Extreme precipitation, exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change, drove Peru's record-breaking 2023 dengue outbreak.

Anthropogenic forcing is increasing the likelihood and severity of certain extreme weather events, which may catalyze outbreaks of climate-sensitive infectious diseases. Extreme precipitation events can promote the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses by creating vector habitat, destroying infrastructure, and impeding vector control. Here, we focus on Cyclone Yaku, which caused heavy rainfall in northwestern Peru from March 7th - 20th, 2023 and was followed by the worst dengue outbreak in Peru's history.

Perceived experts are prevalent and influential within an antivaccine community on Twitter.

Perceived experts (i.e. medical professionals and biomedical scientists) are trusted sources of medical information who are especially effective at encouraging vaccine uptake.

Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in West Africa: A systematic review.

A systematic literature review was conducted to examine all recent academic, peer-reviewed studies of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) across adolescent girls in Anglophone West Africa. The objective was to assess the status of the scholarship surrounding the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of MHM across English-speaking West African countries and identify gaps in the literature for further research. The authors searched the epidemiological literatures indexed in PubMed and cross-referenced bibliographies for studies published between 2010-2022.

Structural flexibility and heterogeneity of recombinant human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP).

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a promising biomarker for brain and spinal cord disorders. Recent studies have highlighted the differences in the reliability of GFAP measurements in different biological matrices. The reason for these discrepancies is poorly understood as our knowledge of the protein's 3-dimensional conformation, proteoforms, and aggregation remains limited.

Minority-group incubators and majority-group reservoirs support the diffusion of climate change adaptations.

Successful climate change adaptation depends on the spread and maintenance of adaptive behaviours. Current theory suggests that the heterogeneity of metapopulation structure can help adaptations diffuse throughout a population. In this paper, we develop an agent-based model of the spread of adaptations in populations with minority-majority metapopulation structure, where subpopulations learn more or less frequently from their own group compared to the other group.

Surveillance of Vermont wildlife in 2021-2022 reveals no detected SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA.

Previous studies have documented natural infections of SARS-CoV-2 in various domestic and wild animals. More recently, studies have been published noting the susceptibility of members of the Cervidae family, and infections in both wild and captive cervid populations. In this study, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in mammalian wildlife within the state of Vermont.

Social divisions and risk perception drive divergent epidemics and large later waves.

During infectious disease outbreaks, individuals may adopt protective measures like vaccination and physical distancing in response to awareness of disease burden. Prior work showed how feedbacks between epidemic intensity and awareness-based behaviour shape disease dynamics. These models often overlook social divisions, where population subgroups may be disproportionately impacted by a disease and more responsive to the effects of disease within their group.

Mapping HDX-MS Data to Protein Conformations through Training Ensemble-Based Models.

An original approach that adopts machine learning inference to predict protein structural information using hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is described. The method exploits an in-house optimization program that increases the resolution of HDX-MS data from peptides to amino acids. A system is trained using Gradient Tree Boosting as a type of machine learning ensemble technique to assign a protein secondary structure.

The role and influence of perceived experts in an anti-vaccine misinformation community.

The role of perceived experts (i.e., medical professionals and biomedical scientists) as potential anti-vaccine influencers has not been characterized systematically.

Perinatal Health in Amazon Triple Border Region: Cross-Sectional Analysis Comparing Outcomes in the Brazilian, Peruvian and Colombian Population.

Objective: To investigate the perinatal outcomes in Brazilian, Peruvian, and Colombian women in a Brazilian reference maternity hospital based at Amazon triple border region.

Method: A cross-sectional case study of data from 3242 live birth certificates issued at the Tabatinga public maternity hospital, in the countryside of Amazonas, in the period between January 2015 and December 2017. Maternal and perinatal independent variables were analysed based on central tendency and variability, and frequency distribution for categorical variables.

Operationalizing the centiloid scale for [F]florbetapir PET studies on PET/MRI.

Introduction: The Centiloid scale aims to harmonize amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) measures across different analysis methods. As Centiloids were created using PET/computerized tomography (CT) data and are influenced by scanner differences, we investigated the Centiloid transformation with data from Insight 46 acquired with PET/magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI).

Methods: We transformed standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) from 432 florbetapir PET/MRI scans processed using whole cerebellum (WC) and white matter (WM) references, with and without partial volume correction.

Surveillance of Vermont wildlife in 2021-2022 reveals no detected SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA.

Previous studies have documented natural infections of SARS-CoV-2 in various domestic and wild animals. More recently, studies have been published noting the susceptibility of members of the Cervidae family, and infections in both wild and captive cervid populations. In this study, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in mammalian wildlife within the state of Vermont.

Cortical tau is associated with microstructural imaging biomarkers of neurite density and dendritic complexity in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: In Alzheimer's disease (AD), hyperphosphorylated tau is closely associated with focal neurodegeneration, but the mechanism remains uncertain.

Methods: We quantified cortical microstructure using neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in 14 individuals with young onset AD. Diffusion tensor imaging measured mean diffusivity (MD).

Evaluation of an open forecasting challenge to assess skill of West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease prediction.

Background: West Nile virus (WNV) is the leading cause of mosquito-borne illness in the continental USA. WNV occurrence has high spatiotemporal variation, and current approaches to targeted control of the virus are limited, making forecasting a public health priority. However, little research has been done to compare strengths and weaknesses of WNV disease forecasting approaches on the national scale.

Copper-67-Labeled Bombesin Peptide for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is a promising molecular target for imaging and therapy of prostate cancer using bombesin peptides that bind to the receptor with high affinity. Targeted copper theranostics (TCTs) using copper radionuclides, Cu for imaging and Cu for therapy, offer significant advantages in the development of next-generation theranostics. [Cu]Cu-SAR-BBN is in clinical development for PET imaging of GRPR-expressing cancers.

Combined Spinal-Epidural for Loop Ileostomy in a Patient With End-Stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Case Report.

Anesthesia can be a challenge for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This progressive neurological disease is associated with a high risk of aspiration and postoperative ventilatory failure. Our patient was a 72-year-old man with ALS, quadriplegia, bulbar symptoms, dysphagia, and dysarthria who underwent palliative exploratory laparotomy and loop ileostomy creation.

Generation of Allogeneic CAR T Cells through Specific Degradation of the T Cell Antigen Receptor by E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Fusion Proteins.

Receptor downregulation is instrumental for many therapeutic interventions. Receptor knockout through gene-editing technologies is efficient but can introduce off-target mutations and chromothripsis. Regulation of gene expression at the protein level is a promising alternative.

Seatbelt use among bus passengers in Ghana: observed versus self-reported measures.

Many road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are to bus passengers. We sought to determine the availability, functionality, and observed vs. self-reported use of seatbelts in large intercity buses in Ghana.

Evaluation of a specialist cognitive clinic for the Deaf community.

There are significant health inequalities between Deaf and hearing people, including barriers to accessing care and communication difficulties in consultations. Such problems have particularly affected Deaf people with acquired cognitive deficits, leading to late and missed diagnoses. We therefore established a specialist cognitive clinic for the Deaf community in 2011 at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, which to our knowledge is the first of its kind in the world.

The impact of long-term non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 epidemic dynamics and control: the value and limitations of early models.

Mathematical models of epidemics are important tools for predicting epidemic dynamics and evaluating interventions. Yet, because early models are built on limited information, it is unclear how long they will accurately capture epidemic dynamics. Using a stochastic SEIR model of COVID-19 fitted to reported deaths, we estimated transmission parameters at different time points during the first wave of the epidemic (March-June, 2020) in Santa Clara County, California.

How will mosquitoes adapt to climate warming?

The potential for adaptive evolution to enable species persistence under a changing climate is one of the most important questions for understanding impacts of future climate change. Climate adaptation may be particularly likely for short-lived ectotherms, including many pest, pathogen, and vector species. For these taxa, estimating climate adaptive potential is critical for accurate predictive modeling and public health preparedness.

Quantifying persistence in the T-cell signaling network using an optically controllable antigen receptor.

T cells discriminate between healthy and infected cells with remarkable sensitivity when mounting an immune response, which is hypothesized to depend on T cells combining stimuli from multiple antigen-presenting cell interactions into a more potent response. To quantify the capacity for T cells to accomplish this, we have developed an antigen receptor that is optically tunable within cell conjugates, providing control over the duration, and intensity of intracellular T-cell signaling. We observe limited persistence within the T-cell intracellular network on disruption of receptor input, with signals dissipating entirely in ~15 min, and directly show sustained proximal receptor signaling is required to maintain gene transcription.