The COVID-19 pandemic and food security in low- and middle-income countries: a review

We review findings from the emerging microeconomic literature on observed changes in food insecurity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. To do so, we focus our review on studies in low- and middle-income countries that include household survey data measuring food insecurity collected both before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We first focus on several studies—seven from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and one from India—that estimate immediate changes in food insecurity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, we review subsequent analysis studying longer term changes in food insecurity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This review, therefore, complements existing macroeconomic projections of food insecurity based on expected changes in income and prices.

The COVID-19 crisis in the EU: the resilience of healthcare systems, government responses and their socio-economic effects

The global outbreak of COVID-19 forced EU governments to implement drastic confinement measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. These measures, however, come at a high economic cost. In this work, we analyze the resilience/preparedness of public health systems, the confinement measures introduced by governments, and their socio-economic effects. We also investigate the relationships between these elements by focusing on the EU Member States. We conduct an after-action review (AAR) study based on three indices. The first index indicates the preparedness of the countries’ health systems to deal with a potential health shock resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. The second index shows the strictness of confinement measures taken per Member State in spring 2020. Finally, the third index captures the expected socio-economic effects of such measures on each country for the year 2020. Our findings show that on average, countries with less prepared health systems implemented stricter confinement measures and that higher levels of stringency in the confinement measures are associated with stronger, negative, socio-economic impacts. However, the results differ across countries in the case of each index. Overall, the results call for health systems to be better prepared to handle public health crises and for a more coordinated EU approach to overcome divergences across countries.

Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Pore topology studied through the accessibility of reporter cysteines

In voltage- and cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels, the amino-acid loop that connects the S5 and S6 transmembrane domains, is a major component of the channel pore. It determines ion selectivity and participates in gating. In the alpha subunit of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels from bovine rod, the pore loop is formed by the residues R345-S371, here called R1-S27. These 24 residues were mutated one by one into a cysteine. Mutant channels were expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes and currents were recorded from excised membrane patches. The accessibility of the substituted cysteines from both sides of the plasma membrane was tested with the thiol-specific reagents 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA) and [2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl]methanethiosulfonate (MTSET). Residues V4C, T20C, and P22C were accessible to MTSET only from the external side of the plasma membrane, and to MTSEA from both sides of the plasma membrane. The effect of MTSEA applied to the inner side of T20C and P22C was prevented by adding 10 mM cysteine to the external side of the plasma membrane. W9C was accessible to MTSET from the internal side only. L7C residue was accessible to internal MTSET, but the inhibition was partial, approximately 50% when the MTS compound was applied in the absence of cGMP and 25% when it was applied in the presence of cGMP, suggesting that this residue is not located inside the pore lumen and that it changes its position during gating. Currents from T15C and T16C mutants were rapidly potentiated by intracellular MTSET. In T16C, a slower partial inhibition took place after the initial potentiation. Current from I17C progressively decayed in inside-out patches. The rundown was accelerated by inwardly applied MTSET. The accessibility results of MTSET indicate a well-defined topology of the channel pore in which residues between L7 and I17 are inwardly accessible, residue G18 and E19 form the narrowest section of the pore, and T20, P21, P22 and V4 are outwardly accessible.