand, to understand how criteria used by ESG rating agencies in their assessment processes have evolved over the last ten years and, on the other hand, to analyze whether ESG rating agencies are contributing to fostering sustainable development by the inclusion of sustainability principles into their assessment processes and practices according to the ESG criteria. This research is based on a comparative descriptive analysis of the public information provided by the most representative ESG rating and information provider agencies in the financial market in two periods: 2008 and 2018. The findings show that ESG rating agencies have integrated new criteria into their assessment models to measure corporate performance more accurately and robustly in order to respond to new global challenges. However, a deep analysis of the criteria also shows that ESG rating agencies do not fully integrate sustainability principles into the corporate sustainability assessment process.
The dual function of the N−F bond as an effective oxidant and subsequent nitrogen source in intramolecular aliphatic C−H functionalization reactions is explored. Copper catalysis is demonstrated to ...exercise full regio‐ and chemoselectivity control, which opens new synthetic avenues to nitrogenated heterocycles with predictable ring sizes. For the first time, a uniform catalysis manifold has been identified for the construction of both pyrrolidine and piperidine cores. The individual steps of this new copper oxidation catalysis were elucidated by control experiments and computational studies, clarifying the singularity of the N−F function and characterizing the catalytic cycle to be based on a copper(I/II) manifold.
Two for one: A copper‐based catalytic protocol involving N−F activation serves in the synthesis of both pyrrolidines and the more challenging piperidines. The catalytic cycle is based on a copper(I/II) redox cycle.
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