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A dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima stranded alive along the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The whale, handled by tourists and local inhabitants, was weak, had buoyancy difficulties, and eventually aborted and died, showing severe necrotizing placentitis and other pathological signs. Both the mother and the fetus had antibodies against Brucella lipopolysaccharide. Brucella organisms were isolated from various tissues of both animals and were characterized. The bacterium genome corresponded to sequence-type 27 (ST27) and clustered together with other Brucella ST27 isolated in humans and cetaceans.

Background A nationwide lockdown was implemented in France on 17 March 2020 to control the COVID-19 pandemic. People living in precarious conditions were relocated by the authorities to emergency shelters, hotels and large venues. Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) then intervened to provide medical care in several of these locations in Paris and in Seine-Saint-Denis, one of its suburbs, between March and June 2020. A seroprevalence survey was conducted to assess the level of exposure to COVID-19 among the population living in the sites. To our knowledge, this is the first assessment of the impact of the pandemic on populations living in insecure conditions in Europe. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional seroprevalence study in the food distribution sites, emergency shelters and workers residences supported by MSF in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis, to determine the extent of COVID-19 exposure as determined by SARS-CoV2 antibody seropositivity. The detection of SARS-COV2 antibodies in serum was performed at the Institut Pasteur of Paris using two LuLISA (Luciferase-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) assays and a Pseudo Neutralization Test. A questionnaire covering sociodemographic characteristics, living conditions, adherence to sanitary recommendations and symptom manifestations was also completed. We describe here the seroprevalence site by site and identify the risk factors for seropositivity using a multivariable logistic regression model with site random effects. We also investigated associations between seropositivity and symptoms eventually reported. Findings Overall, 426/818 individuals tested positive in the 14 sites investigated. Seroprevalence varied significantly with the type of site (chi2 p<0.001). It was highest at 88.7% (95%CI 81.8-93.2) among individuals living in workers residences, followed by 50.5% (95%CI 46.3-54.7) in emergency shelters and 27.8 % (95%CI 20.8-35.7) among individuals recruited from the food distribution sites. Seroprevalence also varied significantly between sites of the same type. Among other risk factors, the odds for seropositivity were higher among individuals living in crowded sites (medium: adj. OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.5-5.1, p=0.001; high: adj. OR 3.4, 95%CI 1.7-6.9, p<0.001) compared with individuals from low crowding sites and among those who reported transit accommodation in a gymnasium before the lockdown (adj. OR 3.1, 95%CI 1.2-8.1, p=0.023). More than two-thirds of the seropositive individuals (68.3%; 95%CI 64.2-72.2) did not report any symptoms during the recall period. Interpretation The results demonstrate rather high exposure to SARS-COV-2 with important variations between study sites. Living in crowded conditions was identified as the most important explanatory factor for differences in levels of exposure. This study describes the key factors which determine the risk of exposure and illustrates the importance of identifying populations at high risk of exposure in order to orient and adapt prevention and control strategies to their specific needs.

For women, the most dominant type of cancer is breast cancer and perhaps one of the most recognizedreasons of death. This is a disorder of many distinct traits, many of which are known as positive hormone receptor, human epidermal receptor-2 (HER2+), and three negative breast cancers (TNBC). Drugs that directly target and kill tumors constitute a rapidly-growing form of molecular therapy for cancer patients. Analysis reveals that stable breast tissue cells exhibit receptors which aren't usually present. As a result, it is imperative to cognize the molecular roots of breast cancer and the myriad compromised pathology-related processes and pathways to ensure progresses in early diagnosis and prevention. This study demonstrates essential cellular pathways relevant for breast cancer including improvements in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and hormone balances in breast tissues. On the basis of these notions, we consider how breast cancer is associated to the creation of potentially therapeutic interventions and predictive biomarkers.

This study was aimed at evaluating the serum levels of Calcium, Inorganic phosphate and Magnesium together with the Body Mass Index (BMI) in lactating mothers in Owerri. A total of sixty subjects were recruited. Thirty were lactating subjects while thirty were apparently healthy individuals that served as control subjects. Whole blood (5mls) was collected by venipuncture from the subjects using sterile needles and syringes into clean and sterile plain containers. The samples were immediately centrifuged and separated. The serum samples were stored at -20°C prior to use. All reagents were commercially purchased and the manufacturers’ Standard Operational Procedures were strictly followed. Serum Calcium, Inorganic phosphate and Magnesium levels were analyzed by spectrophotometric method and data was assessed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The results were expressed as mean and standard deviation (mean ± SD). Difference in mean values between groups was assessed by student t-test. Result with probability value of P < 0.05 was statistically significant. The mean ± SD values of serum Calcium, Magnesium, Inorganic phosphate and Body Mass Index (9.28 ± 0.53mg/dl, 2.24 ± 0.38mg/dl, 4.18 ± 0.33mg/dl and 25.73 ± 1.60kg/m²) were higher in lactating subjects which was statistically significant (P < 0.05) when compared with the control subjects (8.98 ± 0.50mg/dl, 1.98 ± 0.24mg/dl, 3.34 ± 0.37mg/dl and 24.20 ± 1.35kg/m²). There was progressive decrease between 0 – 3 months, 4 – 6 months and ≥ 7 months with the mean ± SD values of Calcium (9.43 ± 0.55, 9.29 ± 0.52 and 9.12 ± 0.53)mg/dl and Inorganic Phosphate (4.25 ± 0.36, 4.18 ± 0.36 and 4.11 ± 0.27)mg/dl, and non progressive decrease in the mean ± SD values of Magnesium (2.29 ± 0.40, 2.20 ± 0.39 and 2.24 ± 0.38)mg/dl and Body Mass Index (26.30 ± 1.77, 25.30 ± 1.70 and 25.60 ± 1.27)kg/m² which was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The increase found was due to increased bone resorption and the decrease was due to enhanced mechanism for bone mineralization as the hormones concentrations tend to normalize in prolonged lactation.