Associations between common genetic variants and income provide insights about the socio-economic health gradient.

We conducted a genome-wide association study on income among individuals of European descent (N = 668,288) to investigate the relationship between socio-economic status and health disparities. We identified 162 genomic loci associated with a common genetic factor underlying various income measures, all with small effect sizes (the Income Factor). Our polygenic index captures 1-5% of income variance, with only one fourth due to direct genetic effects.

Associations of maternal night shift work during pregnancy with DNA methylation in offspring: a meta-analysis in the PACE consortium.

Background: Night shift work during pregnancy has been associated with differential DNA methylation in placental tissue, but no studies have explored this association in cord blood. We aimed to examine associations of maternal night shift work with cord blood DNA methylation.

Methods: A total of 4487 mother-newborn pairs from 7 studies were included.

Assessing bnAb potency in the context of HIV-1 envelope conformational plasticity.

For use in prevention and treatment, HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) have to overcome Env conformational heterogeneity of viral quasispecies and neutralize with constant high potency. Comparative analysis of neutralization data from the CATNAP database revealed a nuanced relationship between bnAb activity and Env conformational flexibility, with substantial epitope-specific variation of bnAb potency ranging from increased to decreased activity against open, neutralization-sensitive Env. To systematically investigate the impact of variability in Env conformation on bnAb potency we screened 126 JR-CSF point mutants for generalized neutralization sensitivity to weakly neutralizing antibodies (weak-nAbs) depending on trimer opening and plasma from people with chronic HIV-1 infection.

Effectiveness of couple-based violence prevention education in reducing intimate partner violence during pregnancy in rural Ethiopia: A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Pregnancy is often seen as a joyful and fulfilling time for many women. However, a significant number of women in Ethiopia experience intimate partner violence (IPV) during this period. Despite this, there is limited evidence on interventions aimed at preventing violence during pregnancy.

trans-2-Octenal controls Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, the causal agent of tomato wilt in vitro, in soil and in the field.

Background: Fungal plant diseases cause major crop losses. Phytopathogenic fungi's ability to evolve resistance to fungicides, alongside ongoing prohibition of such agents by the European Commission because of their pronounced adverse effects on human health and the environment, make their control a challenge. Moreover, the development of less perilous fungicides is a complex task.

Scale-up of CHO cell cultures: from 96-well-microtiter plates to stirred tank reactors across three orders of magnitude.

Background: For process development in mammalian cell cultivations, scale-up approaches are essential. A lot of studies concern the scale transfer between different-sized stirred tank reactors. However, process development usually starts in even smaller cultivation vessels like microtiter plates or shake flasks.

Post-COVID symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 omicron infection and the effect of booster vaccination: A population-based cohort study.

Background: The impact of vaccination on the type and risk of specific post-COVID symptoms after Omicron infection is not clear. We aimed to investigate the excess risk and patterns of 22 symptoms 3-5 months after Omicron infection, comparing uninfected and infected subjects with and without recent booster vaccination.

Methods: We conducted a population-based prospective study based on four questionnaire-based cohorts linked to national health registries.

Factors associated with the delay in diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis at the patient and health system level: A study from a rural setting in India.

Background: With the proportion of tuberculosis cases that are extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) increasing in recent years, understanding and addressing factors contributing to the prolonged time to diagnosis (TTD) of EPTB patients is vital.

Methods: We enrolled presumptive EPTB patients for a cohort study from 2018-2020 in Ujjain, India. Based on a structured questionnaire, the patients were interviewed for socio-demographic and clinical information, including previously visited health facilities (HF) for this illness.

Multi-ancestry GWAS of severe pregnancy nausea and vomiting identifies risk loci associated with appetite, insulin signaling, and brain plasticity.

While most pregnancies are affected by nausea and vomiting, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is at the severe end of the clinical spectrum and is associated with dehydration, undernutrition, and adverse maternal, fetal, and child outcomes. Herein we performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy of 10,974 cases and 461,461 controls across European, Asian, African, and Latino ancestries. We identified ten significantly associated loci, of which six were novel (, , , , , and , and confirmed previous genome-wide significant associations with risk genes , , , and .

Psychosocial and Behavioral Impacts of the Mpox Outbreak among People with and without HIV in the United States.

Over 32,000 mpox cases were identified in the United States (US) within one year of the start of the global outbreak in 2022. Research on how the mpox outbreak affected individuals' lives is limited. We analyzed qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional survey data collected from 60 participants in August 2022 to (1) describe mpox-related psychosocial and behavioral impacts among adults in the US and (2) explore differences in mpox-related impacts by HIV status.

The Open Hand Initiative: Facilitating the Use of Real-World Evidence in Regulatory Submissions Through Collaboration and Transparency.

Real-world data (RWD) collected to generate real-world evidence (RWE) holds promise for expediting patient and healthcare provider access to new in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) by serving as evidence to demonstrate test performance or utility. However, uncertainties remain for IVD developers (device manufacturers), regulators, and other healthcare stakeholders on the specifics of collecting fit-for-purpose RWD and using RWE for regulatory decision-making. We report on a unique approach to medical device regulatory review called the Open Hand Initiative, by which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and device manufacturers collaborate to ensure the appropriate use of RWD/RWE to support regulatory decision-making.

Evaluating causal associations of chronotype with pregnancy and perinatal outcomes and its interactions with insomnia and sleep duration: a mendelian randomization study.

Background: Observational studies suggested chronotype was associated with pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. Whether these associations are causal is unclear. Our aims are to use Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore (1) associations of evening preference with stillbirth, miscarriage, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, perinatal depression, preterm birth and offspring birthweight; and (2) differences in associations of insomnia and sleep duration with those outcomes between chronotype preferences.

MinLinMo: a minimalist approach to variable selection and linear model prediction.

Generating prediction models from high dimensional data often result in large models with many predictors. Causal inference for such models can therefore be difficult or even impossible in practice. The stand-alone software package MinLinMo emphasizes small linear prediction models over highest possible predictability with a particular focus on including variables correlated with the outcome, minimal memory usage and speed.

Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study.

Background: Telomere length (TL) has been reported to be associated with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, with some studies finding associations with shorter TL and others with longer TL. In men, studies mostly report associations between shorter TL and sperm quality. To our knowledge, no studies have thus far investigated associations between TL and fecundability or the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Sampling-free investigation of microbial carbon source preferences on renewable feedstocks via online monitoring of oxygen transfer rate.

The transition towards sustainable bioprocesses requires renewable feedstocks to reduce dependency on finite resources. While plant-based feedstocks offer significant potential, their complex composition poses new challenges. The microorganisms often exhibit polyauxic growth when presented with multiple carbon sources simultaneously, consuming them in a distinct order according to their carbon source preferences.

High-sensitivity real-time monitoring of pH and respiration activity unveils metabolic dynamics in shake flask cultures.

Erlenmeyer shake flasks are widely used during the first steps of bioprocess development. Despite their broad application in academia and industry, shake flasks usually lack standardized and user-friendly online monitoring techniques. In this work, the pH and Respiratory Activity MOnitoring System (pH-RAMOS) for the non-invasive online measurement of the oxygen transfer rate (OTR), carbon dioxide transfer rate (CTR), and pH in up to eight parallel shake flasks under sterile conditions is presented.

Effects of feeding and aeration strategies on NO production and emission by an aerobic granular sludge system for municipal wastewater treatment.

The effects of a single feeding cycle followed by a continuous aeration phase (AND) and a step-feeding cycle followed by intermittent aerobic/idle phases (AND) on the production and emission of nitrous oxide (NO) from aerobic granular sludge (AGS) from real domestic sewage were studied. Higher NO emissions were observed in the AND treatment, and 9.2 ± 4.

Mass cytometry reveals cellular correlates of immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the elderly.

Heterogeneity in vaccine response, particularly in vulnerable populations like the elderly, represents a significant public health challenge. We conducted an in-depth examination of immune cell profiles before and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination utilizing mass cytometry in a cohort of healthy Norwegian seniors (65-80 years). We have demonstrated that higher pre-vaccination frequencies of CD27IgD class-switched memory B cells and subsets of CD27CD24CD38 transitional B cells were associated with a robust vaccine response.

Caesarean section and risk of infection in offspring: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Objective: To compare the risk of hospital admissions with infections and infections not in hospital in children born by caesarean section with children born by vaginal birth.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, and PubMed were searched with no restriction on start date up to 12 February 2024.

Study Selection: Observational studies were included that reported the association between caesarean section and vaginal birth in relation to the risk of infections (both those that lead to hospital admission and those that do not) up to 18 years of age.

Multi-ancestry GWAS of severe pregnancy nausea and vomiting identifies risk loci associated with appetite, insulin signaling, and brain plasticity.

While most pregnancies are affected by nausea and vomiting, hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is at the severe end of the clinical spectrum and is associated with dehydration, undernutrition, and adverse maternal, fetal, and child outcomes. Herein we performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) of severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy of 10,974 cases and 461,461 controls across European, Asian, African, and Latino ancestries. We identified ten significantly associated loci, of which six were novel (, , , , , and , and confirmed previous genome-wide significant associations with risk genes , , , and .