Caribbean

As the world becomes warmer and precipitation patterns less predictable, organisms will experience greater heat and water stress. It is crucial to understand the factors that predict variation in thermal and hydric physiology among species. This study focuses on investigating the relationships between thermal and hydric diversity, and their environmental predictors, in a clade of Hispaniolan anole lizards, which are part of a broader Caribbean adaptive radiation. This clade, the 'cybotoid' anoles, occupies a wide range of thermal habitats (from sea level to several kilometers above it) and hydric habitats (such as xeric scrub, broadleaf forest, and pine forest), setting up the possibility for ecophysiological specialization among species...

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess direct costs of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) without hospital admission versus PCI with hospital admission longer than 24 hours in a private hospital-institutional perspective in the Dominican Republic in 2022. METHODS: This study has a comparative approach based on a prospective cross-sectional partial-cost analysis. We evaluated the direct costs of 10 patients from PCI without hospital admission approach and 10 patients from a hospital admission longer than 24 hours as a control group...

Many Caribbean coral reefs are near collapse due to various threats. An emerging threat, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), is spreading across the Western Atlantic and Caribbean. Data from the U.S. Virgin Islands reveal how SCTLD spread has reduced the abundance of susceptible coral and crustose coralline algae and increased cyanobacteria, fire coral, and macroalgae. A Caribbean-wide structural equation model demonstrates versatility in reef fish and associations with rugosity independent of live coral...

UNLABELLED: Resistance to ceftazidime-avibactam (CZA) due to Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) variants is increasing worldwide. We characterized two CZA-resistant clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae strains by antimicrobial susceptibility test, conjugation assays, and WGS. Isolates belonged to ST258 and ST45, and produced a KPC-31 and a novel variant KPC-197, respectively. The novel KPC variant presents a deletion of two amino acids on the Ω-loop (del_168-169_EL) and an insertion of two amino acids in position 274 (Ins_274_DS)...

The Caribbean region has a diverse population of about 40 million people, spread over 13 sovereign states. This review aims to describe the existing studies on hereditary hearing loss (HL) in the Caribbean population. We systematically reviewed scientific articles on HL prevalence, genetic causes, technology use, and environmental effects in Caribbean nations and the Caribbean diaspora in the United States. Key findings show that HL rates, with diverse genetic variables, vary across Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic...

Caribbean small island developing states are becoming increasingly vulnerable to compounding disasters, prominently featuring climate-related hazards and pandemic diseases, which exacerbate existing barriers to cancer control in the region. We describe the complexities of cancer prevention and control efforts throughout the Caribbean small island developing states, including the unique challenges of people diagnosed with cancer in the region. We highlight potential solutions and strategies that concurrently address disaster adaptation and cancer control...

OBJECTIVES: Diabetes is a non-communicable disease where the patient's glucose level in the blood is too high. Diabetes is prevalent among ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom (UK). Type 2 diabetes is a major cause of premature mortality in England. Unfortunately, the lifestyle of these minority groups has become a barrier to diabetes healthcare treatment. The timely intervention of programmes targeting risk factors associated with diabetes may reduce the prevalence of diabetes among these ethnic minority groups...

In this present study, new chalcone derivatives were synthesized from 4-aminoacetophenone, which were confirmed by spectroscopic methods. The toxic risks of chalcones to humans and the environment were investigated by a web-based platform called ADMETlab. With this program, the possible toxic effects of the compounds on liver, respiratory system, and eyes were evaluated. For the topical insecticidal activity, adult female Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa , was targeted. Results of the toxicity tests showed that chalcone derivatives are effective against female A...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term health outcomes of neonates affected by necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and its implications for quality of life. DATA SOURCE: This is an integrative review, conducted by searching the literature in the following databases: Virtual Health Library (BVS), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and PubMed, using Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS): "necrotizing enterocolitis," "quality of life," and "prognosis" combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR: "quality of life" OR "prognosis...

The canalis sinuosus (CS) is an anatomical variation whereby the infra-orbital canal sometimes generates a small, lateral branch (canal) close to its midpoint, to allow the passage of the anterior-superior-alveolar (ASA) neurovascular bundle in the anterior maxilla. This article focuses on an incidental finding of this variant, in a 74-year-old Trinidadian female of Afro-Caribbean descent with an endodontic presenting complaint. The canalis sinuosus shadow on conventional radiography resulted in uncertainty as to the offending tooth until a three-dimensional scan was undertaken in this region...

Red snapper fishing (Lutjanus purpureus) is an important fishing activity for the Brazilian economy due to its export. The scarcity of up-to-date information on this system's ecology, economy, and social characteristics contributes to inefficient management. We analyze whether the commercial snapper fishery on the Amazon continental shelf is socioecologically sustainable. For this, an assessment tool was used that can be applied to fishing systems with little data, the Fisheries Performance Indicators (FPI)...

BACKGROUND: High-speed global travel, increased trade, world population growth, migration, urbanisation and climate change have favoured the emergence and spread of pathogens. We aimed to analyse the evolution of imported infections in Spain during 2012-2022 and the potential impact of some of the abovementioned factors on differential morbidity patterns. METHODS: In this retrospective study (January/2012 to December/2022), we analysed data collected by the +Redivi network across 25 health centres...

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social determinants of health, mental health, substance use, and access to mental health and harm reduction services among key populations disproportionately impacted by sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI). METHODS: Online surveys (2021‒2022) were conducted in Canada among people who use drugs or alcohol (PWUD); African, Caribbean, and Black people (ACB); and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples (FNIM)...

BACKGROUND: Access to health care remains suboptimal in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and continues to hinder survival in early childhood. We systematically assessed the association between problems accessing health care (PAHC) and under-five mortality (U5M). METHODS: Child mortality data on 724 335 livebirths came from the latest Demographic and Health Surveys of 50 LMICs (2013-2021). Reasons for PAHC were classified into three domains: 'money needed for treatment' (economic), 'distance to health facility' (physical), 'getting permission' or 'not wanting to go alone' (socio-cultural)...

INTRODUCTION: Cleft lip and/or palate (CL+/-P) is a congenital malformation affecting the lip and palate, requiring long-term treatment due to potential associated complications. For this reason, it is important for the patient to be continuously monitored and followed for health promotion and prevention, as well as improving the quality of life. The aim of this scoping review protocol is to identify and map the available evidence regarding the application of digital resources and technologies in the monitoring and follow-up of patients with CL+/-P...

INTRODUCTION: Epidemiological transition to NCDs is a challenge for fragile health systems in the Caribbean. The Congregations Taking Action against NCDs (CONTACT) Study intervention proposes that trained health advocates (HAs) from places of worship (PoWs), supervised by nurses at nearby primary healthcare centres (PHCs), could facilitate access to primary care among vulnerable communities. Drawing on participatory and systems thinking, we explored the capacity of local PHCs in three Caribbean countries to support this intervention...

Differences in tumor biology and genetic predisposition have been suggested as factors influencing overall survival and increased mortality in Black breast and ovarian cancer patients. Therefore, it is key to evaluate genetic susceptibilities in Afro-Caribbean patients because the black population in the US is not homogeneous. Identifying a high incidence of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) in Afro-Caribbean countries can lead to understanding the pattern of inherited traits in US-Caribbean immigrants and their subsequent generations...

OBJECTIVE: Review the historical records of house dust mites in the countries of the Pacific and continental Caribbean of Latin America. METHODS: A systematic review was carried out, adapting the PRISMA method, in digital repositories using a combination of the terms in Spanish: "ácaros domésticos" "alergia" and in English: "dust mites" "allergy" with the names of the countries "Costa Rica". "Panamá" "Venezuela" "Colombia" "Ecuador" "Peru" between 1970-2022...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the IgE reactivity of sera in patients suffering from type 1 diabetes (T1D), lupus nephritis (LN) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) against a molecule constructed from T epitopes of A. lumbricoides allergens. METHODS: We designed and expressed a synthetic multi-epítope protein named MP1 from A. lumbricoides and house dust mites allergens. By indirect ELISA, we evaluated IgE-reactivity to MP1 and to the whole-body extract of Ascaris lumbricoides in 45 sera from Colombian Caribbean patients with lupus nephritis (LN; n=25), type 1 diabetes (T1D; n=10) and Juvenil idiopathic arthritis (JIA; n=10)...

OBJECTIVE: Metabolomics has been extensively utilized in bladder cancer (BCa) research, employing mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to compare various variables (tissues, serum, blood, and urine). This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers for early BCa diagnosis. METHODS: A search strategy was designed to identify clinical trials, descriptive and analytical observational studies from databases such as Medline, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences...