Beyond early warning: towards greater granularity in the use of event-based surveillance for public health emergencies.

Background: The international health emergency caused by the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus demonstrated the expanding usefulness of multi-country disease outbreak information gathered through event-based surveillance (EBS) as an extension beyond the main purposes of early warning, alert, and response (EWAR). In this article, previous events of multi-country outbreaks from 2010-2019 were reviewed for how EBS, within an expanded sphere of Epidemic Intelligence (EI), may help to enhance the understanding of outbreaks for a more timely and nuanced, multiple-point trigger approach to health emergencies.

Methods: The public, open-source database of ProMed reports were reviewed for the date of first notification on major outbreaks of infectious diseases and then compared for subsequent dates of any new, exceptional epidemiological findings (novel host, settings, transmission characteristics) as a determining factor for prolonged, multi-country events later acknowledged on the WHO disease outbreak news (DON) website, or by peer-reviewed journal publication if no related DON information became available.

Castrate-resistant prostate cancer response to taxane is determined by an HNF1-dependent apoptosis resistance circuit.

Metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous cancer where advancements are needed in biomarker discovery and targeted therapy. A critical and often effective component of treatment includes taxanes. We perform a high-throughput screen across a cohort of 30 diverse patient-derived castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) organoids to a library of 78 drugs.

Intravenous arachnoid granulation hypertrophy in patients with Parkinson disease.

Intravenous arachnoid granulations (AGs) are protrusions of the arachnoid membrane into the venous lumen and function as contributors to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow circuit. Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) often present with accumulation of alpha synuclein. Previous works have provided evidence for neurofluid circulation dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases associated with changes in CSF egress, which may have implications regarding AG morphology.

Primary series COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among health care workers in the country of Georgia, March-December 2021.

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) have suffered considerable morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) are available from middle-income countries in the WHO European Region. We evaluated primary series COVID-19 VE against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among HCWs in Georgia.

Facilitators and barriers to monitoring and evaluation at syringe service programs.

Background: Syringe services programs (SSPs) provide harm reduction supplies and services to people who use drugs and are often required by funders or partners to collect data from program participants. SSPs can use these data during monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to inform programmatic decision making, however little is known about facilitators and barriers to collecting and using data at SSPs.

Methods: Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), we conducted 12 key informant interviews with SSP staff to describe the overall landscape of data systems at SSPs, understand facilitators and barriers to data collection and use at SSPs, and generate recommendations for best practices for data collection at SSPs.

Outcomes After Implementation of a Fragility Fracture Pathway in Ground Level Falls.

Introduction: Fragility fractures occur due to low energy mechanisms and result in significant morbidity and mortality. This study reviews the implementation of a fragility fracture program at a level I trauma center. In this pathway, trauma surgery provides clearance followed by admission and management with medical service and orthopedic consultation for injuries which meet fragility fracture criteria.

Biological variation in cervical spinal cord MRI morphometry in healthy individuals and people with multiple sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Conclusions from prior literature regarding the impact of sex, age, and height on spinal cord (SC) MRI morphometrics are conflicting, while the effect of body weight on SC morphometrics has been found to be nonsignificant. The purpose of this case-control study is to assess the associations between cervical SC MRI morphometric parameters and age, sex, height, and weight to establish their potential role as confounding variables in a clinical study of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to a cohort of healthy volunteers.

Methods: Sixty-nine healthy volunteers and 31 people with MS underwent cervical SC MRI at 3 Tesla field strength.

COVID-19 vaccination uptake and determinants of booster vaccination among persons who inject drugs in New York City.

Background: Persons who inject drugs (PWID) may be unengaged with healthcare services and face an elevated risk of severe morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 due to chronic diseases and structural inequities. However, data on COVID-19 vaccine uptake, particularly booster vaccination, among PWID are limited. We examined COVID-19 vaccine uptake and factors associated with booster vaccination among PWID in New York City (NYC).

Reduced cerebrospinal fluid motion in patients with Parkinson's disease revealed by magnetic resonance imaging with low b-value diffusion weighted imaging.

Background: Parkinson's disease is characterized by dopamine-responsive symptoms as well as aggregation of α-synuclein protofibrils. New diagnostic methods assess α-synuclein aggregation characteristics from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and recent pathophysiologic mechanisms suggest that CSF circulation disruptions may precipitate α-synuclein retention. Here, diffusion-weighted MRI with low-to-intermediate diffusion-weightings was applied to test the hypothesis that CSF motion is reduced in Parkinson's disease relative to healthy participants.

Hepatitis C treatment outcomes among people who inject drugs experiencing unstable versus stable housing: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) among people who inject drugs (PWID) is between 50-70%. Prior systematic reviews demonstrated that PWID have similar direct acting antiviral treatment outcomes compared to non-PWID; however, reviews have not examined treatment outcomes by housing status. Given the links between housing and health, identifying gaps in HCV treatment can guide future interventions.

The Effect of a Hip Fragility Pathway on Outcomes of Ground Level Falls in the Elderly.

Fragility hip fractures result from low energy mechanisms and are associated with morbidity and mortality, especially in the elderly. We examined outcomes 2 years before and after implementation of a fragility fracture program. The pathway involves emergency department clearance and admission by a medical service with orthopedic consultation.

Deep learning segmentation of the choroid plexus from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): validation and normative ranges across the adult lifespan.

Background: The choroid plexus functions as the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier, plays an important role in CSF production and circulation, and has gained increased attention in light of the recent elucidation of CSF circulation dysfunction in neurodegenerative conditions. However, methods for routinely quantifying choroid plexus volume are suboptimal and require technical improvements and validation. Here, we propose three deep learning models that can segment the choroid plexus from commonly-acquired anatomical MRI data and report performance metrics and changes across the adult lifespan.

Deep learning segmentation of peri-sinus structures from structural magnetic resonance imaging: validation and normative ranges across the adult lifespan.

Background: Peri-sinus structures such as arachnoid granulations (AG) and the parasagittal dural (PSD) space have gained much recent attention as sites of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) egress and neuroimmune surveillance. Neurofluid circulation dysfunction may manifest as morphological changes in these structures, however, automated quantification of these structures is not possible and rather characterization often requires exogenous contrast agents and manual delineation.

Methods: We propose a deep learning architecture to automatically delineate the peri-sinus space (e.

Persistence of Methionine Side Chain Mobility at Low Temperatures in a Nine-Residue Low Complexity Peptide, as Probed by H Solid-State NMR.

Methionine side chains are flexible entities which play important roles in defining hydrophobic interfaces. We utilize deuterium static solid-state NMR to assess rotameric inter-conversions and other dynamic modes of the methionine in the context of a nine-residue random-coil peptide (RC9) with the low-complexity sequence GGKGMGFGL. The measurements in the temperature range of 313 to 161 K demonstrate that the rotameric interconversions in the hydrated solid powder state persist to temperatures below 200 K.

Detecting macromolecular differences of the CSF in low disability multiple sclerosis using quantitative MT MRI at 3T.

Background: Imaging investigation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is understudied. Development of noninvasive methods to detect pathological CSF changes would have a profound effect on MS diagnosis and would offer insight into MS pathophysiology and mechanisms of neurological impairment.

Objective: We propose magnetization transfer (MT) MRI as a tool to detect macromolecular changes in spinal CSF.

Paramagnetic rim lesions and the central vein sign: Characterizing multiple sclerosis imaging markers.

Background And Purpose: Paramagnetic rims and the central vein sign (CVS) are proposed imaging markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. Using 7 tesla magnetic resonance imaging, we aimed to: (1) characterize the appearance of paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs); (2) assess whether PRLs and the CVS are associated with higher levels of MS pathology; and (3) compare the characteristics between subjects with and without PRLs in early MS.

Methods: Prospective study of 32 treatment-naïve subjects around the time of diagnosis who were assessed for the presence of PRLs and the CVS.

Choroid plexus vascular reactivity in moyamoya: Implications for choroid plexus regulation in ischemic stress.

Background And Purpose: Choroid plexus (ChP) hyperemia has been observed in patients with intracranial vasculopathy and to reduce following successful surgical revascularization. This observation may be attributable to impaired vascular reserve of the ChP or other factors, such as the ChP responding to circulating markers of stress. We extend this work to test the hypothesis that vascular reserve of the ChP is unrelated to intracranial vasculopathy.

Detection of resting-state functional connectivity in the lumbar spinal cord with 3T MRI.

Functional MRI (fMRI) of the spinal cord is an expanding area of research with potential to investigate neuronal activity in the central nervous system. We aimed to characterize the functional connectivity features of the human lumbar spinal cord using resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) at 3T, using region-based and data-driven analysis approaches. A 3D multi-shot gradient echo resting-state blood oxygenation level dependent-sensitive rs-fMRI protocol was implemented in 26 healthy participants.