Factors associated with elevated SARS-CoV-2 immune response in children and adolescents.

Background: Understanding the distinct immunologic responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection among pediatric populations is pivotal in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and informing future public health strategies. This study aimed to identify factors associated with heightened antibody responses in children and adolescents to identify potential unique immune dynamics in this population.

Methods: Data collected between July and December 2023 from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (Texas CARES), a statewide prospective population-based antibody survey among 1-to-19-year-old participants, were analyzed.

Does the Primary Tumor Site Drive Biology for Patients With Synovial Sarcoma?

Objective: We evaluated survival outcomes by primary tumor site in synovial sarcoma (SS) patients with localized and metastatic disease at diagnosis.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 504 SS patients diagnosed from 1974 to 2020. Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox-proportional hazards regression were used.

Epidemiological trends of synovial sarcoma by primary tumor sites in the US from 2000 to 2020.

Background: Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a rare soft-tissue cancer. Existing literature encompasses Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data-based research on SS explaining the incidence-prevalence in general, by subtypes, and by age at diagnosis. Therefore, this study aimed to fill in the gap of knowledge about measures of disease occurrence and burden of SS by tumor site using the SEER database.

Baseline characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine non-responders in a large population-based sample.

Introduction: Studies indicate that individuals with chronic conditions and specific baseline characteristics may not mount a robust humoral antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. In this paper, we used data from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey (Texas CARES), a longitudinal state-wide seroprevalence program that has enrolled more than 90,000 participants, to evaluate the role of chronic diseases as the potential risk factors of non-response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a large epidemiologic cohort.

Methods: A participant needed to complete an online survey and a blood draw to test for SARS-CoV-2 circulating plasma antibodies at four-time points spaced at least three months apart.

Long-term immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in children and adolescents.

Background: This analysis examined the durability of antibodies present after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in children and adolescents.

Methods: Data were collected over 4 time points between October 2020-November 2022 as part of a prospective population-based cohort aged 5-to-19 years (N = 810). Results of the (1) Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immunoassay for detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (Roche N-test); and (2) qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of antibodies to the SARS CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain (Roche S-test); and (3) self-reported antigen/PCR COVID-19 test results, vaccination and symptom status were analyzed.

Integrating, Harmonizing, and Curating Studies With High-Frequency and Hourly Physiological Data: Proof of Concept from Seven Traumatic Brain Injury Data Sets.

Research in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) has historically been limited by studies with relatively small sample sizes that result in low power to detect small, yet clinically meaningful outcomes. Data sharing and integration from existing sources hold promise to yield larger more robust sample sizes that improve the potential signal and generalizability of important research questions. However, curation and harmonization of data of different types and of disparate provenance is challenging.

SARS-CoV-2 Serostatus and COVID-19 Illness Characteristics by Variant Time Period in Non-Hospitalized Children and Adolescents.

Objective: To describe COVID-19 illness characteristics, risk factors, and SARS-CoV-2 serostatus by variant time period in a large community-based pediatric sample.

Design: Data were collected prospectively over four timepoints between October 2020 and November 2022 from a population-based cohort ages 5 to 19 years old.

Setting: State of Texas, USA.

Incidence and Predictors of Breakthrough and Severe Breakthrough Infections of SARS-CoV-2 After Primary Series Vaccination in Adults: A Population-Based Survey of 22 575 Participants.

Background: Breakthrough infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are well documented. The current study estimates breakthrough incidence across pandemic waves, and evaluates predictors of breakthrough and severe breakthrough infections (defined as those requiring hospitalization).

Methods: In total, 89 762 participants underwent longitudinal antibody surveillance.

Clinical Outcomes Associated with Co-infection of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales and other Multidrug-Resistant Organisms.

Background: Infections with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are associated with increased risk of death. Polymicrobial infections with antimicrobial-resistance may add to the burden of clinical care and patients' clinical prognosis.

Aim: To examine the impact of CRE co-infection with other multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) on patient clinical outcomes.

Discontinuation and reduction of asthma medications after metabolic and bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma. Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is a safe and effective treatment option for obesity. Weight reduction via MBS, in turn, may improve asthma outcomes and decrease the need for asthma medications.

Synergistic Associations of PNPLA3 I148M Variant, Alcohol Intake, and Obesity With Risk of Cirrhosis, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, and Mortality.

Importance: Alcohol drinking and obesity are associated with an increased risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the risk is not uniform among people with these risk factors. Genetic variants, such as I148M in the patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) gene, may play an important role in modulating cirrhosis and HCC risk.

Objective: To investigate the joint associations of the PNPLA3 I148M variant, alcohol intake, and obesity with the risk of cirrhosis, HCC, and liver disease-related mortality.

Methodology to estimate natural- and vaccine-induced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in a large geographic region.

Accurate estimates of natural and/or vaccine-induced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are difficult to obtain. Although model-based estimates of seroprevalence have been proposed, they require inputting unknown parameters including viral reproduction number, longevity of immune response, and other dynamic factors. In contrast to a model-based approach, the current study presents a data-driven detailed statistical procedure for estimating total seroprevalence (defined as antibodies from natural infection or from full vaccination) in a region using prospectively collected serological data and state-level vaccination data.

Comparison of Persistent Symptoms Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Antibody Status in Nonhospitalized Children and Adolescents.

Background: The prevalence of long-term symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in nonhospitalized pediatric populations in the United States is not well described. The objective of this analysis was to examine the presence of persistent COVID symptoms in children by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody status.

Methods: Data were collected between October 2020 and May 2022 from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody REsponse Survey, a statewide prospective population-based survey among 5-90 years old.

Clinical epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in the Greater Houston region of Texas: a 6-year trend and surveillance analysis.

Objectives: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) remain an urgent public health priority in the United States. CRE poses a major threat to patients in healthcare and a potential risk to the community. This study examined the epidemiological trends, clinical, and microbiological data of CRE in the Greater Houston region of Texas.

Worsening Glycemia Increases the Odds of Intermittent but Not Persistent Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage in Two Cohorts of Mexican American Adults.

Numerous host and environmental factors contribute to persistent and intermittent nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage in humans. The effects of worsening glycemia on the odds of S. aureus intermittent and persistent nasal carriage was established in two cohorts from an adult Mexican American population living in Starr County, Texas.

Antibody Duration After Infection From SARS-CoV-2 in the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey.

Understanding the duration of antibodies to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that causes COVID-19 is important to controlling the current pandemic. Participants from the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES) with at least 1 nucleocapsid protein antibody test were selected for a longitudinal analysis of antibody duration. A linear mixed model was fit to data from participants (n = 4553) with 1 to 3 antibody tests over 11 months (1 October 2020 to 16 September 2021), and models fit showed that expected antibody response after COVID-19 infection robustly increases for 100 days postinfection, and predicts individuals may remain antibody positive from natural infection beyond 500 days depending on age, body mass index, smoking or vaping use, and disease severity (hospitalized or not; symptomatic or not).

Regional transmission patterns of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales: A healthcare network analysis.

Objective: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) pose a serious public health threat and spread rapidly between healthcare facilities (HCFs) during interfacility patient movement. We examined patterns of transmission of CRE associated with network clustering and positions during patient interfacility transfer.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in the Greater Houston region ofTexas, , and social network analysis was performed by constructing facility-to-facility patient transfer network using CRE surveillance data.

Using increased trust in medical researchers to increase minority recruitment: The RECRUIT cluster randomized clinical trial.

While extensive literature exists on barriers and strategies to increase minority participation in clinical trials, progress is limited. Few strategies were evaluated in randomized trials. We studied the impact of RECRUIT, a trust-based, cluster randomized minority recruitment trial layered on top of four traditional NIH-funded parent trials (BMT CTN, CABANA, PACES, STEADY-PD III; fifty specialty sites).

A machine learning compatible method for ordinal propensity score stratification and matching.

Although machine learning techniques that estimate propensity scores for observational studies with multivalued treatments have advanced rapidly in recent years, the development of propensity score adjustment techniques has not kept pace. While machine learning propensity models provide numerous benefits, they do not produce a single variable balancing score that can be used for propensity score stratification and matching. This issue motivates the development of a flexible ordinal propensity scoring methodology that does not require parametric assumptions for the propensity model.

Propensity score stratification methods for continuous treatments.

Continuous treatments propensity scoring remains understudied as the majority of methods are focused on the binary treatment setting. Current propensity score methods for continuous treatments typically rely on weighting in order to produce causal estimates. It has been shown that in some continuous treatment settings, weighting methods can result in worse covariate balance than had no adjustments been made to the data.

Whole blood transfusion versus component therapy in trauma resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Patients with hemorrhagic shock from trauma often require balanced blood product transfusion with red blood cells, plasma, and platelets. Resuscitation with whole blood resuscitation is becoming a common practice. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing whole blood transfusion with balanced component therapy in patients suffering from traumatic hemorrhagic shock.

Intent-to-treat analysis of cluster randomized trials when clusters report unidentifiable outcome proportions.

Background: Cluster randomized trials are designed to evaluate interventions at the cluster or group level. When clusters are randomized but some clusters report no or non-analyzable data, intent-to-treat analysis, the gold standard for the analysis of randomized controlled trials, can be compromised. This article presents a very flexible statistical methodology for cluster randomized trials whose outcome is a cluster-level proportion (e.