Towards Automated Semantic Segmentation in Mammography Images for Enhanced Clinical Applications.

Mammography images are widely used to detect non-palpable breast lesions or nodules, aiding in cancer prevention and enabling timely intervention when necessary. To support medical analysis, computer-aided detection systems can automate the segmentation of landmark structures, which is helpful in locating abnormalities and evaluating image acquisition adequacy. This paper presents a deep learning-based framework for segmenting the nipple, the pectoral muscle, the fibroglandular tissue, and the fatty tissue in standard-view mammography images.

Immunofocusing on the conserved fusion peptide of HIV envelope glycoprotein in rhesus macaques.

During infection, the fusion peptide (FP) of HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) serves a central role in viral fusion with the host cell. As such, the FP is highly conserved and therefore an attractive epitope for vaccine design. Here, we describe a vaccination study in non-human primates (NHPs) where glycan deletions were made on soluble HIV Env to increase FP epitope exposure.

Conformational ensemble-based framework enables rapid development of Lassa virus vaccine candidates.

Lassa virus (LASV), an arenavirus endemic to West Africa, poses a significant public health threat due to its high pathogenicity and expanding geographic risk zone. LASV glycoprotein complex (GPC) is the only known target of neutralizing antibodies, but its inherent metastability and conformational flexibility have hindered the development of GPC-based vaccines. We employed a variant of AlphaFold2 (AF2), called subsampled AF2, to generate diverse structures of LASV GPC that capture an array of potential conformational states using MSA subsampling and dropout layers.

Estimating the prevalence of chronic infections among asymptomatic migrants: results of a screening programme in Catalonia, Spain.

Background: Migrants are disproportionately affected by several infectious diseases differing the risk within migrant groups. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of six chronic infections in asymptomatic migrants attended at primary care or specialized units where health assessments are offered.

Methods: A multicentric cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C virus, spp, and infections in the migrant population who participated in a screening programme implemented at six primary health care centres, and two infectious diseases outpatient clinics in Catalonia, Spain.

Unexpected Delayed Incursion of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (Clade 2.3.4.4b) Into the Antarctic Region.

The current highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 panzootic is having substantial impacts on wild birds and marine mammals. Following major and widespread outbreaks in South America, an incursion to Antarctica occurred late in the austral summer of 2023/2024 and was confined to the region of the Antarctic Peninsula. To infer potential underlying processes, we compiled H5N1 surveillance data from Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands prior to the first confirmed cases.