Period Of Exponential Growth Research Articles

Precision or Personalized Nutrition: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Food systems face the challenge of maintaining adequate nutrition for all populations. Inter-individual responses to the same diet have made precision or personalized nutrition (PN) an emerging and relevant topic. The aim of this study is to analyze the evolution of the PN field, identifying the principal actors and topics, and providing a comprehensive overview. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of the scientific research available through the Web of Science (WOS) database was performed, revealing 2148 relevant papers up to June 2024. VOSviewer and the WOS platform were employed for the processing and analysis, and included an evaluation of diverse data such as country, author or most frequent keywords, among others. The analysis revealed a period of exponential growth from 2015 to 2023, with the USA, Spain, and England as the top contributors. The field of "Nutrition and Dietetics" is particularly significant, comprising nearly 33% of the total publications. The most highly cited institutions are the universities of Tufts, College Dublin, and Navarra. The relationship between nutrition, genetics, and omics sciences, along with dietary intervention studies, has been a defining factor in the evolution of PN. In conclusion, PN represents a promising field of research with significant potential for further advancement and growth.

Dynamic variations in profile of intra- and extracellular paralytic shellfish toxins during the growth cycle of Alexandrium species and their accumulation in mussels

The toxigenic Alexandrium species can secrete paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) into seawater during their growth, potentially threatening marine organisms and human health. The release of intracellular toxins during the growth cycle of Alexandrium spp. and the uptake of dissolved PSTs by shellfish are still not clear. Three strains of A. minutum GY-H46, A. minutum ATDH and A. pacificum ATHK were used to explore the dynamic variations in profile of intra- and extracellular toxins during their growth cycles. And a comparative study was carried out on the accumulation and tissue distribution of PSTs in mussels Mytilus unguiculatus exposed to the dissolved and particulate toxins during a 5-days period. Results showed that the toxin cell quotas increased rapidly during the early exponential growth period, then decreased gradually and plateaued at the stationary growth period for ATHK and ATDH, while gradually increased during the stationary growth period for GY-H46. The toxin cell quotas for GY-H46, ATDH and ATHK ranged from 8.3 to 21.5, 5.3 to 11.7 and 7.4 to 9.3 fmol cell−1, respectively, during the whole growth cycle. The contents of extracellular toxins increased gradually throughout the growth of GY-H46, ATDH and ATHK, and the molar mass percentage of extracellular toxins ranged from 53% to 72%, 20% to 46% and 36% to 68%, respectively. Mussels can actively uptake the dissolved PSTs from seawater medium, and mainly accumulate toxins in the digestive glands. The accumulation level of PSTs from the dissolved phase by mussels was about 1% of that from feeding on microalgal cells. The results of this study will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic release of intracellular PSTs during microalgal growth and the accumulation of dissolved toxins by shellfish.

Threshold conditions for curbing COVID-19 with a dynamic zero-case policy derived from 101 outbreaks in China

By 31 May 2022, original/Alpha, Delta and Omicron strains induced 101 outbreaks of COVID-19 in mainland China. Most outbreaks were cleared by combining non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) with vaccines, but continuous virus variations challenged the dynamic zero-case policy (DZCP), posing questions of what are the prerequisites and threshold levels for success? And what are the independent effects of vaccination in each outbreak? Using a modified classic infectious disease dynamic model and an iterative relationship for new infections per day, the effectiveness of vaccines and NPIs was deduced, from which the independent effectiveness of vaccines was derived. There was a negative correlation between vaccination coverage rates and virus transmission. For the Delta strain, a 61.8% increase in the vaccination rate (VR) reduced the control reproduction number (CRN) by about 27%. For the Omicron strain, a 20.43% increase in VR, including booster shots, reduced the CRN by 42.16%. The implementation speed of NPIs against the original/Alpha strain was faster than the virus’s transmission speed, and vaccines significantly accelerated the DZCP against the Delta strain. The CRN ({R}_{c1}) during the exponential growth phase and the peak time and intensity of NPIs were key factors affecting a comprehensive theoretical threshold condition for DZCP success, illustrated by contour diagrams for the CRN under different conditions. The DZCP maintained the {R}_{c1} of 101 outbreaks below the safe threshold level, but the strength of NPIs was close to saturation especially for Omicron, and there was little room for improvement. Only by curbing the rise in the early stage and shortening the exponential growth period could clearing be achieved quickly. Strengthening China's vaccine immune barrier can improve China's ability to prevent and control epidemics and provide greater scope for the selection and adjustment of NPIs. Otherwise, there will be rapid rises in infection rates and an extremely high peak and huge pressure on the healthcare system, and a potential increase in excess mortality.

Self-Potential as a Tool to Monitor Redox Reactions at an Ore Body: A Sandbox Experiment

Ore bodies generate natural electrical fields that are measurable at the ground surface. The ground surface signature of this electrical field is called a self-potential anomaly. We developed a sandbox experiment to monitor the evolution of a self-potential anomaly associated with redox processes mediated by bacterial activity at the surface of a buried metallic object crossing the water table. A Bio-Electrochemical Cell (BEC) is formed by a metal bar connecting the upper, oxygen-rich, part of the tank and an aquifer containing an electron donor in the form of acetate. The self-potential response was observed during a period of 327 days. The tomography of the self-potential signature confirms that self-potential tomography is able to locate the metallic target acting as a BEC. In addition, we performed redox potential, pH, and electrical potential measurements over a vertical cross-section of the tank at several time steps to obtain an idea of where the redox front is located. The distributions of the redox potential and pH further demonstrated the development of the oxidation-reduction chemical processes facilitated by the BEC as bacterial communities developed around the metallic bar. The electrical potential anomaly shows that the bacterial communities followed a short period of exponential growth, then a longer period of a sustained population. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the self-potential method in monitoring redox processes at the surface of a buried ore body. Further works will need to combine such self-potential anomalies with induced polarization anomalies through joint inversion.

Selenite Bioremediation by Food-Grade Probiotic Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393: Insights from Proteomics Analysis.

Microorganisms capable of converting toxic selenite into elemental selenium (Se0) are considered an important and effective approach for bioremediation of Se contamination. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of reducing selenite to Se0 and forming Se nanoparticles (SeNPs) by food-grade probiotic Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 (L. casei ATCC 393) through proteomics analysis. The results showed that selenite added during the exponential growth period of bacteria has the highest reduction efficiency, and 4.0 mM selenite decreased by nearly 95% within 72 h and formed protein-capped-SeNPs. Proteomics analysis revealed that selenite induced a significant increase in the expression of glutaredoxin, oxidoreductase, and ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter, which can transport glutathione (GSH) and selenite. Selenite treatment significantly increased the CydC and CydD (putative cysteine and glutathione importer, ABC transporter) mRNA expression level, GSH content, and GSH reductase activity. Furthermore, supplementation with an additional GSH significantly increased the reduction rate of selenite, while GSH depletion significantly inhibited the reduction of selenite, indicating that GSH-mediated Painter-type reaction may be the main pathway of selenite reduction in L. casei ATCC 393. Moreover, nitrate reductase also participates in the reduction process of selenite, but it is not the primary factor. Overall, L. casei ATCC 393 effectively reduced selenite to SeNPs by GSH and nitrate reductase-mediated reduction pathway, and the GSH pathway played the decisive role, which provides an environmentally friendly biocatalyst for the bioremediation of Se contamination. IMPORTANCE Due to the high solubility and bioavailability of selenite, and its widespread use in industrial and agricultural production, it is easy to cause selenite to accumulate in the environment and reach toxic levels. Although the bacteria screened from special environments have high selenite tolerance, their safety has not been fully verified. It is necessary to screen out strains with selenite-reducing ability from nonpathogenic, functionally known, and widely used strains. Herein, we found food-grade probiotic L. casei ATCC 393 effectively reduced selenite to SeNPs by GSH and nitrate reductase-mediated reduction pathway, which provides an environmentally friendly biocatalyst for the bioremediation of Se contamination.

Local Regulator AcrR Regulates Persister Formation by Repression of AcrAB Efflux Pump during Exponential Growth in Aeromonas veronii.

Bacterial persisters refer to a small fraction of dormant variants that survive treatment with high concentrations of antibiotics. Increasing research indicates that multidrug efflux pumps play a major role in persister formation in many Gram-negative organisms. In the present study, the roles of the repressor of the AcrAB efflux pump, AcrR, in the regulation of the activity and function of the efflux, as well as in the production of persisters, were investigated in the pathogen Aeromonas veronii, which causes huge economic losses in the aquatic industry and threatens human health. We observed that exclusively in exponential-phase cells, not in stationary-phase cells, the deletion of the acrR gene significantly (P < 0.05) promoted the expression of the acrA and acrB genes and reduced the intracellular accumulation of the efflux substrate Hoechst 33342. Moreover, overexpression of acrR triggered decreased transcription of the promoter of the acrAB operon. The persister assay indicated that the loss of the AcrAB pump decreased the formation of persisters under challenge with all tested antibiotic types of chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolone, tetracycline, and β-lactam, while deletion of acrR caused an exponential-phase-specific increase in persister formation against chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and β-lactam. Our results provide molecular insights into the mechanism of bacterial persistence by demonstrating for the first time that the local regulator AcrR is involved in the modulation of persister formation in A. veronii through its repressive activity on the function of the AcrAB efflux pump during the exponential growth period.

Quantifying the effects of submerged aquatic vegetation on internal loading in lake: A modeling study of the largest shallow lake in North China

Shallow lakes are greatly influenced by submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), which affects hydraulic and water quality during their entire life cycle. An integrated model was developed based on the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC), which considers the dynamic bottom roughness and sediment release flux related to SAV growth and decomposition. Model results of hydrodynamics, water quality, and sediment-P release in Baiyangdian Lake (BL) were analyzed with and without the SAV module. The results showed that SAV played a critical and alterable role in regulating the internal loading in lakes. During the period of exponential growth, SAV reduced the velocity and sediment-P release in Zaozhadian by 20 % and 12 %, respectively. During the period of senescence, SAV reduced the velocity by 19 % and increased sediment-P release by 49 %, which was mainly attributed to dissolved oxygen (DO) consumption during residue decomposition. To mitigate the adverse effects of SAV on internal loading, measures should be taken to control the growth of SAV and ensure timely salvage before decomposition.

Events as catalysts for communal resistance to overtourism

The negative impacts of tourism, often associated with overtourism, can lead to resistance by local stakeholders. This study focuses on collective resistance across Japan in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, during a period of exponential growth in tourism that produced disruption and fear, and led to a rise in tourismophobia. We conceptualise negative reactions through Castells' theory of the network society. Utilising qualitative data, we argue that Japan's national tourism growth strategy represented a state-imposed legitimising identity, leading to communal resistance sentiment and tactics across Japan and Tokyo. We illustrate how events act as catalysts for opposition against tourism development and how resistance identities can produce a new project and counter-legitimising identity tourism planners should take seriously.

Critical time-dependent branching process modelling epidemic spreading with containment measures* *This work celebrates the 70th birthday of our dear friend and colleague Bob Ziff.

During the COVID pandemic, periods of exponential growth of the disease have been mitigated by containment measures that in different occasions have resulted in a power-law growth of the number of cases. The first observation of such behaviour has been obtained from 2020 late spring data coming from China by Ziff and Ziff in reference Ziff and Ziff (2020 Fractal kinetics of COVID-19 pandemic MedRxiv). After this important observation the power-law scaling (albeit with different exponents) has also been observed in other countries during periods of containment of the spread. Early interpretations of these results suggest that this phenomenon might be due to spatial effects of the spread. Here we show that temporal modulations of infectivity of individuals due to containment measures can also cause power-law growth of the number of cases over time. To this end we propose a stochastic well-mixed susceptible-infected-removed model of epidemic spreading in presence of containment measures resulting in a time dependent infectivity and we explore the statistical properties of the resulting branching process at criticality. We show that at criticality it is possible to observe power-law growth of the number of cases with exponents ranging between one and two. Our asymptotic analytical results are confirmed by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Although these results do not exclude that spatial effects might be important in modulating the power-law growth of the number of cases at criticality, this work shows that even well-mixed populations may already feature non trivial power-law exponents at criticality.

Analysis of temporal changes in HIV-1 CRF01_AE gag genetic variability and CD8 T-cell epitope evolution.

Currently, little is known about the time-dependent evolution of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) circulating recombinant forms (CRF) 01_AE, a dominant recombinant form associated with HIV-1 epidemics worldwide. Since gag is a highly immunodominant HIV-1 protein, we performed a comparative analysis of the CRF01_AE gag protein’s time-dependent changes and evolution. A total of 3105 HIV-1 CRF01_AE gag sequences representing 17 countries from the timeline 1990–2017 were obtained. The sequences’ phylogenetic relationship and epidemic dynamics were analyzed through a Maximum Likelihood tree and Bayesian Skyline plot, respectively. Genomic variability was measured through Shannon entropy and time-dependent immunoevolution was analyzed using changes in proteasomal degradation pattern, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes, and Human leukocyte antigens (HLA) restriction profile. The most recent common ancestor of the HIV CRF01_AE epidemic was estimated to be 1974±1. A period of exponential growth in effective population size began in 1982, fluctuated, and then stabilized in 1999. Genetic variability (entropy) consistently increased, however, epitope variability remained comparable; the highest number of novel CTL epitopes were present in 1995–1999, which were lost over time. The spread of the HIV-1 CRF01_AE epidemic is predominant in countries within Asia. Population immunogenetic pressures in the region may have contributed to the initial changes and following adaptation/stabilization of epitope diversity within gag sequences.

Extreme value distributions describe interannual variability in the seasonal North Atlantic phytoplankton bloom

AbstractThe North Atlantic phytoplankton bloom depends on a confluence of environmental factors that drive transient periods of exponential phytoplankton growth and interannual variability in bloom magnitude. I analyze interannual bloom variability in the North Atlantic via extreme value theory where the generalized extreme value distribution (GEVD) is fitted spatially to annual maxima of satellite‐measured surface chlorophyll. I find excellent agreement between the observed distribution of interannual bloom maxima and those predicted from the GEVD. The spatial distribution of fitted GEVD parameters closely follows basin bathymetry where the largest extremes and heaviest distribution tails are found on the continental shelves and slopes. Trend analyses suggest weak evidence for changes in GEVD parameters, despite regional trends in mean chlorophyll levels and sea surface temperature. These results provide a framework to quantify interannual bloom variability and call for further work examining how extreme blooms propagate through food webs and contribute to carbon export.

Precautionary breaks: Planned, limited duration circuit breaks to control the prevalence of SARS-CoV2 and the burden of COVID-19 disease

COVID-19 in the UK has been characterised by periods of exponential growth and decline, as different non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are brought into play. During the early uncontrolled phase of the outbreak (March 2020) there was a period of prolonged exponential growth with epidemiological observations such as hospitalisation doubling every 3–4 days. The enforcement of strict lockdown measures led to a noticeable decline in all epidemic quantities that slowed during the summer as control measures were relaxed. From August 2020, infections, hospitalisations and deaths began rising once more and various NPIs were applied locally throughout the UK in response.Controlling any rise in infection is a compromise between public health and societal costs, with more stringent NPIs reducing cases but damaging the economy and restricting freedoms. Typically, NPI imposition is made in response to the epidemiological state, are of indefinite length and are often imposed at short notice, greatly increasing the negative impact. An alternative approach is to consider planned, limited duration periods of strict NPIs aiming to purposefully reduce prevalence before such emergency NPIs are required. These “precautionary breaks” may offer a means of keeping control of the epidemic, while their fixed duration and the forewarning may limit their societal impact. Here, using simple analysis and age-structured models matched to the UK SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, we investigate the action of precautionary breaks. In particular we consider their impact on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the total number of predicted hospitalisations and deaths caused by COVID-19 disease. We find that precautionary breaks provide the biggest gains when the growth rate is low, but offer a much needed brake on increasing infection when the growth rate is higher, potentially allowing other measures to regain control.

Worldwide Research Trends in Landslide Science.

Landslides are generated by natural causes and by human action, causing various geomorphological changes as well as physical and socioeconomic loss of the environment and human life. The study, characterization and implementation of techniques are essential to reduce land vulnerability, different socioeconomic sector susceptibility and actions to guarantee better slope stability with a significant positive impact on society. The aim of this work is the bibliometric analysis of the different types of landslides that the United States Geological Survey (USGS) emphasizes, through the SCOPUS database and the VOSviewer software version 1.6.17, for the analysis of their structure, scientific production, and the close relationship with several scientific fields and its trends. The methodology focuses on: (i) search criteria; (ii) data extraction and cleaning; (iii) generation of graphs and bibliometric mapping; and (iv) analysis of results and possible trends. The study and analysis of landslides are in a period of exponential growth, focusing mainly on techniques and solutions for the stabilization, prevention, and categorization of the most susceptible hillslope sectors. Therefore, this research field has the full collaboration of various authors and places a significant focus on the conceptual evolution of the landslide science.

Defense Mechanism or Socialization Tactic? Improving Wikipedia’s Notifications to Rejected Contributors

Unlike traditional firms, open collaborative systems rely on volunteers to operate, and many communities struggle to maintain enough contributors to ensure the quality and quantity of content. However, Wikipedia has historically faced the exact opposite problem: too much participation, particularly from users who, knowingly or not, do not share the same norms as veteran Wikipedians. During its period of exponential growth, the Wikipedian community developed specialized socio-technical defense mechanisms to protect itself from the negatives of massive participation: spam, vandalism, falsehoods, and other damage. Yet recently, Wikipedia has faced a number of high-profile issues with recruiting and retaining new contributors. In this paper, we first illustrate and describe the various defense mechanisms at work in Wikipedia, which we hypothesize are inhibiting newcomer retention. Next, we present results from an experiment aimed at increasing both the quantity and quality of editors by altering various elements of these defense mechanisms, specifically pre-scripted warnings and notifications that are sent to new editors upon reverting or rejecting contributions. Using logistic regressions to model new user activity, we show which tactics work best for different populations of users based on their motivations when joining Wikipedia. In particular, we found that personalized messages in which Wikipedians identified themselves in active voice and took direct responsibility for rejecting an editor’s contributions were much more successful across a variety of outcome metrics than the current messages, which typically use an institutional and passive voice.

The curvilinear relationship between servant leadership and work-family conflict: the moderating role of age in Chinese female workers

Purpose Building on social exchange theory and selection, optimization and compensation theory, this study aims to examine a moderated curvilinear relationship between servant leadership (SL) and work-family conflict (WFC). Design/methodology/approach Participants were 329 female workers recruited from a Chinese small business in the service Industry. A three-step hierarchical regression was conducted to examine the relationships among the variables and the incremental contribution of SL and age and the squared term of SL. Findings Study results confirmed a curvilinear relationship between SL and WFC and the moderating effect of age. When younger female employees perceived a moderate range of SL from their supervisors, they reported higher WFC compared to the low or high level of perceived SL. On the contrary, senior female employees reported a lower level of WFC when they perceived a moderate level of SL than when they perceived very low or high levels. Originality/value SL research has experienced a period of exponential growth in the past decade. This study advanced the field of leadership by arguing that SL perceived by female employees is curvilinearly related to WFC and the curvilinear relationship is moderated by age.

Using control charts to understand community variation in COVID-19.

Decision-makers need signals for action as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic progresses. Our aim was to demonstrate a novel use of statistical process control to provide timely and interpretable displays of COVID-19 data that inform local mitigation and containment strategies. Healthcare and other industries use statistical process control to study variation and disaggregate data for purposes of understanding behavior of processes and systems and intervening on them. We developed control charts at the county and city/neighborhood level within one state (California) to illustrate their potential value for decision-makers. We found that COVID-19 rates vary by region and subregion, with periods of exponential and non-exponential growth and decline. Such disaggregation provides granularity that decision-makers can use to respond to the pandemic. The annotated time series presentation connects events and policies with observed data that may help mobilize and direct the actions of residents and other stakeholders. Policy-makers and communities require access to relevant, accurate data to respond to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Control charts could prove valuable given their potential ease of use and interpretability in real-time decision-making and for communication about the pandemic at a meaningful level for communities.

Outpatient Virtual Visits and the "Right" Amount of Telehealth Going Forward.

Background: An exponential increase in outpatient telehealth visits occurred early in the pandemic period that has been followed by volumes that, although lower than peak numbers, are substantially greater than the pre-pandemic period. This provided an opportunity to assess provider perceptions regarding the right prevalence going forward and key obstacles to achieving it. Methods: A 10-question survey was distributed to all outpatient providers within the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System. Domains included practice location, specialty, professional degree, experience with telehealth, satisfaction, perception of the amount of telehealth that could be adequately delivered going forward, role of audio-only, and obstacles. Results: Three hundred thirty-six providers completed the survey representing 51 specialties. The most common response regarding the proportion of outpatient visits that could be delivered by video going forward was 21-50% (n = 104) followed by 6-20% (n = 99) and >50% (n = 71). A minority of respondents chose ≤5% (n = 17). In terms of the fraction of video visits for which phone was equally effective, a similar percentage of respondents felt that it was 1/10 (22%), 1/4 (20%), or 1/2 (26%) of visits. Fewer felt that all (7%) or 3/4 (15%) of visits were equally effective, and 10% felt that it was none. Common obstacles identified were the need for a physical exam, unique aspects of providers' patients, patient preference, and issues regarding technology and internet speed/connectivity. Conclusions: After a period of exponential growth in virtual visits due to the pandemic, outpatient providers within an academic health system felt that a substantial portion of future visits could be delivered by this modality.

Economic Impact of Health Intervention by Telemedicine during Covid 19 Pandemic at Nicaragua, June – July 2020

SARS-CoV-2 its infectious diseases was named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization (WHO) a really pandemic. The first report on prevalence of SARS-Cov2 at Nicaragua, showed the first cases March 2020 and during the months of June and July began exponential growth period. The telemedicine can provide rapid access, efficient and immediately available person. This approach has been explored most fully in the context of Covid 19 stroke. The estimates of intervention costs are really challenge, particularly for low- and middle-income countries. Create a health strategy during a health emergency with the lowest cost investment but great population health impact are the primary objective. The gold of this study is decide the economic impact, through of the cost benefit of medical advice through mobile phone during the COVID-19 pandemia , as health strategy at Nicaragua

Scrambling and Lyapunov exponent in spatially extended systems

Scrambling of information in a quantum many-body system, quantified by the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC), is a key manifestation of quantum chaos. A regime of exponential growth in the OTOC, characterized by a Lyapunov exponent, has so far mostly been observed in systems with a high-dimensional local Hilbert space and in weakly-coupled systems. Here, we propose a general criterion for the existence of a well-defined regime of exponential growth of the OTOC in spatially extended systems with local interactions. In such systems, we show that a parametrically long period of exponential growth requires the butterfly velocity to be much larger than the Lyapunov exponent times a microscopic length scale, such as the lattice spacing. As an explicit example, we study a random unitary circuit with tunable interactions. In this model, we show that in the weakly interacting limit the above criterion is satisfied, and there is a prolonged window of exponential growth. Our results are based on numerical simulations of both Clifford and universal random circuits supported by an analytical treatment.

First report on prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among health-care workers in Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan COVID-19 situation is exceptional for Central America. The government restricts testing and testing supplies, and the true extent of the coronavirus crisis remains unknown. Dozens of deaths have been reported among health-care workers. However, statistics on the crisis’ effect on health-care workers and their risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 are lacking. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in health-care workers and to examine correlations with risk factors such as age, sex and comorbidities. Study participants (N = 402, median age 38.48 years) included physicians, nurses and medical assistants, from public and private hospitals, independent of symptom presentation. SARS-CoV-2 was detected on saliva samples using the loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay. A questionnaire was employed to determine subjects’ COVID-19-associated symptoms and their vulnerability to complications from risk factors such as age, sex, professional role and comorbidities. The study was performed five weeks into the exponential growth period in Nicaragua. We discovered that 30.35% of health-care workers participating in our study had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. A large percentage (54.92%) of those who tested positive were asymptomatic and were still treating patients. Nearly 50% of health-care workers who tested positive were under 40, an astonishing 30.33% reported having at least one comorbidity. In our study, sex and age are important risk factors for the probability of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 with significance being greatest among those between 30 and 40 years of age. In general, being male resulted in higher risk. Our data are the first non-governmental data obtained in Nicaragua. They shed light on several important aspects of COVID-19 in an underdeveloped nation whose government has implemented a herd-immunity strategy, while lacking an adequate healthcare system and sufficient PPE for health-care workers. These data are important for creating policies for containing the spread of SARS-CoV-2.