Understanding the Omicron Variant Impact in Healthcare Workers: Insights from the Prospective COVID-19 Post-Immunization Serological Cohort in Munich (KoCo-Impf) on Risk Factors for Breakthrough and Reinfections.

This study analyzes immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection, including asymptomatic cases, focusing on infection risks during the Omicron wave, particularly among high-risk healthcare workers. In the KoCo-Impf study, we monitored 6088 vaccinated participants in Munich aged 18 and above. From 13 May to 31 July 2022, 2351 participants were follow-uped.

Chromatic cues for the sign of defocus in the peripheral retina.

Detecting optical defocus at the retina is crucial for accurate accommodation and emmetropization. However, the optical characteristics of ocular defocus are not fully understood. To bridge this knowledge gap, we simulated polychromatic retinal image quality by considering both the monochromatic wavefront aberrations and chromatic aberrations of the eye, both in the fovea and the periphery (nasal visual field).

A Dried Blood Spot protocol for high-throughput quantitative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RBD serology based on the Roche Elecsys system.

SARS-CoV-2 spreads pandemically since 2020; in 2021, effective vaccinations became available and vaccination campaigns commenced. Still, it is hard to track the spread of the infection or to assess vaccination success in the broader population. Measuring specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies is the most effective tool to track the spread of the infection or successful vaccinations.

Studying temporal titre evolution of commercial SARS-CoV-2 assays reveals significant shortcomings of using BAU standardization for comparison.

Background: Measuring specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies has become one of the main epidemiological tools to survey the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, but also vaccination response. The WHO made available a set of well-characterized samples derived from recovered individuals to allow normalization between different quantitative anti-Spike assays to defined Binding Antibody Units (BAU).

Methods: To assess sero-responses longitudinally, a cohort of ninety-nine SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive subjects was followed up together with forty-five vaccinees without previous infection but with two vaccinations.

The Prospective COVID-19 Post-Immunization Serological Cohort in Munich (KoCo-Impf): Risk Factors and Determinants of Immune Response in Healthcare Workers.

Antibody studies analyze immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection, which is crucial for selecting vaccination strategies. In the KoCo-Impf study, conducted between 16 June and 16 December 2021, 6088 participants aged 18 and above from Munich were recruited to monitor antibodies, particularly in healthcare workers (HCWs) at higher risk of infection. Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assays on dried blood spots were used to detect prior infections (anti-Nucleocapsid antibodies) and to indicate combinations of vaccinations/infections (anti-Spike antibodies).

The representative COVID-19 cohort Munich (KoCo19): from the beginning of the pandemic to the Delta virus variant.

Background: Population-based serological studies allow to estimate prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections despite a substantial number of mild or asymptomatic disease courses. This became even more relevant for decision making after vaccination started. The KoCo19 cohort tracks the pandemic progress in the Munich general population for over two years, setting it apart in Europe.

Nutrition as a driver and outcome of agroecology.

The principles of agroecology do not explicitly state a link with nutrition. Yet, we argue that among them, input reduction, biodiversity, economic diversification, social values and diets, fairness, connectivity and participation are directly linked to nutrition. Nutrition can serve as a critical outcome and driver of agroecological practices and can drive transformative change across the food system.

Nutrition in City Ecosystems (NICE): Protocol of a multi-sectoral development project to improve food and nutrition security of secondary city populations in Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda.

Background: Secondary cities tend to be better linked with local food systems than primate cities, acting as important platforms to trade agricultural produce with rural surrounding. COVID-19, conflicts and climate change continue to expose inefficiencies in food systems and have further exacerbated malnutrition, calling for substantial food systems transformations. However, tackling current food systems' challenges requires new approaches to ensure food and nutrition security.

From first to second wave: follow-up of the prospective COVID-19 cohort (KoCo19) in Munich (Germany).

Background: In the 2nd year of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge about the dynamics of the infection in the general population is still limited. Such information is essential for health planners, as many of those infected show no or only mild symptoms and thus, escape the surveillance system. We therefore aimed to describe the course of the pandemic in the Munich general population living in private households from April 2020 to January 2021.

Broad T Cell Targeting of Structural Proteins After SARS-CoV-2 Infection: High Throughput Assessment of T Cell Reactivity Using an Automated Interferon Gamma Release Assay.

Background: Adaptive immune responses to structural proteins of the virion play a crucial role in protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We therefore studied T cell responses against multiple SARS-CoV-2 structural proteins in a large cohort using a simple, fast, and high-throughput approach.

Methods: An automated interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) for the Nucleocapsid (NC)-, Membrane (M)-, Spike-C-terminus (SCT)-, and N-terminus-protein (SNT)-specific T cell responses was performed using fresh whole blood from study subjects with convalescent, confirmed COVID-19 (n = 177, more than 200 days post infection), exposed household members (n = 145), and unexposed controls (n = 85).

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Infection in the Representative COVID-19 Cohort Munich.

Given the large number of mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases, only population-based studies can provide reliable estimates of the magnitude of the pandemic. We therefore aimed to assess the sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the Munich general population after the first wave of the pandemic. For this purpose, we drew a representative sample of 2994 private households and invited household members 14 years and older to complete questionnaires and to provide blood samples.

Children's Attention to Mother and Adolescent Stress Moderate the Attachment-Depressive Symptoms Link.

The breadth of children's attentional field around their mother determines whether securely or insecurely attached children are at risk to develop depressive symptoms when confronted with distress in adolescence. To test this effect longitudinally, we measured children's ( = 10.93; = 109) baseline attentional breadth around their mother, attachment status (combining attachment coherence, secure base script knowledge, and self-reported trust), and self-reported depressive symptoms.

Trust development as an expectancy-learning process: Testing contingency effects.

Trust in parental support and subsequent support seeking behavior, a hallmark of secure attachment, result from experiences with sensitive parents during distress. However, the underlying developmental mechanism remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that trust is the result of an expectancy-learning process condtional upon contingency (the probability that caregiver support has a positive outcome).

A Further Validation of the Cognitive Bias Modification Effect on Trust in Middle Childhood.

Recent middle childhood research suggests that children's trust in maternal support can be manipulated using Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) aimed at changing children's interpretation of ambiguous maternal support-related behavior. The current study with 60 children (40 girls, M = 10.62, SD = 1.

Combining oxytocin and cognitive bias modification training in a randomized controlled trial: Effects on trust in maternal support.

Background And Objectives: Research on the social effects of intranasal oxytocin in children is scarce. Oxytocin has been proposed to have clearer beneficial effects when added to social learning paradigms. The current study tested this proposition in middle childhood by assessing effects of cognitive bias modification (CBM) training and oxytocin on trust in maternal support.

Stability and change in secure base script knowledge during middle childhood and early adolescence: A 3-year longitudinal study.

There is limited research examining stability and change in attachment security in middle childhood. The current study addresses this gap using data from a 3-year longitudinal study. Specifically, we examined stability and change in secure base script knowledge during middle childhood using a sample of 157 children (Wave 1 mean age [] = 10.

Peripheral resolution and contrast sensitivity: effects of monochromatic and chromatic aberrations.

Correction and manipulation of peripheral refractive errors are indispensable for people with central vision loss and in optical interventions for myopia control. This study investigates further enhancements of peripheral vision by compensating for monochromatic higher-order aberrations (with an adaptive optics system) and chromatic aberrations (with a narrowband green filter, 550 nm) in the 20° nasal visual field. Both high-contrast detection cutoff and contrast sensitivity improved with optical correction.

Interpretation bias in middle childhood attachment: Causal effects on attachment memories and scripts.

Attachment theory implies the causal influence of interpretation bias on the attachment-related expectations. Previous research demonstrated that training children to interpret maternal behavior as more supportive increased their trust in maternal support. The current study explored possible training effects on two attachment script-related processes: recollection of attachment-related memories and secure base script knowledge.

The effects of Cognitive Bias Modification training and oxytocin administration on trust in maternal support: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Lack of trust in parental support is a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of psychological problems throughout the lifespan. Research suggests that children's cognitive attachment representations and related information processing biases could be an important target for interventions aiming to build trust in the parent-child relationship. A paradigm that can alter these biases and increase trust is that of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM), during which a target processing bias is systematically trained.

Transverse chromatic aberration across the visual field of the human eye.

The purpose of this study was to measure the transverse chromatic aberration (TCA) across the visual field of the human eye objectively. TCA was measured at horizontal and vertical field angles out to ±15° from foveal fixation in the right eye of four subjects. Interleaved retinal images were taken at wavelengths 543 nm and 842 nm in an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO).

Exploring the Causal Effect of Interpretation Bias on Attachment Expectations.

Attachment theory implies that children's inclination to interpret attachment figures behavior as supportive and available causally influences children's trust in their attachment figure's availability. An experiment was conducted to test whether training children (8-12 years old) to interpret ambiguous interactions with their mothers in a more secure way increases their trust in their mother's availability. Participants (N = 49) were randomly assigned to either a secure condition to train children to interpret their mother's behavior as supportive or a neutral placebo condition, where interpretations were unrelated to maternal support.

Eye-tracking technology for real-time monitoring of transverse chromatic aberration.

Objective measurements of transverse chromatic aberration (TCA) between two or more wavelengths with an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) are very accurate, but frequent measurements are impractical in many experimental settings. Here, we demonstrate a pupil tracker that can accurately measure relative changes in TCA that are caused by small shifts in the pupil relative to the AOSLO imaging beam. Corrections for TCA caused by these shifts improve the measurement of TCA as a function of eccentricity, revealing a strong linear relationship.

Choice of Grating Orientation for Evaluation of Peripheral Vision.

Purpose: Peripheral resolution acuity depends on the orientation of the stimuli. However, it is uncertain if such a meridional effect also exists for peripheral detection tasks because they are affected by optical errors. Knowledge of the quantitative differences in acuity for different grating orientations is crucial for choosing the appropriate stimuli for evaluations of peripheral resolution and detection tasks.