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The article focuses on public support for wastewater monitoring and its impact on protective health behaviors among U.S. adults. Topics include the level of support for wastewater monitoring of infectious diseases, public demand for access to wastewater data regardless of health risk knowledge, and the likelihood of respondents adopting protective behaviors if alerted by wastewater data.

The retromer is a cellular structure that recruits and recycles proteins inside the cell. In mammalian and yeast, the retromer components have been widely studied, but very little in parasites. In yeast, it is formed by a SNX-BAR membrane remodeling heterodimer and the cargo selecting complex (CSC), composed by three proteins. One of them, the Vps26 protein, possesses a flexible and intrinsically disordered region (IDR), that facilitates interactions with other proteins and contributes to the retromer binding to the endosomal membrane. In Entamoeba histolytica, the protozoan parasite responsible for human amoebiasis, the retromer actively participates during the high mobility and phagocytosis of trophozoites, but the molecular details in these events, are almost unknown. Here, we studied the EhVps26 role in phagocytosis. Bioinformatic analyses of EhVps26 revealed a typical arrestin folding structure of the protein, and a long and charged IDR, as described in other systems. EhVps26 molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) allowed us to predict binding pockets for EhVps35, EhSNX3, and a PX domain-containing protein; these pockets were disorganized in a EhVps26 truncated version lacking the IDR. The AlphaFold2 software predicted the interaction of EhVps26 with EhVps35, EhVps29 and EhSNX3, in a model similar to the reported mammalian crystals. By confocal and transmission electron microscopy, EhVps26 was found in the trophozoites plasma membrane, cytosol, endosomes, and Golgi-like apparatus. During phagocytosis, it followed the erythrocytes pathway, probably participating in cargoes selection and recycling. Ehvps26 gene knocking down evidenced that the EhVps26 protein is necessary for efficient phagocytosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family and is transmitted primarily by mosquitos of the genus Aedes (Stegomyia). The virus was discovered in Uganda in 1947 [...]

Aim: Acceptability of a new safety-engineered peripherally inserted intravenous catheter (PIVC) with multiple access blood control (MBC) was evaluated in this observational study by experienced volunteer clinicians on healthy volunteers. Methods: Clinicians and healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Observers documented study procedures, including if there was any blood leakage from the catheter hub at various times during hub connections and disconnections and how many attempts it took a clinician to get a successful stick. Clinicians responded to yes-or-no and Likert-scale questionnaires describing their experiences with PIVC with MBC after each procedure. Questionnaire data were summarized by frequency and percent of responses; analyses were conducted using binomial statistics. Results: Overall, clinicians considered PIVC with MBC to be acceptable (93.6% agreement). Clinicians were able to easily remove the catheter protective cap, insert the catheter, visualize primary and secondary flashbacks, easily remove the needle from the catheter hub and determine if the safety clip was activated after withdrawing the needle. In addition, they were able to connect or disconnect and flush extension sets. Clinicians did not have to change their insertion technique, found the catheter easy to insert, and believed the catheter would protect them from blood exposure during insertion of the catheter and subsequent hub accesses (agreement ranged from 82.3% to 98.9%). Conclusions: No blood leakage was observed from the catheter hub at any time during the procedures. Overall, clinicians found the new PIVC with MBC to be acceptable, easy to use, and functioned properly. HIGHLIGHTS: Acceptability, usability, and ease of use of a new safety-engineered PIVC with MBC was evaluated. PIVC with MBC was >93% acceptable: prevented blood exposure after multiple insertions/removals. Most clinicians (96%) achieved first stick success when using their product. PIVC with MBC was easy to use, worked properly and allowed clinicians to keep their PIVC technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taenia crassiceps has been used for decades as an experimental model for the study of human and porcine cysticercosis. Even though, its life cycle, tissue organization, ultrastructure and immune response elicited in the host, have been extensively described, there are many other biological questions remaining to be addressed. In the present study we revisited the muscle and neural architecture of cysticerci in two of the most frequently used strains (WFU and ORF), using conventional staining and confocal microscopy imaging, aiming to assemble an updated anatomy. Differences between both strains, including polarization processes during development of the young budding larvae, are emphasized. We also performed a search for genes that have been related to peptidergic neural processes in other related flatworms. These findings can help to understand the anatomical and molecular consequences of the scolex presence or absence in both strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flatworms are known for their remarkable regenerative ability, one which depends on totipotent cells known as germinative cells in cestodes. Depletion of germinative cells with hydroxyurea (HU) affects the regeneration of the parasite. Here, we studied the reduction and recovery of germinative cells in T. crassiceps cysticerci after HU treatment (25 mM and 40 mM of HU for 6 days) through in vitro assays. Viability and morphological changes were evaluated. The recovery of cysticerci's mobility and morphology was evaluated at 3 and 6 days, after 6 days of treatment. The number of proliferative cells was evaluated using EdU. Our results show morphological changes in the size, shape, and number of evaginated cysticerci at the 40 mM dose. The mobility of cysticerci was lower after 6 days of HU treatment at both concentrations. On days 3 and 6 of recovery after 25 mM of HU treatment, a partial recovery of the proliferative cells was observed. Proteomic and Gene Ontology analyses identified modifications in protein groups related to DNA binding, DNA damage, glycolytic enzymes, cytoskeleton, skeletal muscle, and RNA binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining compositions of low-mass exoplanets is essential in understanding their origins. The certainty by which masses and radius are measured affects our ability to discern planets that are rocky or volatile rich. In this study, we aim to determine sound observational strategies to avoid diminishing returns. We quantify how uncertainties in mass, radius, and model assumptions propagate into errors in inferred compositions of rocky and water planets. For a target error in a planet's iron-mass fraction or water content, we calculate the corresponding required accuracies in radius and mass. For instance, a rocky planet with a known radius error of 2 per cent (corresponding to TESS detection best errors) demands mass precision to be at 5–11 per cent to attain an 8 wt% precision in iron-mass fraction, regardless of mass. Similarly, a water world of equal radius precision requires 9–20 per cent mass precision to confine the water content within a 10 wt% margin. Lighter planets are more difficult to constrain, especially water-rich versus water-poor worlds. Studying Earth as an exoplanet, we find an ∼±5 point 'error floor' in iron-mass fraction and ∼±7 in core-mass fraction from our lack of knowledge on mineralogy. The results presented here can quickly guide observing strategies to maximize insights into small exoplanet compositions while avoiding overobserving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury is notoriously difficult to form in Solar System simulations, due to its small mass and iron-rich composition. Smooth particle hydrodynamics simulations of collisions have found that a Mercury-like body could be formed by one or multiple giant impacts, but due to the chaotic nature of collisions, it is difficult to create a scenario where such impacts will take place. Recent work has found more success forming Mercury analogues by adding additional embryos near Mercury's orbit. In this work, we aim to form Mercury by simulating the formation of the Solar System in the presence of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. We test out the effect of an inner disk of embryos added on to the commonly used narrow annulus of initial material. We form Mercury analogues with core-mass fractions (CMFs) > 0.4 in ∼10% of our simulations, and twice that number of Mercury analogues form during the formation process but are unstable and do not last to the end of the simulations. Mercury analogues form at similar rates for both disks with and without an inner component, and most of our Mercury analogues have lower CMFs than that of Mercury, ∼0.7, due to significant accretion of debris material. We suggest that a more in-depth understanding of the fraction of debris mass that is lost to collisional grinding is necessary to understand Mercury's formation, or some additional mechanism is required to stop this debris from accreting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the second most common cancer in children and adolescents, leading to premature death and disability. Population-based survival estimates aid decision-making in cancer control, however data on survival for primary CNS tumors in Latin America is lacking. We describe survival rates for children with primary CNS tumors treated in ten Colombian cities. Methods: We analyzed data from children and adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer between 2012 and 2021, participating in the Childhood Cancer Clinical Outcomes Surveillance System (VIGICANCER) in ten cities in Colombia. VIGICANCER collects information on clinical outcomes from twenty-seven pediatric oncology units and conducts active follow-up every three months. VIGICANCER does not register craniopharyngiomas; we excluded intracranial germ cell tumors for this report. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to estimate the overall survival probability, stratified by sociodemographic variables, topography, WHO grading, receipt of radiation therapy, and type of surgical resection. We analyzed the prognostic capacity of variables using multivariate proportional Cox's regression, stratified by city and year of diagnosis. Results: During the study period, VIGICANCER included 989 primary CNS tumors in 879 children and 110 adolescents. The cohort median age was 9 years; 53% of patients were males, and 8% were Afro-descendants. Most common tumors were supratentorial astrocytomas (47%), astrocytic tumors (35%), medulloblastomas (20%), ependymomas (11%), and mixed and unspecified gliomas (10%). Five-year overall survival of the entire cohort was 54% (95% CI, 51-58); for supratentorial gliomas, WHO grade I was 77%, II was 62%, III-IV was 27%, respectively, and for medulloblastoma was 61%. The adjusted hazard rate ratio for patients with WHO grade III and IV, for those with subtotal resection, for brainstem location, and for those not receiving radiation therapy was 7.4 (95% CI, 4.7-11.8), 6.4 (95% CI, 4.2-9.8), 2.8 (95% 2.1-3.8), 2.0 (95% CI, 1.3-2.8) and 2.3 (95% CI, 1.7-3.0), respectively. Conclusion: We found that half of Colombia's children and adolescents with primary CNS tumors survive five years, compared to 70% to 80% in high-income countries. In addition to tumor biology and location, gross total resection was crucial for improved survival in this cohort. Systematic monitoring of survival and its determinants provides empirical data for guiding cancer control policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the expansion of wastewater surveillance (WWS) from 20 to 53 jurisdictions in the U.S., emphasizing its role in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and testing for various respiratory pathogens. Topics include the utilization of wastewater data by the National Wastewater Surveillance System's Centers of Excellence, public health actions during the 2022–23 respiratory disease season, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.

In this case study, we aim to understand how health departments in 5 US jurisdictions addressed health inequities and implemented strategies to reach populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 during the initial Omicron variant period. We used qualitative methods to examine health department experiences during the initial Omicron surge, from November 2021 to April 2022, assessing successful interventions, barriers, and lessons learned from efforts to promote health equity. Our findings indicate that government leadership supported prioritizing health equity from the beginning of the pandemic, seeing it as a need and vital part of the response framework. All jurisdictions acknowledged the historical trauma and distrust of the government. Health departments found that collaborating and communicating with trusted community leaders helped mitigate public distrust. Having partnerships, resources, and infrastructure in place before the pandemic facilitated the establishment of equity-focused COVID-19 response activities. Finally, misinformation about COVID-19 was a challenge for all jurisdictions. Addressing the needs of diverse populations involves community-informed decisionmaking, diversity of thought, and delivery measures that are tailored to the community. It is imperative to expand efforts to reduce and eliminate health inequities to ensure that individuals and communities recover equitably from the effects of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy can cause severe birth defects in the fetus and is associated with neurodevelopmental abnormalities in childhood. Our objective was to describe ZIKV knowledge and attitudes among pregnant women in Colombia while ZIKV was circulating and whether they predicted the adoption of behaviors to prevent ZIKV mosquito-borne and sexual transmission. Methods We used self-reported data from Zika en Embarazadas y Niños (ZEN), a cohort study of women in early pregnancy across three regions of Colombia during 2017–2018. We used Poisson regression to estimate associations between knowledge, attitudes and previous experience with mosquito-borne infection and preventative behaviors. Results Among 1519 women, knowledge of mosquito-borne transmission was high (1480; 97.8%) and 1275 (85.5%) participants were worried about ZIKV infection during pregnancy. The most common preventive behavior was wearing long pants (1355; 89.4%). Regular mosquito repellent use was uncommon (257; 17.0%). While ZIKV knowledge and attitudes were not associated with the adoption of ZIKV prevention behaviors, previous mosquito-borne infection was associated with increased condom use (prevalence ratio 1.4, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.7). Conclusions Participants were well informed about ZIKV transmission and its health consequences. However, whether this knowledge resulted in behavior change is less certain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Recent advances have increased our understanding of the molecular machinery in the cytoskeleton of mammalian cells, in contrast to the case of tapeworm parasites, where cytoskeleton remains poorly characterized. The pertinence of a better knowledge of the tapeworm cytoskeleton is linked to the medical importance of these parasitic diseases in humans and animal stock. Moreover, its study could offer new possibilities for the development of more effective anti-parasitic drugs, as well as better strategies for their surveillance, prevention, and control. In the present review, we compile the results of recent experiments on the cytoskeleton of these parasites and analyze how these novel findings might trigger the development of new drugs or the redesign of those currently used in addition to supporting their use as biomarkers in cutting-edge diagnostic tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In May 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported an outbreak of Zika virus disease in Brazil (1). Zika virus is a single-stranded RNA virus spread primarily by Aedes aegypti [...]