Targeting STAT6-mediated synovial macrophage activation improves pain in experimental knee osteoarthritis.

Background: Pain from osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the top causes of disability worldwide, but effective treatment is lacking. Nociceptive factors are released by activated synovial macrophages in OA, but depletion of synovial macrophages paradoxically worsens inflammation and tissue damage in previous studies. Rather than depleting macrophages, we hypothesized that inhibiting macrophage activation may improve pain without increasing tissue damage.

Rapid and sustained contact tracing training for COVID-19 in San Francisco: a training model for developing an emergency public health workforce.

The City and County of San Francisco was the first municipality in the United States to institute a COVID-19 contact tracing program. The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) created an outcome-based fully remote contact tracing curriculum using participatory learning methods to train non-public health emergency workers as contact tracers. Between April and December 2020, we trained over 300 individuals in contact tracing skills and procedures over three training phases.

Ag(III)···Ag(III) Argentophilic Interaction in a Cofacial Corrole Dyad.

Metallophilic interactions between closed-shell metal centers are exemplified by d ions, with Au(I) aurophilic interactions as the archetype. Such an interaction extends to d species, and examples involving Au(III) are prevalent. Conversely, Ag(III) argentophilic interactions are uncommon.

Solvent-Induced Spin-State Change in Copper Corroles.

The electronic structure of copper corroles has been a topic of debate and revision since the advent of corrole chemistry. The ground state of these compounds is best described as an antiferromagnetically coupled Cu(II) corrole radical cation. In coordinating solvents, these molecules become paramagnetic, and this is often accompanied by a color change.

Syntheses and Properties of Metalated Tetradehydrocorrins.

The monoanionic tetrapyrrolic macrocycle ,-tetradehydrocorrin (TDC) resides chemically between corroles and corrins. This chemical space remains largely unexplored due to a lack of reliable synthetic strategies. We now report the preparation and characterization of Co(II)- and Ni(II)-metalated TDC derivatives ( and , respectively) with a combination of crystallographic, electrochemical, computational, and spectroscopic techniques.

Use of HIV Recency Assays for HIV Incidence Estimation and Other Surveillance Use Cases: Systematic Review.

Background: HIV assays designed to detect recent infection, also known as "recency assays," are often used to estimate HIV incidence in a specific country, region, or subpopulation, alone or as part of recent infection testing algorithms (RITAs). Recently, many countries and organizations have become interested in using recency assays within case surveillance systems and routine HIV testing services to measure other indicators beyond incidence, generally referred to as "non-incidence surveillance use cases."

Objective: This review aims to identify published evidence that can be used to validate methodological approaches to recency-based incidence estimation and non-incidence use cases.

Performance of a novel rapid test for recent HIV infection among newly-diagnosed pregnant adolescent girls and young women in four high-HIV-prevalence districts-Malawi, 2017-2018.

Tests for recent HIV infection (TRI) distinguish recent from long-term HIV infections using markers of antibody maturation. The limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay (LAg EIA) is widely used with HIV viral load (VL) in a recent infection testing algorithm (RITA) to improve classification of recent infection status, estimate population-level HIV incidence, and monitor trends in HIV transmission. A novel rapid test for recent HIV infection (RTRI), Asanté™, can determine HIV serostatus and HIV recency within minutes on a lateral flow device through visual assessment of test strip or reader device.

MERS-CoV Confirmation among 6,873 suspected persons and relevant Epidemiologic and Clinical Features, Saudi Arabia - 2014 to 2019.

Background: Of the three lethal coronaviruses, in addition to the ongoing pandemic-causing SARS-CoV 2, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) remains in circulation. Information on MERS-CoV has relied on small sample of patients. We updated the epidemiology, laboratory and clinical characteristics, and survival patterns of MERS-CoV retrospectively with the largest sample of followed patients.

Establishment and Evaluation of a Large Contact-Tracing and Case Investigation Virtual Training Academy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Virtual Training Academy (VTA) was established to rapidly develop a contact-tracing workforce for California. Through June 2021, more than 10 000 trainees enrolled in a contact-tracing or case investigation course at the VTA. To evaluate program effectiveness, we analyzed trainee pre- and postassessment results using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

California's COVID-19 Virtual Training Academy: Rapid Scale-Up of a Statewide Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Workforce Training Program.

Case investigation (CI) and contact tracing (CT) are key to containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Widespread community transmission necessitates a large, diverse workforce with specialized knowledge and skills. The University of California, San Francisco and Los Angeles partnered with the California Department of Public Health to rapidly mobilize and train a CI/CT workforce.

Improving the benefits of HIV testing and referrals in large household surveys through active linkages to care: lessons and recommendations from the Namibia population-based HIV impact assessment (NAMPHIA), 2017.

In household-based surveys that include rapid HIV testing services (HTS), passive referral systems that give HIV-positive participants information about how and where to access ART but minimal follow-up support from survey staff may result in suboptimal linkage. In the 2017 Namibia Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (NAMPHIA), we piloted a system of active linkage to care and ART (ALCART) that utilized the infrastructure of existing community-based partner organizations (CBPOs). All HIV-positive participants age 15-64 years not on ART were given standard passive referrals to ART plus the option to participate in ALCART.

HIV Prevalence, Risk Factors for Infection, and Uptake of Prevention, Testing, and Treatment among Female Sex Workers in Namibia.

Background: In most settings, Female Sex Workers (FSW) bear a disproportionate burden of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) disease worldwide. Representative data to inform the development of behavioral and biomedical interventions for FSW in Namibia have not been published.

Objectives: Our objectives were to measure HIV prevalence, identify risk factors for infection, and describe uptake of prevention, testing, and treatment among FSW in Namibia.

Rates and Correlates of HIV Incidence in Namibia's Zambezi Region From 2014 to 2016: Sentinel, Community-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Direct measures of HIV incidence are needed to assess the population-level impact of prevention programs but are scarcely available in the subnational epidemic hotspots of sub-Saharan Africa. We created a sentinel HIV incidence cohort within a community-based program that provided home-based HIV testing to all residents of Namibia's Zambezi region, where approximately 24% of the adult population was estimated to be living with HIV.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate HIV incidence, detect correlates of HIV acquisition, and assess the feasibility of the sentinel, community-based approach to HIV incidence surveillance in a subnational epidemic hotspot.

Multielectron C-H photoactivation with an Sb(v) oxo corrole.

Pnictogen complexes are ideal for mediating multi-electron chemical reactions in two-electron steps. We report an Sb(v) bis-μ-oxo corrole that photochemically oxidises the C-H bonds of organic substrates. In the case of toluene, the substrate is oxidised to benzaldehyde, a rare example of a four-electron photoreaction.

Ligand Noninnocence in Nickel Porphyrins: Nickel Isobacteriochlorin Formation under Hydrogen Evolution Conditions.

An electron-deficient nickel porphyrin complex undergoes facile ring reduction to form a nickel isobacteriochlorin complex under hydrogen evolution conditions. Spectroscopic experiments indicate that the reduced nickel porphyrin undergoes subsequent reduction and protonation to form a phlorin anion rather than a metal hydride, demonstrating that the key initial proton-coupled electron transfer step is directed toward the ligand versus the metal. The phlorin anion facilely converts to the isobacteriochlorin in the presence of two-electron and three-proton equivalents.

Estimating the Population Size of Female Sex Workers in Namibia Using a Respondent-Driven Sampling Adjustment to the Reverse Tracking Method: A Novel Approach.

Background: Key populations, including female sex workers (FSWs), are at a disproportionately high risk for HIV infection. Estimates of the size of these populations serve as denominator data to inform HIV prevention and treatment programming and are necessary for the equitable allocation of limited public health resources.

Objective: This study aimed to present the respondent-driven sampling (RDS) adjusted reverse tracking method (RTM; RadR), a novel population size estimation approach that combines venue mapping data with RDS data to estimate the population size, adjusted for double counting and nonattendance biases.

Observation of a Photogenerated Rh Nitrenoid Intermediate in C-H Amination.

Rh-catalyzed C-H amination is a powerful method for nitrogenating organic molecules. While Rh nitrenoids are often invoked as reactive intermediates in these reactions, the exquisite reactivity and fleeting lifetime of these species has precluded their observation. Here, we report the photogeneration of a transient Rh nitrenoid that participates in C-H amination.

Halogen Photoelimination from Sb Dihalide Corroles.

Main-group p-block metals are ideally suited for mediating two-electron reactions because they cycle between M and M redox states, as the one-electron state is thermodynamically unstable. Here, we report the synthesis and structure of an Sb corrole and its SbX (X = Cl, Br) congeners. Sb sits above the corrole ring, whereas Sb resides in the corrole centroid.

Task-shifting point-of-care CD4+ testing to lay health workers in HIV care and treatment services in Namibia.

Introduction: Access to CD4+ testing remains a common barrier to early initiation of antiretroviral therapy among persons living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries. The feasibility of task-shifting of point-of-care (POC) CD4+ testing to lay health workers in Namibia has not been evaluated.

Methods: From July to August 2011, Pima CD4+ analysers were used to improve access to CD4+ testing at 10 selected public health facilities in Namibia.

Estimated Prevalence of Cryptococcus Antigenemia (CrAg) among HIV-Infected Adults with Advanced Immunosuppression in Namibia Justifies Routine Screening and Preemptive Treatment.

Background: Cryptococcal meningitis is common and associated with high mortality among HIV infected persons. The World Health Organization recommends that routine Cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) screening in ART-naïve adults with a CD4+ count <100 cells/μL followed by pre-emptive antifungal therapy for CrAg-positive patients be considered where CrAg prevalence is ≥3%. The prevalence of CrAg among HIV adults in Namibia is unknown.

Label-free Raman spectroscopic imaging to extract morphological and chemical information from a formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded rat colon tissue section.

Animal models and archived human biobank tissues are useful resources for research in disease development, diagnostics and therapeutics. For the preservation of microscopic anatomical features and to facilitate long-term storage, a majority of tissue samples are denatured by the chemical treatments required for fixation, paraffin embedding and subsequent deparaffinization. These aggressive chemical processes are thought to modify the biochemical composition of the sample and potentially compromise reliable spectroscopic examination useful for the diagnosis or biomarking.

Electronic Structure of Copper Corroles.

The ground state electronic structure of copper corroles has been a topic of debate and revision since the advent of corrole chemistry. Computational studies formulate neutral Cu corroles with an antiferromagnetically coupled Cu(II) corrole radical cation ground state. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, EPR, and magnetometry support this assignment.

Nickel phlorin intermediate formed by proton-coupled electron transfer in hydrogen evolution mechanism.

The development of more effective energy conversion processes is critical for global energy sustainability. The design of molecular electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction is an important component of these efforts. Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions, in which electron transfer is coupled to proton transfer, play an important role in these processes and can be enhanced by incorporating proton relays into the molecular electrocatalysts.