Adjusting Incidence Estimates with Laboratory Test Performances: A Pragmatic Maximum Likelihood Estimation-Based Approach.

Understanding the incidence of disease is often crucial for public policy decision-making, as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimating incidence is challenging, however, when the definition of incidence relies on tests that imperfectly measure disease, as in the case when assays with variable performance are used to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To our knowledge, there are no pragmatic methods to address the bias introduced by the performance of labs in testing for the virus.

Evaluation of Acebilustat, a Selective Inhibitor of Leukotriene B4 Biosynthesis, for Treatment of Outpatients With Mild-Moderate Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial.

Background: The vast majority of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease occurs in outpatients where treatment is limited to antivirals for high-risk subgroups. Acebilustat, a leukotriene B4 inhibitor, has potential to reduce inflammation and symptom duration.

Methods: In a single-center trial spanning Delta and Omicron variants, outpatients were randomized to 100 mg/d of oral acebilustat or placebo for 28 days.

Validity of at-home rapid antigen lateral flow assay and artificial intelligence read to detect SARS-CoV-2.

Background: The gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis-reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)- is expensive and often slow to yield results whereas lateral flow tests can lack sensitivity.

Methods: We tested a rapid, lateral flow antigen (LFA) assay with artificial intelligence read (LFAIR) in subjects from COVID-19 treatment trials (N = 37; daily tests for 5 days) and from a population-based study (N = 88; single test). LFAIR was compared to RT-PCR from same-day samples.

Successful recruitment of monolingual Spanish speaking Latinos to university phase II and III outpatient COVID-19 clinical treatment trials in Northern California.

Through a public County/University partnership, we employed a Spanish/English bilingual research coordinator to increase awareness of newly available treatments with FDA Emergency Use Authorization and clinical trial opportunities for Latino outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Out of the 550 San Mateo County outpatients with COVID-19 referred to Stanford University between July 2020 and April 2022, 9.5% elected to receive monoclonal antibody EUA treatment.

Incidence and Prevalence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Within a Healthcare Worker Cohort During the First Year of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Pandemic.

Background: Preventing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2_ infections in healthcare workers (HCWs) is critical for healthcare delivery. We aimed to estimate and characterize the prevalence and incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a US HCW cohort and to identify risk factors associated with infection.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of HCWs at 3 Bay Area medical centers using serial surveys and SARS-CoV-2 viral and orthogonal serological testing, including measurement of neutralizing antibodies.

Race-ethnicity and COVID-19 Vaccination Beliefs and Intentions: A Cross-Sectional Study among the General Population in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Objective: The study was designed to compare intentions to receive COVID-19 vaccination by race-ethnicity, to identify beliefs that may mediate the association between race-ethnicity and intention to receive the vaccine and to identify the demographic factors and beliefs most strongly predictive of intention to receive a vaccine.

Design: Cross-sectional survey conducted from November 2020 to January 2021, nested within a longitudinal cohort study of the prevalence and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 among a general population-based sample of adults in six San Francisco Bay Area counties (called TrackCOVID). Study Cohort: In total, 3161 participants among the 3935 in the TrackCOVID parent cohort responded.

Design of a population-based longitudinal cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 incidence and prevalence among adults in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Purpose: We describe the design of a longitudinal cohort study to determine SARS-CoV-2 incidence and prevalence among a population-based sample of adults living in six San Francisco Bay Area counties.

Methods: Using an address-based sample, we stratified households by county and by census-tract risk. Risk strata were determined by using regression models to predict infections by geographic area using census-level sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Use of a Connected Glucose Meter and Certified Diabetes Educator Coaching to Decrease the Likelihood of Abnormal Blood Glucose Excursions: The Livongo for Diabetes Program.

Background: The Livongo for Diabetes Program offers members (1) a cellular technology-enabled, two-way messaging device that measures blood glucose (BG), centrally stores the glucose data, and delivers messages back to the individual in real time; (2) unlimited BG test strips; and (3) access to a diabetes coaching team for questions, goal setting, and automated support for abnormal glucose excursions. The program is sponsored by at-risk self-insured employers, health plans and provider organizations where it is free to members with diabetes or it is available directly to the person with diabetes where they cover the cost.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate BG data from 4544 individuals with diabetes who were enrolled in the Livongo program from October 2014 through December 2015.

Review of Environmental Impact on the Epigenetic Regulation of Atopic Diseases.

There has been significant increase in the prevalence of atopy over the past decade that cannot be explained by genetic predisposition. Environmental factors including nutrition, the uterine environment, and lifestyle factors are known to play a role in gene expression through epigenetic modifications. In this article, we review the literature on the environmental impact on epigenetic modulation of atopic diseases including asthma, food allergy, eczema, and allergic rhinitis.

Short-term IL-1beta blockade reduces monocyte CD11b integrin expression in an IL-8 dependent fashion in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: Interleukin 1-beta (IL-1beta) is a major inflammatory cytokine. Blockade of the IL-1beta pathway is therapeutically efficacious in type 2 diabetes, but the mechanistic effects on the immune system are incompletely understood.

Research Design: We administered an IL-1 receptor antagonist, anakinra, to 7 type 1 diabetes patients in order to investigate the immunologic and metabolic effects of this drug.