SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence in the Okinawa Main Island and remote islands in Okinawa, Japan, 2020-2021.

We estimated the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG in different island groups in Okinawa. A cross-sectional sero-survey was repeated in three periods between July 2020 and February 2021. A total of 2683 serum samples were collected from six referral medical centers, each covering a separate region in Okinawa.

Prevalence of steatotic liver disease, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis among community-dwelling overweight and obese individuals in the USA.

Background: There are limited prospective data among overweight and obese individuals on the prevalence of advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis using advanced MRI-based methods in the USA. The aim of this study was to fill that gap in knowledge by prospectively determining the MRI-based prevalence of steatotic liver disease (SLD) and its subcategories, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis among overweight and obese individuals residing in the USA.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of prospectively enrolled overweight or obese adults aged 40-75 years from primary care and community-based settings in Southern California.

COVID-19 serological survey using micro blood sampling.

During August 2020, we carried out a serological survey among students and employees at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), Japan, testing for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. We used a FDA-authorized 2-step ELISA protocol in combination with at-home self-collection of blood samples using a custom low-cost finger prick-based capillary blood collection kit. Although our survey did not find any COVID-19 seropositive individuals among the OIST cohort, it reliably detected all positive control samples obtained from a local hospital and excluded all negatives controls.

Ray Systems in Granular Cratering.

In classical experiments of granular cratering, a ball dropped on an evened-out bed of grains ends up within a crater surrounded by a uniform blanket of ejecta. In this Letter, we show that the uniform blanket of ejecta changes to a ray system, or set of radial streaks of ejecta, where the surface of the granular bed includes undulations, a factor that has not been addressed to date. By carrying out numerous experiments and computational simulations thereof, we ascertain that the number of rays in a ray system ∝D/λ, where D is the diameter of the ball and λ is the wavelength of the undulations.

Detection of subcutaneous and intramuscular air with sonography: a sensitive and specific modality.

Objectives: Soft tissue air may raise suspicion for several life-threatening illnesses. Physical examination has limited sensitivity in detecting air, and computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are time-consuming and expensive. Sonography can show soft tissue air, but the sensitivity and specificity in this setting are currently unknown.