Learning predictive signatures of HLA type from T-cell repertoires.

T cells recognize a wide range of pathogens using surface receptors that interact directly with peptides presented on major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) encoded by the HLA loci in humans. Understanding the association between T cell receptors (TCR) and HLA alleles is an important step towards predicting TCR-antigen specificity from sequences. Here we analyze the TCR alpha and beta repertoires of large cohorts of HLA-typed donors to systematically infer such associations, by looking for overrepresentation of TCRs in individuals with a common allele.

Effects of a nutrition education intervention on food-provision managerial decisions in Catalan old age nursing homes.

Introduction: Existing research does not provide definitive conclusions on the most effective initiatives for preventing malnutrition among older adult residents in nursing homes.

Objective: We aimed to assess whether a nutrition education intervention provided to nursing home managers can improve dietary managerial decisions within nursing homes.

Methods: We performed a multicenter study, where each center was randomized to an intervention or a control group.

Local and Global Variability in Developing Human T-Cell Repertoires.

The adaptive immune response relies on T cells that combine phenotypic specialization with diversity of T-cell receptors (TCRs) to recognize a wide range of pathogens. TCRs are acquired and selected during T-cell maturation in the thymus. Characterizing TCR repertoires across individuals and T-cell maturation stages is important for better understanding adaptive immune responses and for developing new diagnostics and therapies.

The influenza vaccination's impact elderly's health outcomes in Catalonia (Spain).

The most effective method of preventing influenza infection and complications is through vaccination. However, annual vaccination rates remain low. This study examines the impact of influenza vaccination on healthcare utilisation among the elderly population in Catalonia, Spain.