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Background: In severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) may be used to assess severity and mortality in patients with respiratory distress due to COVID-19. Thus a new nutritional screening index is proposed: the NUTRIC Score-LDH, which combines the prognostic value of the mNUTRIC Score and LDH to timely identify patients with a higher risk of malnutrition and contribute to the restoration of health through adequate nutrition support. Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the prognostic value of the combination of the mNUTRIC score with LDH to assess the risk of mortality and the development of infections in patients with COVID-19. Methodology: A prospective observational study was performed in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who presented respiratory distress syndrome. Chi-squared test (X2) was performed to identify the association among indicators of nutritional risk (mNUTRIC Score and the mNUTRIC Score-LDH), mortality and the presence of infections. Subsequently, prognostic values were determined and a Cox regression analysis was used to identify the risk of mortality adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, history of type II diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and immunization for COVID-19. Results: A total of 257 patients participated, 63.8% were male. Mortality reached 38.1% (89). In terms of nutritional risk, 31.9% (82) had a high NUTRIC Score-LDH. The relative risk of a high mNUTRIC Score-LDH in terms of mortality was 4.578 pConclusions: The NUTRIC Score-LDH is a valid indicator of the risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19 and respiratory distress syndrome who are at high risk of malnutrition.

La aplicación del Índice de Riesgo Nutricional Geriátrico (IRNG) tuvo como finalidad la predicción de la probabilidad a desarrollar consecuencias adversas a la desnutrición como aumento del riesgo de infección, estancia hospitalaria y mortalidad en los pacientes críticos de tercera edad; y observar su comportamiento en las patologías de daño hepático crónico y daño renal severo. La presente investigación tiene un carácter observacional y analítico longitudinal. Se incluyeron a 61 pacientes mayores de 60 años de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) de la Clínica “La Merced” (Quito, Ecuador), durante los meses de mayo a agosto del 2013. A través de la estadística inferencial se realizó un análisis multifactorial de correspondencias múltiples y desagregaciones para determinar la asociación entre el IRNG, la sobrevida, el desarrollo de un proceso infeccioso y el tiempo de estancia hospitalaria. El IRNG pudo pronosticar la mortalidad, sin embargo, la presencia de infección y estancia hospitalaria dependieron de factores como el diagnóstico de ingreso, y la alta exposición a agentes infecciosos. No se observó una asociación concluyente entre las patologías anteriormente mencionadas y el IRNG, no obstante, se requiere de la realización de estudios con una muestra mayor para confirmar la aplicación del IRNG en todos los pacientes geriátricos.

The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru and Bolivia. One of the most important battles, the

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a useful tool in forensic investigation as it provides information about the matrilineal ancestry of individuals. In addition, mtDNA can be analyzed when the analysis of other nuclear markers is underperforming. Recently, we developed a minisequencing panel for the simultaneous analysis of 52 mtDNA SNPs to classify maternal lineages into the main haplogroups and their phylogeographic origin. In order to make this panel suitable for forensic genetics laboratories, a validation study has been performed in accordance with the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) guidelines, including species specificity, reproducibility, sensitivity, and stability tests. The results demonstrate that the panel of 52 mtDNA SNPs is highly sensitive, since it enables to obtain complete genetic profiles of samples containing minimal amounts of DNA (1 pg). Furthermore, it provides sufficient genetic information to detect the matrilineal biogeographical origin of highly degraded samples, i.e., ancient dating skeletal remains, and samples with the presence of inhibitors, such as hematin and humic acid. In addition, this panel can detect mixtures in samples whose mtDNA haplogroups of contributors are different. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate the suitability of this minisequencing panel of 52 mtDNA SNPs to be used in forensic cases, with samples of low amount or degraded DNA.