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Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore experiences of Marshallese adults related to diabetes self-care behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was utilized to understand participants’ diabetes self-care behaviors during the pandemic. Nine focus groups with 53 participants were held via videoconference and conducted in English, Marshallese, or a mixture of both languages. A priori codes based on diabetes self-care behaviors provided a framework for analyzing and summarizing participant experiences. Results: Both increases and decreases in healthy eating and exercise were described, with improvements in health behaviors attributed to health education messaging via social media. Participants reported increased stress and difficulty monitoring and managing glucose. Difficulty obtaining medication and difficulty seeing their health care provider regularly was reported and attributed to health care provider availability and lack of insurance due to job loss. Conclusions: The study provides significant insight into the reach of health education campaigns via social media and provides important information about the reasons for delays in care, which extend beyond fear of contracting COVID-19 to structural issues.

SUMMARY We have previously shown that the antibody response to mammalian myoglobins is under genetic control. In the present study we examined antibodies to sperm‐whale, Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin, Black Sea dolphin, horse and badger myoglobins, raised in high responder strains of mice, to ascertain whether there is genetic control of antibody affinity to mammalian myoglobins. Using antisera of varying dilutions, the binding to 125I‐labelled homologous myoglobins was studied by inhibition with homologous myoglobin over a wide range of inhibitor concentration in a modified Farr assay. The results indicated that there are no large differences between high responder strains of mice in the affinity of antibodies to mammalian myoglobins.

Main text Under the auspices of the Protein Analysis Working Group (PAWG) of the Comité Consultatif pour la Quantité de Matière (CCQM) a pilot study, CCQM-P216, was coordinated by the Chinese National Institute of Metrology (NIM), National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). Eleven Metrology Institutes or Designated Institutes and the BIPM participated in the first phase of the pilot study (Part 1). The purpose of this pilot study was to develop measurement capabilities for larger proteins using a recombinant humanized IgG monoclonal antibody against Spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 (Anti-S IgG mAb) in solution. The first phase of the study was designed to employ established methods that had been previously studies by the CCQM Protein Analysis Working Group, involving the digestion of protein down to the peptide or amino acid level. The global coronavirus pandemic has also led to increased focus on antibody quantitation methods. IgG are among the immunoglobulins produced by the immune system to provide protection against SARS-CoV-2. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG can therefore be detected in samples from affected patients. Antibody tests can show whether a person has been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2, and whether or not they potentially show lasting immunity to the disease. With the constant spread of the virus and the high pressure of re-opening economies, antibody testing plays a critical role in the fight against COVID-19 by helping healthcare professionals to identify individuals who have developed an immune response, either via vaccination or exposure to the virus. Many countries have launched large-scale antibody testing for COVID-19. The development of measurement standards for the antibody detection of SARS-CoV-2 is critically important to deal with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, the SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody is being used as a model system to build capacity in methods that can be used in antibody quantification. Amino acid reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 36.10 ± 1.55 mg/kg, 38.75 ± 1.45 mg/kg, 18.46 ± 0.78 mg/kg, 16.20 ± 0.67 mg/kg and 30.61 ± 1.30 mg/kg have been established for leucine, valine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and proline, respectively. Agreement between nearly all laboratories was achieved for the amino acid analysis within 2 to 2.5 %, with one participant achieving markedly higher results due to a technical issue found in their procedure; this result was thus excluded from the reference value calculations. The relatively good agreement within a laboratory between different amino acids was not dissimilar to previous results for peptides or small proteins, indicating that factors such as hydrolysis conditions and calibration procedures could be the largest sources of variability. Peptide reference values with corresponding expanded uncertainty of 4.99 ± 0.28 mg/kg and 6.83 ± 0.65 mg/kg have been established for ALPAPIEK and GPSVFPLAPSSK, respectively. Not surprisingly due to prior knowledge from previous studies on peptide quantitation, agreement between laboratories for the peptide-based analysis was slightly poorer at 3 to 5 %, with one laboratory's result excluded for the peptide GPSVFPLAPSSK. Again, this level of agreement was not significantly poorer than that achieved in previous studies with smaller or less complex proteins. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report.

IntroductionStriking health disparities exist in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The RMI has one of the highest age-adjusted type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rates in the world (23.0%) compared to global (9.3%) and United States (US; 13.3%) rates. We conducted health screenings including clinical indicators of T2DM and hypertension among Marshallese in the RMI.MethodsScreenings were conducted at 20 churches on Majuro Atoll. Participants completed questionnaires and biometric data collection assessing glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure, and body mass index.ResultsScreenings included 528 participants and showed a high prevalence of T2DM, obesity, and hypertension. One-third of participants were referred to the non-communicable disease clinic. The percent of adults in this study with T2DM-indicative HbA1c (48.5%) is higher than observed at the national level (23.0%).DiscussionResults highlight the need for non-communicable disease-related programs in the RMI.