SARS-CoV-2 Diversity and Transmission on a University Campus across Two Academic Years during the Pandemic.

Background: Institutions of higher education (IHE) have been a focus of SARS-CoV-2 transmission studies but there is limited information on how viral diversity and transmission at IHE changed as the pandemic progressed.

Methods: Here we analyze 3606 viral genomes from unique COVID-19 episodes collected at a public university in Seattle, Washington from September 2020 to September 2022.

Results: Across the study period, we found evidence of frequent viral transmission among university affiliates with 60% (n = 2153) of viral genomes from campus specimens genetically identical to at least one other campus specimen.

Infectious Disease Management in Pediatric Emergency Departments in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Diagnostic Tools, Treatment Protocols, and Preventive Measures.

Pediatric Emergency Departments (PEDs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face significant challenges in managing infectious diseases due to limited resources, poor infrastructure, and socioeconomic barriers. This review explores the burden of infectious diseases in pediatric populations, the diagnostic tools available, treatment protocols, and preventive measures implemented in LMIC PEDs. We emphasize the need for an integrated approach to improve health outcomes, focusing on enhancing healthcare infrastructure, training healthcare workers, and promoting public health awareness.

Clinical and Genomic Epidemiology of Coxsackievirus A21 and Enterovirus D68 in Homeless Shelters, King County, Washington, USA, 2019-2021.

Congregate homeless shelters are disproportionately affected by infectious disease outbreaks. We describe enterovirus epidemiology across 23 adult and family shelters in King County, Washington, USA, during October 2019-May 2021, by using repeated cross-sectional respiratory illness and environmental surveillance and viral genome sequencing. Among 3,281 participants >3 months of age, we identified coxsackievirus A21 (CVA21) in 39 adult residents (3.

Stilbene Treatment Reduces Stemness Features in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Model.

Lung cancer is among the most clinically challenging tumors because of its aggressive proliferation, metastasis, and the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Natural bioactive substances have been used for cancer prevention, and, in particular, resveratrol (RSV), a stilbene-based compound with wide biological properties, has been proposed for chemoprevention. Its lesser-known analogue 4,4'-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene (DHS) has demonstrated superior activity both in cell-based assays and in mouse and zebrafish in vivo models.

Fine-scale spatial and social patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from identical pathogen sequences.

Pathogen genomics can provide insights into underlying infectious disease transmission patterns, but new methods are needed to handle modern large-scale pathogen genome datasets and realize this full potential. In particular, genetically proximal viruses should be highly informative about transmission events as genetic proximity indicates epidemiological linkage. Here, we leverage pairs of identical sequences to characterise fine-scale transmission patterns using 114,298 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected through Washington State (USA) genomic sentinel surveillance with associated age and residence location information between March 2021 and December 2022.

Impacts of human mobility on the citywide transmission dynamics of 18 respiratory viruses in pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic years.

Many studies have used mobile device location data to model SARS-CoV-2 dynamics, yet relationships between mobility behavior and endemic respiratory pathogens are less understood. We studied the effects of population mobility on the transmission of 17 endemic viruses and SARS-CoV-2 in Seattle over a 4-year period, 2018-2022. Before 2020, visits to schools and daycares, within-city mixing, and visitor inflow preceded or coincided with seasonal outbreaks of endemic viruses.

Local-scale phylodynamics reveal differential community impact of SARS-CoV-2 in a metropolitan US county.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission is largely driven by heterogeneous dynamics at a local scale, leaving local health departments to design interventions with limited information. We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomes sampled between February 2020 and March 2022 jointly with epidemiological and cell phone mobility data to investigate fine scale spatiotemporal SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in King County, Washington, a diverse, metropolitan US county. We applied an approximate structured coalescent approach to model transmission within and between North King County and South King County alongside the rate of outside introductions into the county.

Real-life Effectiveness of Omalizumab in Patients with Severe Allergic Asthma: RELIEF Study.

Introduction: Patients with severe allergic asthma (SAA) are at risk of severe exacerbations. Omalizumab is recommended as an add-on treatment for patients with uncontrolled SAA, despite high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and long acting β-agonist combination therapy (standard therapy).RELIEF was a prospective, open label, multicenter study conducted to assess the real-life effectiveness of omalizumab co-administered with standard therapy in patients with SAA for 24 months.

Analysis of heat stroke and heat exhaustion cases in EudraVigilance pharmacovigilance database.

Background: The frequency and intensity of heat waves have increased and will keep increasing. This meteorological phenomenon, which is considered one of the most dangerous, can affect the entire population, but certain populations are at greater risk. Concretely, elderly people are more prompt to suffer from chronic diseases and therefore to be on medication that can interact with the different temperature-regulating systems of the body.

Local-Scale phylodynamics reveal differential community impact of SARS-CoV-2 in metropolitan US county.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission is largely driven by heterogeneous dynamics at a local scale, leaving local health departments to design interventions with limited information. We analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomes sampled between February 2020 and March 2022 jointly with epidemiological and cell phone mobility data to investigate fine scale spatiotemporal SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in King County, Washington, a diverse, metropolitan US county. We applied an approximate structured coalescent approach to model transmission within and between North King County and South King County alongside the rate of outside introductions into the county.

Trends in Risk Factors and Symptoms Associated With SARS-CoV-2 and Rhinovirus Test Positivity in King County, Washington, June 2020 to July 2022.

Importance: Few US studies have reexamined risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 positivity in the context of widespread vaccination and new variants or considered risk factors for cocirculating endemic viruses, such as rhinovirus.

Objectives: To evaluate how risk factors and symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 test positivity changed over the course of the pandemic and to compare these with the risk factors associated with rhinovirus test positivity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This case-control study used a test-negative design with multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between SARS-CoV-2 and rhinovirus test positivity and self-reported demographic and symptom variables over a 25-month period.

Peripheral neuropathy in leprosy: Clinical manifestations and disability in a Colombian national referral center.

To aim of the paper was to describe the neurological features of the physical examination in patients with Hansen's disease who were treated in Bogotá, Colombia. We carried out a descriptive study of all patients with a Hansen's disease diagnosis treated at a referral center between 2003-2018. There were 327 eligible electronic health records (EHRs) with a final sample of 282 subjects.

Associations Between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Variants and Risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Hospitalization Among Confirmed Cases in Washington State: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is dominated by variant viruses; the resulting impact on disease severity remains unclear. Using a retrospective cohort study, we assessed the hospitalization risk following infection with 7 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants.

Methods: Our study includes individuals with positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the Washington Disease Reporting System with available viral genome data, from 1 December 2020 to 14 January 2022.

Respiratory and allergic outcomes among 5-year-old children exposed to pesticides.

Background: Little is known about the effects of pesticides on children's respiratory and allergic outcomes. We evaluated associations of prenatal and current pesticide exposures with respiratory and allergic outcomes in children from the Infants' Environmental Health Study in Costa Rica.

Methods: Among 5-year-old children (n=303), we measured prenatal and current specific gravity-corrected urinary metabolite concentrations of insecticides (chlorpyrifos, pyrethroids), fungicides (mancozeb, pyrimethanil, thiabendazole) and 2,4-D.

In vivo mRNA delivery to virus-specific T cells by light-induced ligand exchange of MHC class I antigen-presenting nanoparticles.

Simultaneous delivery of mRNA to multiple populations of antigen (Ag)-specific CD8 T cells is challenging given the diversity of peptide epitopes and polymorphism of class I major histocompatibility complexes (MHCI). We developed Ag-presenting nanoparticles (APNs) for mRNA delivery using pMHCI molecules that were refolded with photocleavable peptides to allow rapid ligand exchange by UV light and site-specifically conjugated with a lipid tail for postinsertion into preformed mRNA lipid nanoparticles. Across different TCR transgenic mouse models (P14, OT-1, and Pmel), UV-exchanged APNs bound and transfected their cognate Ag-specific CD8 T cells equivalent to APNs produced using conventionally refolded pMHCI molecules.

Augmented lipid-nanoparticle-mediated in vivo genome editing in the lungs and spleen by disrupting Cas9 activity in the liver.

Systemically delivered lipid nanoparticles are preferentially taken up by hepatocytes. This hinders the development of effective, non-viral means of editing genes in tissues other than the liver. Here we show that lipid-nanoparticle-mediated gene editing in the lung and spleen of adult mice can be enhanced by reducing Cas9-mediated insertions and deletions in hepatocytes via oligonucleotides disrupting the secondary structure of single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs) and also via their combination with short interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting Cas9 messenger RNA (mRNA).

Interactions among 17 respiratory pathogens: a cross-sectional study using clinical and community surveillance data.

Background: Co-circulating respiratory pathogens can interfere with or promote each other, leading to important effects on disease epidemiology. Estimating the magnitude of pathogen-pathogen interactions from clinical specimens is challenging because sampling from symptomatic individuals can create biased estimates.

Methods: We conducted an observational, cross-sectional study using samples collected by the Seattle Flu Study between 11 November 2018 and 20 August 2021.

Effectiveness of the ICCMS caries management system for children: a 3-year multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Objective: This 3-year multicentre randomised controlled trial compared, in 6-7-year-old Colombian children, the effectiveness of the ICCMS (International Caries Classification and Management System) with a conventional caries-management system (CCMS) in terms of individual caries-risk, caries lesions, and secondarily, oral-health-related knowledge/attitudes/practices, and number of appointments.

Material And Methods: With ethical approval, 240 6-7-year olds from six Colombian clinics were recruited. Trained examiners conducted the following baseline/follow-up assessments: Caries risk (Cariogram-ICCMS); caries severity/activity staging (ICDAS-merged combined radiographic/visual); sealants/fillings/missing teeth, and oral-health-related knowledge, attitudes and practices.

Associations between SARS-CoV-2 variants and risk of COVID-19 hospitalization among confirmed cases in Washington State: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is dominated by variant viruses; the resulting impact on disease severity remains unclear. Using a retrospective cohort study, we assessed the hospitalization risk following infection with seven SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Methods: Our study includes individuals with positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR in the Washington Disease Reporting System with available viral genome data, from December 1, 2020 to January 14, 2022.

Synthetic biomarkers: a twenty-first century path to early cancer detection.

Detection of cancer at an early stage when it is still localized improves patient response to medical interventions for most cancer types. The success of screening tools such as cervical cytology to reduce mortality has spurred significant interest in new methods for early detection (for example, using non-invasive blood-based or biofluid-based biomarkers). Yet biomarkers shed from early lesions are limited by fundamental biological and mass transport barriers - such as short circulation times and blood dilution - that limit early detection.

Enhanced intratumoural activity of CAR T cells engineered to produce immunomodulators under photothermal control.

Treating solid malignancies with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells typically results in poor responses. Immunomodulatory biologics delivered systemically can augment the cells' activity, but off-target toxicity narrows the therapeutic window. Here we show that the activity of intratumoural CAR T cells can be controlled photothermally via synthetic gene switches that trigger the expression of transgenes in response to mild temperature elevations (to 40-42 °C).

SwabExpress: An End-to-End Protocol for Extraction-Free COVID-19 Testing.

Background: The urgent need for massively scaled clinical testing for SARS-CoV-2, along with global shortages of critical reagents and supplies, has necessitated development of streamlined laboratory testing protocols. Conventional nucleic acid testing for SARS-CoV-2 involves collection of a clinical specimen with a nasopharyngeal swab in transport medium, nucleic acid extraction, and quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). As testing has scaled across the world, the global supply chain has buckled, rendering testing reagents and materials scarce.

CariesCare International adapted for the pandemic in children: Caries OUT multicentre single-group interventional study protocol.

Background: Comprehensive caries care has shown effectiveness in controlling caries progression and improving health outcomes by controlling caries risk, preventing initial-caries lesions progression, and patient satisfaction. To date, the caries-progression control effectiveness of the patient-centred risk-based CariesCare International (CCI) system, derived from ICCMS™ for the practice (2019), remains unproven. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic a previously planned multi-centre RCT shifted to this "Caries OUT" study, aiming to assess in a single-intervention group in children, the caries-control effectiveness of CCI adapted for the pandemic with non-aerosols generating procedures (non-AGP) and reducing in-office time.