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•Three parent groups completed a semi-structured interview and validated survey tool.•Hispanic/Latinx parental groups had higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.•Hypothetical parental willingness to vaccinate children was similar across groups.•Reasons for hesitancy fell most under Confidence, followed by Complacency.•Targeted COVID-19 vaccine education to different populations should be considered. COVID-19 vaccinations are now recommended in the United States (U.S.) for children ≥ 6 months old. However, pediatric vaccination rates remain low, particularly in the Hispanic/Latinx population. Using the 4C vaccine hesitancy framework (calculation, complacency, confidence, convenience), we examined parental attitudes in the emergency department (ED) towards COVID-19 vaccination, identified dimensions of parental vaccine hesitancy, and assessed parental willingness to have their child receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As part of a larger multi-methods study examining influenza vaccine hesitancy, we conducted interviews that included questions about COVID-19 vaccine authorization for children. We used directed content analysis to extract qualitative themes from 3 groups of parents in the ED: Hispanic/Latinx Spanish speaking (HS), Hispanic/Latinx English speaking (HE), non-Hispanic/non-Latinx White English speaking (WE). Themes were triangulated with the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) survey, where higher scores indicate increased vaccine hesitancy. Factors influencing vaccine hesitancy were mapped to the 4C framework from 58 sets of interviews and PACVs. HE and HS parents, compared to WE parents, had less knowledge about COVID-19 and its vaccine, and more beliefs in COVID-19 vaccine myths. However, both HS and HE parent groups were more inclined to endorse COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness as a reason to have their children vaccinated. HS parents felt that COVID-19 increased their fear of illnesses in general and were worried about confusing COVID-19 with other infections. Median PACV scores of HS (Mdn = 20) and HE (Mdn = 20) parent groups were higher than of WE parents (Mdn = 10), but parental willingness to have their child receive COVID-19 vaccination was similar across groups. Higher COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among HS and HE parents compared to WE parents may be attributed to insufficient knowledge about COVID-19, its vaccine, along with COVID-19 vaccine myths. Efforts to provide targeted vaccine education to different populations is warranted.

Haemosporidians are a widespread group of blood parasites transmitted by vectors. Despite their relevance for bird conservation, few studies have been conducted in the Amazonia and even less in terrestrial wild birds. We analysed blood samples from 168 game birds, collected from 2008 to 2015 by subsistence hunters of an indigenous rural community in the Peruvian Amazonia. DNA was tested for Haemoproteus spp., Plasmodium spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. and positive amplicons were sequenced and curated for phylogenetic analysis. Haemosporidian prevalence was 72% overall, 66.7% for Haemoproteus spp. and 5.4% for Plasmodium spp. and respectively by bird species: Spix’s Guan (Penelope jacquacu,n = 72) 87.5% and 0%, Razor-billed Curassow (Mitu tuberosum,n = 45) 77.8% and 6.7%, White-winged Trumpeter (Psophia leucoptera,n = 20) 6.3% and 12.5%, Blue-throated Piping-guan (Pipile cumanensis,n = 16) 73.3% and 6.7%, and Great Tinamou (Tinamus major,n = 15) 10% and 15%. Leucocytozoon spp. was not found. P. leucoptera and T. major were less likely to be infected with Haemoproteus spp. Fruit abundance had a negative association with Haemoproteus spp. prevalence and precipitation was negatively associated with Plasmodium spp. prevalence. The 106 sequences examined represented 29 lineages, 82.8% of them were new lineages (Plasmodiumn = 3, Haemoproteusn = 21). Novel host-parasite associations and lineages were unveiled, including probably new species of Plasmodium spp. Our results highlight the scientific value of alternative sampling methods and the collaboration with local communities.

CD38 is a transmembrane glycoprotein expressed by T-cells. It has been reported that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) showed increased CD38+CD25+ T-cells correlating with immune activation and clinical signs. Contrariwise, CD38 deficiency in murine models has shown enhanced autoimmunity development. Recent studies have suggested that CD38+ regulatory T-cells are more suppressive than CD38− regulatory T-cells. Thus, we have suggested that CD38 overexpression in SLE patients could play a role in regulating immune activation cells instead of enhancing it. This study found a correlation between CD38 with FoxP3 expression and immunosuppressive molecules (CD69, IL-10, CTLA-4, and PD-1) in T-cells from lupus-prone mice (B6.MRL-Faslpr/J). Additionally, B6.MRL-Faslpr/J mice showed a decreased proportion of CD38+ Treg cells regarding wild-type mice (WT). Furthermore, Regulatory T-Cells (Treg cells) from CD38-/- mice showed impairment in expressing immunosuppressive molecules and proliferation after stimulation through the T-cell receptor (TCR). Finally, we demonstrated an increased ratio of IFN-γ/IL-10 secretion in CD38-/- splenocytes stimulated with anti-CD3 compared with the WT. Altogether, our data suggest that CD38 represents an element in maintaining activated and proliferative Treg cells. Consequently, CD38 could have a crucial role in immune tolerance, preventing SLE development through Treg cells.

Social recognition is crucial for survival in social species, and necessary for group living, selective reproduction, pair bonding, and dominance hierarchies. Mice and rats are the most commonly used animal models in social memory research, however current paradigms do not account for the complex social dynamics they exhibit in the wild. To assess the range of social memories being studied, we conducted a systematic analysis of neuroscience articles testing the social memory of mice and rats published within the past two decades and analyzed their methods. Our results show that despite these rodent’s rich social memory capabilities, the majority of social recognition papers explore short-term memories and short-term familiarity levels with minimal exposure between subject and familiar stimuli—a narrow type of social memory. We have identified several key areas currently understudied or underrepresented: kin relationships, mates, social ranks, sex variabilities, and the effects of aging. Additionally, reporting on social stimulus variables such as housing history, strain, and age, is limited, which may impede reproducibility. Overall, our data highlight large gaps in the diversity of social memories studied and the effects social variables have on social memory mechanisms.

We determined the prevalence rate and risk of infection of Trypanosoma cruzi and other trypanosomatids in Peruvian non-human primates (NHPs) in the wild ( n  = 126) and in different captive conditions ( n  = 183). Blood samples were collected on filter paper, FTA cards, or EDTA tubes and tested using a nested PCR protocol targeting the 24Sα rRNA gene. Main risk factors associated with trypanosomatid and  T. cruzi  infection were genus and the human–animal context (wild vs captive animals). Wild NHPs had higher prevalence of both trypanosomatids (64.3 vs 27.9%, P  < 0.001) and T. cruzi (8.7 vs 3.3%, P  = 0.057), compared to captive NHPs, suggesting that parasite transmission in NHPs occurs more actively in the sylvatic cycle. In terms of primate family, Pitheciidae had the highest trypanosomatid prevalence (20/22, 90.9%) and Cebidae had the highest T. cruzi prevalence (15/117, 12.8%). T. cruzi and trypanosomatids are common in Peruvian NHPs and could pose a health risk to human and animals that has not been properly studied.

Pregnant women with end-stage kidney disease who undergo peritoneal dialysis have lower pregnancy rates and higher obstetric risk than their peers undergoing hemodialysis. Although there has been some improvement in pregnancy rates and outcomes due to the intensification of dialysis prescriptions, there is currently a lack of guidelines for optimizing peritoneal dialysis regimens for pregnant women with end-stage kidney disease. Besides, there is limited data available regarding pregnancy outcomes in women with end-stage kidney disease undergoing peritoneal dialysis. We report the case of a 23-year-old Hispanic woman with end-stage kidney disease caused by focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis. She became pregnant while undergoing successful treatment with an intensified automated peritoneal dialysis regimen. The patient gave birth to a live female preterm infant weighing 938 g during the 28th week of her pregnancy. The baby required neonatal intensive care due to prematurity, extremely low birth weight, and respiratory distress syndrome.

Diverticular disease of the small bowel is a rare, generally asymptomatic condition with a challenging diagnostic approach and the potential for life-threatening complications. While diverticular disease can manifest in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, its occurrence in the jejunum is exceptionally uncommon, with an incidence of up to 1%. Although rare, complications from diverticular disease of the small bowel can arise in up to 10% of cases, usually manifesting as signs and symptoms mimicking other etiologies or an acute abdomen. In this case report, we present the management of an elderly male patient with multiple comorbidities who developed an acute abdomen during his intensive care unit stay. The patient required surgical intervention, which revealed numerous complicated diverticula of the small bowel, affecting the jejunum, as the underlying cause of his symptoms.

This study examined the relationship between caregivers’ and youths’ treatment expectations and characteristics of exposure tasks (quantity, mastery, compliance) in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for childhood anxiety. Additionally, compliance with exposure tasks was tested as a mediator of the relationship between treatment expectations and symptom improvement. Data were from youth (N = 279; 7–17 years old) enrolled in the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS) and randomized to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or the combination of CBT and sertraline for the treatment of separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social phobia. Caregivers and youth independently reported treatment expectations prior to randomization, anxiety was assessed pre- and post-treatment by independent evaluators blind to treatment condition, and exposure characteristics were recorded by the cognitive-behavioral therapists following each session. For both caregivers and youths, more positive expectations that anxiety would improve with treatment were associated with greater compliance with exposure tasks, and compliance mediated the relationship between treatment expectations and change in anxiety symptoms following treatment. Additionally, more positive parent treatment expectations were related to a greater number and percentage of sessions with exposure. More positive youth treatment expectations were associated with greater mastery during sessions focused on exposure. Findings underscore the importance of addressing parents’ and youths’ treatment expectations at the outset of therapy to facilitate engagement in exposure and maximize therapeutic gains.

Silvicultural practices significantly influence the diversity and composition of soil fungal communities, which play crucial roles in maintaining forest ecosystem functionality. This study evaluated the impact of three silvicultural treatments, consisting of liberation cutting, first thinning, and second thinning, on rhizospheric fungal and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi communities in Pinus forests located in Puebla, Mexico. Using high-throughput metabarcoding of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region, we identified 346 fungal genera across all treatments, with Ascomycota and Basidiomycota being the dominant phyla. Alpha diversity indices revealed a trend toward higher fungal richness for first thinning, followed by liberation cutting and lower values for second thinning. A beta diversity analysis demonstrated significant shifts in the fungal community composition across treatments, highlighting the influence of the thinning intensity. The proportions of different functional guilds were consistent across the treatments. However, compositional differences were observed, mainly in soil and wood saprotrophs and in pathogenic taxa. Liberation cutting showed enrichment in ECM taxa such as Russula and Cenococcum, whereas Tuber, Humaria, and Tricholoma were decreased for first thinning and Russula was decreased for second thinning. These findings underscore the need for sustainable forest management practices that balance productivity with the conservation of fungal biodiversity to ensure ecosystem stability and functionality.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009000.].