Kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 Serum Antibodies Through the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron Surges Among Vaccinated Health Care Workers at a Boston Hospital.

Background: Longitudinal serology studies can assist in analyzing the kinetics of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, helping to inform public health decision making. Our study aims to characterize circulating antibody trends over 18 months in vaccinated participants with and without evidence of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: A cohort of health care workers employed at Boston Medical Center was followed to collect serum samples and survey data over 6 time points from July 2020 through December 2021 (N = 527).

On-Site, On-Demand 3D-Printed Nasopharyngeal Swabs to Improve the Access of Coronavirus Disease-19 Testing.

Diagnostic testing that facilitates containment, surveillance, and treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or future respiratory viruses, depends on a sample collection device that efficiently collects nasopharyngeal tissue and that can be manufactured on site when an outbreak or public health emergency is declared by a government. Here two novel stereolithography-based three-dimensional (3D)-printed nasopharyngeal swabs are reported which are made using a biocompatible and sterilizable photoresist. Such swabs are readily manufactured on-site and on-demand to ensure availability, if supply chain shortages emerge.

Pandemic Response Requires Research Samples: A U.S. Safety-Net Hospital's Experience and Call for National Action.

Biorepositories provide a critical resource for gaining knowledge of emerging infectious diseases and offer a mechanism to rapidly respond to outbreaks; the emergence of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has proved their importance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of centralized, national biorepository efforts meant that the onus fell on individual institutions to establish sample repositories. As a safety-net hospital, Boston Medical Center (BMC) recognized the importance of creating a COVID-19 biorepository to both support critical science at BMC and ensure representation in research for its urban patient population, most of whom are from underserved communities.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies and risk factors in health care workers at an academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel virus that causes Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). We aim to assess the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG among healthcare workers and compare risk-factors between seropositive and seronegative HCWs. In this observational study, serum samples were collected from HCWs between July 13th to 26th, 2020 at Boston Medical Center (BMC).

Clinical and epidemiological features discriminating confirmed COVID-19 patients from SARS-CoV-2 negative patients at screening centres in Madagascar.

Early and fast detection of COVID-19 patients help limit the transmission and wide spread of the virus in the community and will have impact on mortality by reducing the incidence of infection among vulnerable people. Therefore, community-based screening is critical. We aimed to identify clinical signs and symptoms and epidemiological features that could help discriminate confirmed cases of COVID-19 from SARS-CoV-2 negative patients.

qRT-PCR Platforms for Diagnosing and Reporting SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Human Samples.

The protocols herein outline the use of qRT-PCR to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomic RNA in patient samples. In order to cope with potential fluctuations in supply chain and testing demands and to enable expedient adaptation of reagents and assays on hand, we include details for three parallel methodologies (one- and two-step singleplex and one-step multiplex assays). The diagnostic platforms described can be easily adapted by basic science research laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing with relatively short turnaround time.

Rapid Implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Quantitative Real-Time PCR Test with Emergency Use Authorization at a Large Academic Safety Net Hospital.

Background: Significant delays in the rapid development and distribution of diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection have prevented adequate public health management of the disease, impacting the timely mapping of viral spread and the conservation of personal protective equipment. Furthermore, vulnerable populations, such as those served by the Boston Medical Center (BMC), the largest safety net hospital in New England, represent a high-risk group across multiple dimensions, including a higher prevalence of pre-existing conditions and substance use disorders, lower health maintenance, unstable housing, and a propensity for rapid community spread, highlighting the urgent need for expedient and reliable in-house testing.

Methods: We developed a SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic medium-throughput qRT-PCR assay with rapid turnaround time and utilized this Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified assay for testing nasopharyngeal swab samples from BMC patients, with emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Metabolites in a mouse cancer model enhance venous thrombogenicity through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-tissue factor axis.

Patients with malignancy are at 4- to 7-fold higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), a potentially fatal, yet preventable complication. Although general mechanisms of thrombosis are enhanced in these patients, malignancy-specific triggers and their therapeutic implication remain poorly understood. Here we examined a colon cancer-specific VTE model and probed a set of metabolites with prothrombotic propensity in the inferior vena cava (IVC) ligation model.

HCV screening, linkage to care, and treatment patterns at different sites across one academic medical center.

Background: It is unclear whether sites that screen large numbers of patients for Hepatitis C Virus but achieve limited follow-up are more or less effective at having patients succeed through linkage and treatment than lower volume sites that have higher linkage percentages. The objective was to compare the rates of HCV identification, linkage to care, and treatment success between different study sites including the Emergency Department, 3 outpatient clinics with unique patients, and the inpatient setting at one medical center.

Methods: This is a descriptive analysis of 2 years of data from a protocol that integrated HCV screening and treatment into clinical services throughout multiple departments in one medical center.

A computational solution to improve biomarker reproducibility during long-term projects.

Biomarkers are fundamental to basic and clinical research outcomes by reporting host responses and providing insight into disease pathophysiology. Measuring biomarkers with research-use ELISA kits is universal, yet lack of kit standardization and unexpected lot-to-lot variability presents analytic challenges for long-term projects. During an ongoing two-year project measuring plasma biomarkers in cancer patients, control concentrations for one biomarker (PF) decreased significantly after changes in ELISA kit lots.

The Biospecimen Preanalytical Variables Program: A Multiassay Comparison of Effects of Delay to Fixation and Fixation Duration on Nucleic Acid Quality.

Context.—: Despite widespread use of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue in clinical and research settings, potential effects of variable tissue processing remain largely unknown.

Objective.

Implementation and Preliminary Results of an Emergency Department Nontargeted, Opt-out Hepatitis C Virus Screening Program.

Background: Emergency department (ED) visits provide an opportunity for hepatitis C virus (HCV) screening for patients who otherwise might not be tested. We report on a novel nontargeted, opt-out HCV screening and linkage-to-care (LTC) program implemented in an urban ED.

Methods: This is a descriptive analysis from 3 months (November 2016-January 2017) of a nontargeted, opt-out ED HCV screening and LTC program among patients at least 13 years old undergoing phlebotomy for clinical purposes.

Broad Consent for Research on Biospecimens: The Views of Actual Donors at Four U.S. Medical Centers.

Commentators are concerned that broad consent may not provide biospecimen donors with sufficient information regarding possible future research uses of their tissue. We surveyed with interviews 302 cancer patients who had recently provided broad consent at four diverse academic medical centers. The majority of donors believed that the consent form provided them with sufficient information regarding future possible uses of their biospecimens.

Biobanking-Budgets and the Role of Pathology Biobanks in Precision Medicine.

Biobanks have become an important component of the routine practice of pathology. At the 2016 meeting of the Association of Pathology Chairs, a series of presentations covered several important aspects of biobanking. An often overlooked aspect of biobanking is the fiscal considerations.

The effect of mycophenolate mofetil on disease development in the gld.apoE (-/-) mouse model of accelerated atherosclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease that is characterized by autoantibody production and inflammatory disease involving multiple organs. Premature atherosclerosis is a common complication of SLE and results in substantial morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The reasons for the premature atherosclerosis in SLE are incompletely understood, although chronic inflammation is thought to play an important role.

On the dynamics of nitrite, nitrate and other biomarkers of nitric oxide production in inflammatory bowel disease.

Nitrite and nitrate are frequently used surrogate markers of nitric oxide (NO) production. Using rat models of acute and chronic DSS-induced colitis we examined the applicability of these and other NO-related metabolites, in tissues and blood, for the characterization of inflammatory bowel disease. Global NO dynamics were assessed by simultaneous quantification of nitrite, nitrate, nitroso and nitrosyl species over time in multiple compartments.

1-Tetradecanol complex: therapeutic actions in experimental periodontitis.

Background: The present study was planned to investigate the therapeutic actions of 1-tetradecanol complex (1-TDC), a novel monounsaturated fatty acid mixture, in established periodontitis in rabbits.

Methods: Periodontitis was initiated in 18 New Zealand White rabbits using ligatures around mandibular second premolars, followed by topical Porphyromonas gingivalis application (10(9) colony forming units). After 6 weeks of disease induction (phase 1), three animals were sacrificed to assess the established periodontitis level.

Transcription factor YY1 expression in human gastrointestinal cancer cells.

Over-expression of the multifunctional zinc-finger transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) has been associated with cellular proliferation and resistance to apoptotic stimuli. In this study, we report that YY1 was uniformly highly over-expressed in a wide range of human cancer cell lines and in human colon cancer tissue samples. The examination of YY1-specific mRNA expression demonstrated at least six mRNA isoforms ubiquitously expressed in normal human adult and fetal tissues.

Resolvin E1 regulates inflammation at the cellular and tissue level and restores tissue homeostasis in vivo.

Resolvin E1 (RvE1) is a potent proresolving mediator of inflammation derived from omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid that acts locally to stop leukocyte recruitment and promote resolution. RvE1 displays potent counter-regulatory and tissue-protective actions in vitro and in vivo. Periodontal disease is a local inflammatory disease initiated by bacteria characterized by neutrophil-mediated tissue injury followed by development of a chronic immune lesion.

1-Tetradecanol complex reduces progression of Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced experimental periodontitis in rabbits.

Background: It has been recently shown that monounsaturated fatty acids inhibit endothelial activation and reduce tissue responsiveness to cytokines. The present study has been planned to investigate topical application of a novel monounsaturated fatty acid complex (1-tetradecanol complex) for prevention of Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced periodontitis in rabbits.

Methods: Experimental periodontitis was induced in New Zealand white rabbits with silk sutures tied around the mandibular second premolars bilaterally, followed by the topical application of 10(9) colony forming units (CFU) of P.

Rapamycin delays but does not prevent recovery from acute renal failure: role of acquired tubular resistance.

Background: We reported that rapamycin impairs recovery after acute renal failure (ARF) in rats. The objective of this study was to determine if recovery will eventually occur after ARF despite continued rapamycin treatment.

Methods: ARF was induced in rats by renal artery occlusion.

Topical H2 antagonist prevents periodontitis in a rabbit model.

Cimetidine is a powerful H2 receptor antagonist that eliminates histamine's effects on chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and superoxide anion production by phagocytes. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical and histopathological changes associated with experimental periodontitis in rabbits in response to topically applied cimetidine. Experimental periodontitis was induced in 21 New Zealand White rabbits using Porphyromonas gingivalis (10(9) CFU) topically applied three times a week for a 6-week period to previously ligatured teeth.

NF-kappaB activation precedes increases in mRNA encoding neurokinin-1 receptor, proinflammatory cytokines, and adhesion molecules in dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in rats.

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) plays a key role in initiating inflammation associated with colitis. A systematic study was conducted in the rat DSS colitis model to determine the temporal relationship between NF-kappa B activation and expression of substance P (SP), neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R), proinflammatory cytokines, and adhesion molecules. Rats were given 5% DSS in their water and sacrificed daily for 6 days.

Rapamycin ameliorates proteinuria-associated tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis in experimental membranous nephropathy.

Proteinuria is a risk factor for progression of chronic renal failure. A model of proteinuria-associated tubulointerstitial injury was developed and was used to examine the therapeutic effect of rapamycin. Two studies were performed.