Search

Abstract Despite the success of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) vaccines, there remains a clear need for new classes of preventatives for respiratory viral infections due to vaccine hesitancy, lack of sterilizing immunity, and for at‐risk patient populations, including the immunocompromised. While many neutralizing antibodies have been identified, and several approved, to treat COVID‐19, systemic delivery, large doses, and high costs have the potential to limit their widespread use, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries. To use these antibodies more efficiently, an inhalable formulation is developed that allows for the expression of mRNA‐encoded, membrane‐anchored neutralizing antibodies in the lung to mitigate SARS‐CoV‐2 infections. First, the ability of mRNA‐encoded, membrane‐anchored, anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 antibodies to prevent infections in vitro is demonstrated. Next, it is demonstrated that nebulizer‐based delivery of these mRNA‐expressed neutralizing antibodies potently abrogates disease in the hamster model. Overall, these results support the use of nebulizer‐based mRNA expression of neutralizing antibodies as a new paradigm for mitigating respiratory virus infections.

Abstract As populations differentiate across geographic or host‐association barriers, interpopulation fertility is often a measure of the extent of incipient speciation. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., was recently found to form two host‐associated lineages within Europe: one found with humans (human‐associated, HA) and the other found with bats (bat‐associated, BA). No unequivocal evidence of contemporary gene flow between these lineages has been found; however, it is unclear whether this is due to an inability to produce viable “hybrid” offspring. To address this question and determine the extent of compatibility between host‐associated lineages, we set up mating crosses among populations of bed bugs based on both their host association (human—HA vs. bat—BA) and geographic origin (North America vs. Europe). Within‐population fecundity was significantly higher for all HA populations (>1.7 eggs/day) than for BA populations (92% egg hatch rates. Contrary to previous reports, in all interlineage crosses, successful matings occurred, fertile eggs were oviposited, and the F1 “hybrid” generation was found to be reproductively viable. In addition, we evaluated interpopulation genetic variation in Wolbachia among host‐associated lineages. We did not find any clear patterns related to host association, nor did we observe a homogenization of Wolbachia lineages across populations that might explain a breakdown of reproductive incompatibility. These results indicate that while the HA and BA populations of C. lectularius represent genetically differentiated host‐associated lineages, possibly undergoing sympatric speciation, this is in its incipient stage as they remain reproductively compatible. Other behavioral, physiological, and/or ecological factors likely maintain host‐associated differentiation.

Background The COVID‐19–related pulmonary effects may negatively impact pulmonary hemodynamics and right ventricular function. We examined the prognostic relevance of right ventricular function and right ventricular‐to‐pulmonary circulation coupling assessed by bedside echocardiography in patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 pneumonia and a large spectrum of disease independently of indices of pneumonia severity and left ventricular function. Methods and Results Consecutive COVID‐19 subjects who underwent full cardiac echocardiographic evaluation along with gas analyses and computed tomography scans were included in the study. Measurements were performed offline, and quantitative analyses were obtained by an operator blinded to the clinical data. We analyzed 133 patients (mean age 69±12 years, 57% men). During a mean hospital stay of 26±16 days, 35 patients (26%) died. The mean tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/pulmonary artery systolic pressure (TAPSE/PASP) ratio was 0.48±0.18 mm/Hg in nonsurvivors and 0.72±0.32 mm/Hg in survivors (P=0.002). For each 0.1 mm/mm Hg increase in TAPSE/PASP, there was a 27% lower risk of in‐hospital death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.73 [95% CI, 0.59–0.89]; P=0.003). At multivariable analysis, TAPSE/PASP ratio remained a predictor of in‐hospital death after adjustments for age, oxygen partial pressure at arterial gas analysis/fraction of inspired oxygen, left ventricular ejection fraction, and computed tomography lung score. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to identify the cutoff value of the TAPSE/PASP ratio, which best specified high‐risk from lower‐risk patients. The best cutoff for predicting in‐hospital mortality was TAPSE/PASP 4‐fold increased risk of in‐hospital death (HR, 4.8 [95% CI, 1.7–13.1]; P=0.007). Conclusions In patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 pneumonia, the assessment of right ventricular to pulmonary circulation coupling appears central to disease evolution and prediction of events. TAPSE/PASP ratio plays a mainstay role as prognostic determinant beyond markers of lung injury.

Abstract Urban ecosystems are rapidly expanding throughout the world, but how urban growth affects the evolutionary ecology of species living in urban areas remains largely unknown. Urban ecology has advanced our understanding of how the development of cities and towns change environmental conditions and alter ecological processes and patterns. However, despite decades of research in urban ecology, the extent to which urbanization influences evolutionary and eco‐evolutionary change has received little attention. The nascent field of urban evolutionary ecology seeks to understand how urbanization affects the evolution of populations, and how those evolutionary changes in turn influence the ecological dynamics of populations, communities, and ecosystems. Following a brief history of this emerging field, this Perspective article provides a research agenda and roadmap for future research aimed at advancing our understanding of the interplay between ecology and evolution of urban‐dwelling organisms. We identify six key questions that, if addressed, would significantly increase our understanding of how urbanization influences evolutionary processes. These questions consider how urbanization affects nonadaptive evolution, natural selection, and convergent evolution, in addition to the role of urban environmental heterogeneity on species evolution, and the roles of phenotypic plasticity versus adaptation on species’ abundance in cities. Our final question examines the impact of urbanization on evolutionary diversification. For each of these six questions, we suggest avenues for future research that will help advance the field of urban evolutionary ecology. Lastly, we highlight the importance of integrating urban evolutionary ecology into urban planning, conservation practice, pest management, and public engagement.

Background. In the context of a causal relationship between stress and migraine, coping strategies are aimed at managing stressful life events and reducing the distressing emotions connected to them. Methods. Sixty-one consecutive patients with migraine without aura (MwoA) and sixty-one healthy controls (HCs) completed three self-report questionnaires assessing a broad range of coping (cognitive and behavioural) strategies: the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (COPE), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS), and the Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI). Moreover, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a scale measuring self-perception of stress, global cognitive functioning, depressive symptoms, apathy, state, and trait anxiety, was administered to all participants. Results. No significant difference was found on the scales and subscales of PCI and CISS as well as in the PSS between MwoA patients and HCs. However, the two groups showed different scores in the subscale “turning to religion” of COPE (22.08±5.19 in migraineurs vs. 24.70±4.44 in HCs, p=0.003). A significant negative correlation of the turning to religion score with the HIT-6 score was found. Conclusions. The present study revealed that MwoA patients show a significantly reduced use of the “turning to religion” approach, an emotion-focused coping strategy. Although migraine patients appeared to be less oriented to transcendent (that means a reduced utilization of an adaptive coping strategy), they did not perceive daily living as more stressful than HCs. Finally, the reduced utilization of the “turning to religion” coping strategy is associated with a great impact of migraine on ability to function on the job or at school, at home, and in social situations in migraine patients.

The aim of the study was to evaluate depressive symptomatology within the student population of the University of Palermo (Italy). An anonymous online questionnaire was provided to the students of the University of Palermo. The first section investigated demographic and social data, while in the second section the QIDSSR16 (Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report) test was administered. 539 students (68.3% female) gave informed consent and completed the questionnaire. Considering as a dependent variable: Depressive symptomatology moderate- severe-very severe, the statistically significant independent variables associated are I don’t live with my family (aOR 1.63, 95% CI 1.01-2.63, P=0.043), I currently smoke (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.01-2.39, P=0.048) and Low perceived health status (aOR 4.14, 95% CI 2.73-6.28, P

Apathy is recognized as the most common behavioral change in several neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a multisystem neurodegenerative disorder. Particularly, apathy has been reported to be associated with poor ALS prognosis. However, the brain microstructural correlates of this behavioral symptom, reported as the most common in ALS, have not been completely elucidated. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS), here we aimed to quantify the correlation between brain microstructural damage and apathy scores in the early stages of ALS. Twenty-one consecutive ALS patients, in King’s clinical stage 1 or 2, and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological examination. Between-group comparisons did not show any significant difference on cognitive and behavioral variables. When compared to HCs, ALS patients exhibited a decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) [p