Microbial Secondary Metabolism and Biotechnology

In recent decades scientific research has demonstrated that the microbial world is infinitely richer and more surprising than we could have imagined. Every day, new molecules produced by microorganisms are discovered, and their incredible diversity has not yet delivered all of its messages. The current challenge of research is to select from the wide variety of characterized microorganisms and compounds, those which could provide rapid answers to crucial questions about human or animal health or more generally relating to society’s demands for medicine, pharmacology, nutrition or everyday well-being.

Servant Leadership Styles as a Challenge to Develop Innovation in Resilient Environments

The current challenge for the survival and growth of companies is the appropriation of innovation in all its senses, the generation of propitiate resilient environments, the innovation philosophy acquisition into action, and improve internal dynamics and cohesion through a comparison of leadership styles oriented by the motivation to serve as a servant leadership. This chapter analyses the relevance of the culturally intelligent organizations to carry out innovation. Likewise, the styles of servant leadership and administration that generate a collective consciousness tend to create innovation and more resilient environments.

Competitiveness drivers for soybean exportation and the fundamental role of the supply chain

Brazil is the world’s second-largest producer of soybeans and the largest exporter. Despite the growing importance in the international market in the last harvests, activities related to this product threaten this position. Due to its economic importance for the country, this study aims to identify the competitiveness drivers of soybean destined for the international market and to measure their impacts on the export process. Therefore, the used methodology considers the systemic character of different factors that affect the supply chain positively or negatively. As a result, the logistics infrastructure dimension was the only competitiveness driver classified as unfavorable among the analyzed factors. The advances in agribusiness are being subsequently followed by some sectors of the economy such as science and technology. On the other hand, the logistics sector has not been showing the same development, causing some weaknesses to persist, either due to the lack of infrastructure of transport production, or the inability to properly store the national harvest. The current challenge for the State is to ensure the maintenance of the quality of the infrastructure already installed and to promote an environment capable of attracting private capital and a new investment cycle.

The Bucharest College of Physicians’ Study on Burnout Amongst Healthcare Professionals in Romania’s Capital City during COVID-19 Pandemic

The importance of burnout amongst medical staff was highlighted by various papers, showing that this issue implies job demands and job resources. The current challenge of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic also raised many concerns about its impact on healthcare sector. A new survey after 4 years from the previous study of the Bucharest College of Physicians is coming with new data, containing the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of its members. The increasing of burnout was found in all categories, and the most frequently solutions claimed by the respondents were related to decreasing of workload and bureaucracy, and an important number of physicians identify the need for specialized psychological assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic period exacerbated the system related factors that contribute to the phenomenon of burnout.

Management of Soil Constraints to Improve Crop Performance in Water-Limited Environments

One current challenge for agricultural production in water-limited environments is to develop agronomic management practices that can overcome soil constraints and provide an economic return to the grower in both the short and long-term [...]

Autopsy Findings and Causality Relationship between Death and COVID-19 Vaccination: A Systematic Review

The current challenge worldwide is the administration of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. Considering that the COVID-19 vaccination represents the best possibility to resolve this pandemic, this systematic review aims to clarify the major aspects of fatal adverse effects related to COVID-19 vaccines, with the goal of advancing our knowledge, supporting decisions, or suggesting changes in policies at local, regional, and global levels. Moreover, this review aims to provide key recommendations to improve awareness of vaccine safety. All studies published up to 2 December 2021 were searched using the following keywords: “COVID-19 Vaccine”, “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine”, “COVID-19 Vaccination”, “SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination”, and “Autopsy” or “Post-mortem”. We included 17 papers published with fatal cases with post-mortem investigations. A total of 38 cases were analyzed: 22 cases were related to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 administration, 10 cases to BNT162b2, 4 cases to mRNA-1273, and 2 cases to Ad26.COV2.S. Based on these data, autopsy is very useful to define the main characteristics of the so-called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination: recurrent findings were intracranial hemorrhage and diffused microthrombi located in multiple areas. Moreover, it is fundamental to provide evidence about myocarditis related to the BNT162B2 vaccine. Finally, based on the discussed data, we suggest several key recommendations to improve awareness of vaccine safety.

Early diagnosis of melanoma: current challenge for a modern clinician

Authors assessed the incidence of skin melanoma during outpatient consultations at the Consultation and Diagnostic Center of the Main Military Clinical Hospital named after academician N.N. Burdenko. During the period from 2019 to 2020, the authors diagnosed 68 patients with skin melanoma with stages ranging as follows: in situ ― 3 (4.4%) cases, stage IA ― 11 (16.2%) cases, IB ― 13 (19.1%) cases, IIA ― 11 (16.2%) cases, IIB ― 6 (8.8%) cases, IIC ― 9 (13.2%) cases, IIIA ― 3 (4.4%) cases, IIIB ― 4 (5.9%) cases, IIIC ― 3 (4.4%) cases, IV ― 5 (7.4%) cases. The necessity to apply the knowledge about the clinical and dermoscopic features of this malignant disease to diagnose skin melanoma, as well as exceptional prognostic significance of early detection of skin melanoma, were demonstrated.

Sterility Assurance Across-Sectors—New Paradigms and Tools

The sterility assurance community is facing significant challenges. A relatively recent challenge is the pressure on manufacturing supply chains resulting from the limited availability of capacity for terminal sterilization of healthcare products. The current challenge is finding solutions for innovative new products, especially biologics and combination products, that offer great promise for patients around the world. This challenge will become more prevalent in the future as products advance. This article frames new paradigms and tools being developed to address these challenges. Foundational principles and current realities from each sector are reviewed so that sterility assurance professionals have a solid base from which to build strategies.