Assessment of the Effective Sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 Sample Pooling Based on a Large-Scale Screening Experience: Retrospective Analysis.

Background: The development of new large-scale saliva pooling detection strategies can significantly enhance testing capacity and frequency for asymptomatic individuals, which is crucial for containing SARS-CoV-2.

Objective: This study aims to implement and scale-up a SARS-CoV-2 screening method using pooled saliva samples to control the virus in critical areas and assess its effectiveness in detecting asymptomatic infections.

Methods: Between August 2020 and February 2022, our laboratory received a total of 928,357 samples.

Comparative analysis of eleven SARS-CoV-2 immunoassays and neutralisation data: time to enhance standardisation and correlation of protection.

Background: To infer a reliable SARS-CoV-2 antibody protection level from a serological test, an appropriate quantitative threshold and solid equivalence across serological tests are needed. Additionally, tests should show a solid correlation with neutralising assays and with the protection observed in large population cohorts even against emerging variants.

Objectives: We studied convalescent and vaccinated populations using 11 commercial antibody assays.

A High-Throughput Microtiter Plate Screening Assay to Quantify and Differentiate Species in Dual-Species Biofilms.

Pathogenic bacteria form biofilms during infection, and polymicrobial biofilms are the most frequent manifestation. Biofilm attachment, maturation, and/or antibiotic sensitivity are mainly evaluated with microtiter plate assays, in which bacteria are stained to enable the quantification of the biomass by optical absorbance or fluorescence emission. However, using these methods to distinguish different species in dual-species or polymicrobial biofilms is currently impossible.

Proof of concept of the potential of a machine learning algorithm to extract new information from conventional SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR results.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been and remains one of the major challenges modern society has faced thus far. Over the past few months, large amounts of information have been collected that are only now beginning to be assimilated. In the present work, the existence of residual information in the massive numbers of rRT-PCRs that tested positive out of the almost half a million tests that were performed during the pandemic is investigated.