A genetically engineered parasite vaccine provides protection from controlled human malaria infection.

Genetically engineered live sporozoites constitute a potential platform for creating consistently attenuated, genetically defined, whole-parasite vaccines against malaria through targeted gene deletions. Such genetically attenuated parasites (GAPs) do not require attenuation by irradiation or concomitant drug treatment. We previously developed a (Pf) GAP with deletions in , , and genes (PfGAP3KO) and demonstrated its safety and immunogenicity in humans.

Measuring and evaluating sexual health in the era of digital health: challenges and opportunities.

Digital health has become increasingly embedded within sexual health service delivery and is now an established part of the user journey. It can support the provision of information and access to care across the sexual health continuum and facilitate the delivery of differentiated care with tailored and layered interventions that meet an individual's and target populations' need. However, despite advances in digital health, many challenges remain in the measurement and evaluation of sexual health.

medna-metadata: an open-source data management system for tracking environmental DNA samples and metadata.

Motivation: Environmental DNA (eDNA), as a rapidly expanding research field, stands to benefit from shared resources including sampling protocols, study designs, discovered sequences, and taxonomic assignments to sequences. High-quality community shareable eDNA resources rely heavily on comprehensive metadata documentation that captures the complex workflows covering field sampling, molecular biology lab work, and bioinformatic analyses. There are limited sources that provide documentation of database development on comprehensive metadata for eDNA and these workflows and no open-source software.

Clinical Features and Treatment Outcomes of Pulmonary Complex With and Without Coinfections.

Coinfections are more common in patients with cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis. Infiltrates on imaging studies are seen more commonly in patients with coinfections, but coinfections did not affect treatment outcomes of pulmonary complex.

Reducing New Chlamydia Infection Among Young Men by Promoting Correct and Consistent Condom Use: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: The health, social, and economic costs of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) represent a major public health concern. Young people are considered one of the groups most at risk for acquiring and transmitting STIs. Correct and consistent condom use has been shown to be the most effective method for reducing STIs; however, condoms are often not used properly.

Biomarker prognostication across Universal Definition of Heart Failure stages.

Aim: The Universal Definition of Heart Failure (UDHF) provides a framework for staging risk for HF events. It is not clear whether prognostic biomarkers have different meaning across UDHF stages. We sought to evaluate performance of biomarkers to predict HF events among high-risk patients undergoing coronary and/or peripheral angiography categorized into UDHF stages.

Ubiquitination drives COPI priming and Golgi SNARE localization.

Deciphering mechanisms controlling SNARE localization within the Golgi complex is crucial to understanding protein trafficking patterns within the secretory pathway. SNAREs are also thought to prime coatomer protein I (COPI) assembly to ensure incorporation of these essential cargoes into vesicles, but the regulation of these events is poorly understood. Here, we report roles for ubiquitin recognition by COPI in SNARE trafficking and in stabilizing interactions between Arf, COPI, and Golgi SNAREs in .

Comparison of the impact of skull density ratio with alternative skull metrics on magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for tremor.

Objective: One of the key metrics that is used to predict the likelihood of success of MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy is the overall calvarial skull density ratio (SDR). However, this measure does not fully predict the sonication parameters that would be required or the technical success rates. The authors aimed to assess other skull characteristics that may also contribute to technical success.

SARS-CoV-2 Variant Vaccine Boosters Trial: Preliminary Analyses.

Background: Protection from SARS-CoV-2 vaccines wanes over time and is compounded by emerging variants including Omicron subvariants. This study evaluated safety and immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 variant vaccines.

Methods: This phase 2 open-label, randomized trial enrolled healthy adults previously vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-2 primary series and a single boost.

Symptoms and risk factors for long COVID in non-hospitalized adults.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with a range of persistent symptoms impacting everyday functioning, known as post-COVID-19 condition or long COVID. We undertook a retrospective matched cohort study using a UK-based primary care database, Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum, to determine symptoms that are associated with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection beyond 12 weeks in non-hospitalized adults and the risk factors associated with developing persistent symptoms. We selected 486,149 adults with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1,944,580 propensity score-matched adults with no recorded evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

APOBEC mutagenesis and selection for NFE2L2 contribute to the origin of lung squamous-cell carcinoma.

Lung squamous-cell carcinoma originates as a consequence of oncogenic molecular variants arising from diverse mutagenic processes such as tobacco, defective homologous recombination, aging, and cytidine deamination by APOBEC proteins. Only some of the many variants generated by these processes actually contribute to tumorigenesis. Therefore, molecular investigation of mutagenic processes such as cytidine deamination by APOBEC should also determine whether the mutations produced by these processes contribute substantially to the growth and survival of cancer.

Improving malignancy risk prediction of indeterminate pulmonary nodules with imaging features and biomarkers.

Background: Non-invasive biomarkers are needed to improve management of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs) suspicious for lung cancer.

Methods: Protein biomarkers were quantified in serum samples from patients with 6-30 mm IPNs (n = 338). A previously derived and validated radiomic score based upon nodule shape, size, and texture was calculated from features derived from CT scans.

Utility of Postnatal Chest X-Ray in Newborns for the Evaluation of Prenatally Suspected Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation: A Single-Center Experience.

Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the necessity of chest X-ray (CXR) during the newborn hospitalization for all patients with prenatally suspected congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM).

Study Design: This is a retrospective chart review of all infants delivered with prenatally suspected CPAM at our high-risk delivery hospital from January 2013 through April 2020 ( = 44). Nonparametric tests assessed the association between postnatal CXR findings, prescribed follow-up timeline, and neonatal outcomes.

Telemedicine in rheumatology care: A systematic review.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sudden uptake of telemedicine in rheumatology. We analyzed the recent published literature on telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory, non-inflammatory and/or autoimmune rheumatic diseases.

Methods: We performed a registered systematic search (CRD42020202063) for interventional or observational studies published between August 2015 and January 2022.

Rapid decline in vaccine-boosted neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exhibits reduced susceptibility to vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, requiring a boost to generate protective immunity. We assess the magnitude and short-term durability of neutralizing antibodies after homologous and heterologous boosting with mRNA and Ad26.COV2.

Satisfaction with modes of telemedicine delivery during COVID-19: A randomized, single-blind, parallel group, noninferiority trial.

Background: Little is known about satisfaction with different modes of telemedicine delivery. The objective of this study was to determine whether patient satisfaction with phone-only was noninferior to video visits.

Methods: We conducted a parallel group, randomized (1:1), single-blind, noninferiority trial in multispecialty clinics at a tertiary academic medical center.

Neutrality, conflict, and structural determinants of health in a Jerusalem emergency department.

Background: Medical neutrality is a normative arrangement that differentiates a zone of medical treatment disconnected from the field of politics. While medical neutrality aims to ensure impartial healthcare for all and to shield the healthcare personnel from political demands, it can also divert attention away from conflicts and their effects on health inequity. This article analyzes how healthcare professionals understand and negotiate the depoliticized space of the emergency department (ED) through their views on neutrality.

Structural violence within communities and its impact on the well-being of people with HIV (PWH).

Structural violence (SV) is the concept that there are often invisible and intangible structures in place, whether political, economic, legal, cultural, religious, or social, that can inhibit individuals from reaching their full potential. There is a need to better understand the influence of SV on the well-being of people with HIV (PWH) in the Deep South. To address this gap in the literature, we interpreted data using a Structural Violence framework.

The TIP60-ATM axis regulates replication fork stability in BRCA-deficient cells.

Maintenance of replication fork stability is essential for genome preservation. Stalled replication forks can be reversed by translocases such as SMARCAL1, and unless protected through the activity of the BRCA pathway, are subsequently subjected to nucleolytic degradation. The ATM and ATR kinases are master regulators of the DNA damage response.

Vaccine-associated attenuation of subjective severity among outpatients with influenza.

Influenza vaccines can mitigate illness severity, including reduced risk of ICU admission and death, in people with breakthrough infection. Less is known about vaccine attenuation of mild/moderate influenza illness. We compared subjective severity scores in vaccinated and unvaccinated persons with medically attended illness and laboratory-confirmed influenza.

Serial cardiac biomarkers for risk stratification of patients with COVID-19.

Objectives: Several studies have demonstrated an association between elevated cardiac biomarkers and adverse outcomes in patients with COVID-19. However, the prognostic and predictive capability of a multimarker panel in a prospectively collected, diverse "all-comers" COVID-19 population has not been fully elucidated.

Design & Methods: We prospectively assessed high sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hsTnI), NT-pro B-type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), Galectin-3 (Gal-3), and procalcitonin (PCT) in 4,282 serial samples from 358 patients admitted with symptomatic, RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Resilience and post-traumatic growth in the transition to motherhood during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploratory study.

Most perinatal research relating to COVID-19 focuses on its negative impact on maternal and parental mental health. Currently, there are limited data on how to optimise positive health during the pandemic. We aimed to bridge this knowledge gap by exploring how women have adapted to becoming a new parent during the pandemic and to identify elements of resilience and growth within their narratives.