Where does Hispanic Latin America stand in biomedical and life sciences literature production compared with other countries?

Objectives: to provide objective quantitative data about medical-related scientific production in Hispanic Latin America compared to different regions and identify demographic and political variables that could improve research. Study design: This is an analytical, observational, cross-section bibliometric study about all fields of medical-related scientific production over five years in different regions and its relationship with demographic and political variables that could impact research and the health system quality. Methods: Data on the total scientific production of all Hispanic Latin American countries and other countries representing almost 90% of mundial publications between 2017 and 2021 were retrieved from the PubMed database. Demographic and political data were obtained from open online databases. Counts of publications were rationed to population and analyzed with all other demographic, region, and language variables, using univariate Poisson regression and negative binomial regression (for over-disperse variables) analysis. Multivariate negative binomial regression was used to analyze the combined effect of variables related to the healthcare and research Sectors. Results: Hispanic Latin America increased yearly from 29,445 publications in 2017 to 47,053 in 2021. This cumulative growth of almost 60% exceeded the 36% increment in all countries' publications and was only below that of Russia and China, which grew 92% and 87%, respectively. Negative binomial regression showed that the percentage of gross income dedicated to research (IRR 2.036, 95% CI: 1.624, 2.553, p< .001), life expectancy at birth (IRR 1.444, 95% CI: 1.338, 1.558, p< .001), and the number of medical doctors per inhabitant (IRR 1.581, 95% CI: 1.17, 2.13, p = .003) positively impacted scientific production. A higher mortality associated with chronic diseases between ages 30 and 70 (IRR 0.782, 95% CI: 0.743 0.822, p< .001) and a lower population with access to medicine (IRR 0.960, 95% CI: 0.933, 0.967, p< .001) were found to impact scientific production negatively. Hispanic Latin American countries published less than 20% of those with English as their native language (p< .001). Conclusion: Hispanic Latin America has increased the gross number of publications by almost 60 % from 2017 to 2021. However, the number of publications per 100,000 inhabitants is still low compared to other countries. Our analysis highlights that this may be related to lower GDP, research investment, and less healthcare system quality.

Monkeypox: a review of epidemiological modelling studies and how modelling has led to mechanistic insight.

Human monkeypox (mpox) virus is a viral zoonosis that belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus of the Poxviridae family, which presents with similar symptoms as those seen in human smallpox patients. Mpox is an increasing concern globally, with over 80,000 cases in non-endemic countries as of December 2022. In this review, we provide a brief history and ecology of mpox, its basic virology, and the key differences in mpox viral fitness traits before and after 2022. We summarize and critique current knowledge from epidemiological mathematical models, within-host models, and between-host transmission models using the One Health approach, where we distinguish between models that focus on immunity from vaccination, geography, climatic variables, as well as animal models. We report various epidemiological parameters, such as the reproduction number, R0, in a condensed format to facilitate comparison between studies. We focus on how mathematical modelling studies have led to novel mechanistic insight into mpox transmission and pathogenesis. As mpox is predicted to lead to further infection peaks in many historically non-endemic countries, mathematical modelling studies of mpox can provide rapid actionable insights into viral dynamics to guide public health measures and mitigation strategies.

Atypical Red Blood Cells Are Prevalent in California Sea Lion Pups Born during Anomalous Sea Surface Temperature Events.

To date, there is limited knowledge of the effects that abnormal sea surface temperature (SST) can have on the physiology of neonate pinnipeds. However, maternal nutritional deficiencies driven by alimentary restrictions would expectedly impact pinniped development and fitness, as an adequate supply of nutrients is essential for growth and proper functioning of all body systems, including red blood cell synthesis and clearance. Here, we investigated red blood cell morphology of California sea lion (CSL) pups from the San Benito Archipelago born during the 2014 and 2015 anomalously high SST events recorded in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. We examined whether atypical erythrocyte morphologies were more common in 2015, when the high SST event was more pronounced, and whether the stable isotope signature of pup fur, as an indicator of maternal feeding strategies, accounted for the number of atypical cells. Various atypical erythrocyte morphologies were more prevalent and more abundant than reference values. Evidence of iron deficiency was found in both years, and only pups born in 2014 showed evidence of active erythropoiesis. Microcytes and reticulocytes were more common in pups with higher isotopic δ13C and lower δ15N values, suggesting a probable relationship between maternal feeding strategies and the effect of climatic anomalies on red blood cell physiology of their pups. As developing pinnipeds require increased oxygen storage capacity for diving and foraging, the presence of atypical erythrocytes could be relevant to CSL pup fitness if the underlying cause is not reverted. This study is a first step to explore the effects that climatic alterations in the marine environment can have on the blood physiology of developing individuals.

Climatic anomaly affects the immune competence of California sea lions.

The past decades have been characterized by a growing number of climatic anomalies. As these anomalies tend to occur suddenly and unexpectedly, it is often difficult to procure empirical evidence of their effects on natural populations. We analysed how the recent sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the northeastern Pacific Ocean affects body condition, nutritional status, and immune competence of California sea lion pups. We found that pup body condition and blood glucose levels of the pups were lower during high SST events, although other biomarkers of malnutrition remained unchanged, suggesting that pups were experiencing early stages of starvation. Glucose-dependent immune responses were affected by the SST anomaly; specifically, pups born during high SST events had lower serum concentrations of IgG and IgA, and were unable to respond to an immune challenge. This means that not only were pups that were born during the SST anomaly less able to synthesize protective antibodies; they were also limited in their ability to respond rapidly to nonspecific immune challenges. Our study provides empirical evidence that atypical climatic conditions can limit energetic reserves and compromise physiological responses that are essential for the survival of a marine top predator.