Implications and Lessons Learned While Using Social Media Advertisements to Promote Longitudinal Social Network Study Participation in Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men (LMSM): A Brief Report.

We assess the effectiveness of paid ads on social media platforms as a research recruitment tool with Latino men who have sex with men (LMSM). We deployed four paid ad campaigns July-September 2022 in English and Spanish on Meta and Grindr featuring happy or risqué images of LMSM, documenting engagement and cost metrics. The four campaigns generated a total of 1,893,738 impressions and 1078 clicks (0.057 click-through rate) with a total cost of $7,989.39. Of the 58 people who accessed the study screener, 31 completed it (53.4%), 13 were eligible (22.4%), but none enrolled. Comparing platforms, Meta had higher engagement metrics than Grindr, while Grindr had higher proportions of those who completed the screener (57.9%) and were eligible (26.3%) than Meta (52.6% and 21.0%, respectively). Challenges to using paid ads as an LMSM recruitment tool included intersecting pandemics (Mpox, COVID-19), and limited connection between platforms and staff for study enrollment.

Ammonium loss microbiologically mediated by Fe(III) and Mn(IV) reduction along a coastal lagoon system.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation, associated with both iron (Feammox) and manganese (Mnammox) reduction, is a microbial nitrogen (N) removal mechanism recently identified in natural ecosystems. Nevertheless, the spatial distributions of these non-canonical Anammox (NC-Anammox) pathways and their environmental drivers in subtidal coastal sediments are still unknown. Here, we determined the potential NC-Anammox rates and abundance of dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (Acidomicrobiaceae A6 and Geobacteraceae) at different horizons (0-20 cm at 5 cm intervals) of subtidal coastal sediments using the 15N isotope-tracing technique and molecular analyses. Sediments were collected across three sectors (inlet, transition, and inner) in a coastal lagoon system (Bahia de San Quintin, Mexico) dominated by seagrass meadows. The positive relationship between 30N2 production rates and dissimilatory Fe and Mn reduction provided evidence for Feammox's and Mnammox's co-occurrence. N loss through NC-Anammox was detected in subtidal sediments, with potential rates of 0.07-0.62 µg N g-1 day-1. NC-Anammox process in vegetated sediments tended to be higher than those in adjacent unvegetated ones. NC-Anammox rates showed a subsurface peak (between 5 and 15 cm) in the vegetated sediments but decreased consistently with depth in the adjacent bare bottoms. Thus, the presence/absence of seagrasses and sediment characteristics, particularly the availability of organic carbon and microbiologically reducible Fe(III) and Mn(IV), affected the abundance of dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria, which mediated NC-Anammox activity and the associated N removal. An annual loss of 32.31 ± 3.57 t N was estimated to be associated with Feammox and Mnammox within the investigated area, accounting for 2.8-4.7% of the gross total import of reactive N from the ocean into the Bahia de San Quintin. Taken as a whole, this study reveals the distribution patterns and controlling factors of the NC-Anammox pathways along a coastal lagoon system. It improves our understanding of the coupling between N and trace metal cycles in coastal environments.

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 1 Polymorphisms and Lipid Profile in Mexican Patients With COVID-19.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is present in a diverse type of cells and plays an important role in lung physiology and pathophysiology. Angiotensin converting enzymes (ACE) are part of the RAS system. There are still controversies about the association of I/D polymorphisms of ACE1 with COVID-19 severity. The goal of the study was to determine whether there is an association of the I/D polymorphism with severity of COVID-19 in Mexican patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included voluntary participants: 53 healthy individuals negative to RT-PCR COVID-19 (control), and 165 patients positive to COVID-19. Severity was defined by the need of hospitalization, invasive ventilation, shock, or multiple organ failure. The patient group consisted of 28 asymptomatic, 82 with mild, and 55 with severe COVID-19. I/D polymorphism was determined by PCR. Rutinary laboratory tests were performed in all the participants. RESULTS: DD polymorphism was significantly associated with severe COVID-19, independently of comorbidities, or any other variable. Receiver operator characteristic curves demonstrated association of low total cholesterol, low high-density lipoproteins, and high c-reactive protein with severity of COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The DD polymorphism was associated with the course of the infection and severity of COVID-19 in a sample of Mexican patients.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourist public transportation use and on its determinants: Evidence from a Catalan coastal destination.

Despite the key importance of public transportation for the accessibility, attractiveness, and sustainability of tourist areas, little is known about how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted its use among tourists. In response, we compared the likelihood of using transit among visitors in a Catalan coastal area based on surveys conducted in 2019 (n = 1493) and 2020 (n = 1465). The pandemic caused a significant decline in tourists' use of public transportation, from 54.5% in 2019 to 34.6% in 2020, and in mobility at the destination. Results from a set of bivariate probabilistic models revealed that though most of the traditional determinants of visitors' use of transit remained unaltered, pandemic-related factors were associated with its decline. For the tourism sector and for local authorities and transit agencies, those results characterize the crucial challenge of ensuring the use of public transit among visitors in consideration of its many environmental and social benefits.

Presence of tourists and perceived safety from COVID-19 among local bus users: Evidence from a Mediterranean city.

Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, public transport has been signalled as a potential contagion hot-spot, leading to a generalised decrease in its use. However, public transport use is still being used and little is known about how the perception of loyal users is configured in contexts of influenza-like viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. The configuration of the perception of safety acquires a critical importance in urban contexts where the public transport system is used both by tourists and local users. The presence of strangers or higher crowding levels could impact the perception of safety among residents and their consequent travel behaviour. In the present study, we explored how the presence of tourists influences the configuration of the perception safety related to the transmission of COVID-19 on public transport of daily users. We used data from an ad-hoc survey conducted at the main bus stations and stops of the Tarragona Urban Area (Catalonia, Spain) between August and September 2020. This area includes the Costa Daurada coastal destination. The 2020 summer holiday season was characterised for the relaxation of mobility restrictions and the start of the second wave of COVID-19. Results show how the presence of tourists in buses negatively influenced the perception of safety of local users. However, this influence can be mostly explained to their prior perception of risk of contagion. These findings will be useful for policymakers and public transport managers in both the latter stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and future virus-related epidemics to maintain public transport ridership.

Do local characteristics act in a similar way for the first two waves of COVID-19? Analysis at intraurban level in Barcelona.

BACKGROUND: This paper concerns the spatial determinants of the first two waves of COVID-19 at the neighbourhood level. METHODS: Using data for the first and second waves of COVID-19 at the neighbourhood level in Barcelona, we analyse whether local characteristics acted in the same way during the two waves and identify typologies of areas depending on such determinants. Univariate and bivariate local Moran's I and count data models are used. RESULTS: Some structural effects at the neighbourhood level consistently either boost (e.g. population density) or reduce (e.g. income) COVID-19 cases. Other effects differ between the two waves (i.e. age composition, schools and transport infrastructures). CONCLUSIONS: Since certain characteristics influenced the virus diffusion in opposite ways between the two pandemic waves, territorial heterogeneity alone is insufficient to explain COVID-19 outbreaks-individual behaviour also needs to be factored in. Consequently, both econometric and spatial analysis techniques are recommended for tracking the spatiotemporal spread of this disease and for monitoring the effectiveness of policy measures across heterogeneous neighbourhoods.

COVID-19 lockdown and reduction of traffic accidents in Tarragona province, Spain.

This paper analyses the impact that the lockdown decreed by the Spanish Government to combat the spread of COVID-19 has had on traffic accidents in Tarragona province (Spain). During the studied period of the lockdown (March 16 - April 26 2020) the number of accidents per day fell by 74,3% in coparison with those in February 14-20 (reference week) and 76% in respect to the equivalent period in 2018-2019. This reduction of accidents has been higher than the decrease of mobility during the same reference period (62.9%). This suggests a multiplicative positive effect of traffic reduction on roads safety. Our findings provide new evidences of the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on transportation and of how it could be used as a catalyst to promote more sustainable and secure transport systems.

High speed rail and coastal tourism: Identifying passenger profiles and travel behaviour.

In this paper, we characterise tourists most likely to visit a coastal destination by high-speed rail (HSR). Our data came from a survey conducted among HSR passengers during 2014's high season (July and August) at Spain's Camp de Tarragona and Alicante Stations, each of which is near a mass tourism destination on the Mediterranean coast: the Costa Daurada and the Costa Blanca, respectively. We used responses to the survey, which presented binary discrete-choice situations, to construct a database necessary for a logistic regression model that allowed us to examine how passenger profile, trip characteristics, and stay conditions influenced the use of HSR services on visits to each coastal destination. Results highlighted significant differences in the profiles of tourists who arrived at each destination by HSR and, in turn, that no specific tourist profile is associated with HSR, even for two stations that serve sunny beach destinations. Among its implications, to analyse travellers that HSR can attract, it is vital to consider the specific characteristics of each destination and its current market.