Data_Sheet_1_COVID-19 Testing Unit Munich: Impact of Public Health and Safety Measures on Patient Characteristics and Test Results, January to September 2020.PDF

To assess the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions, the number of reported positive test results is frequently used as an estimate of the true number of population-wide infections. We conducted a retrospective observational analysis of patient data of the Corona Testing Unit (CTU) in Munich, Bavaria, Germany between January 27th, and September 30th, 2020. We analyzed the course of daily patient numbers over time by fitting a negative binomial model with multiple breakpoints. Additionally, we investigated possible influencing factors on patient numbers and characteristics by literature review of policy papers and key informant interviews with individuals involved in the set-up of the CTU. The 3,963 patients included were mostly young (median age: 34, interquartile range: 27–48), female (66.2%), and working in the healthcare sector (77%). For these, 5,314 real-time RT-PCR tests were conducted with 157 (2.94%) positive results. The overall curve of daily tests and positive results fits the re-ported state-wide incidence in large parts but shows multiple breakpoints with considerable trend changes. These can be most fittingly attributed to testing capacities and -strategies and individual risk behavior, rather than public health measures. With the large impact on patient numbers and pre-test probabilities of various strategic and operational factors, we consider the derived re-ported incidence as a poor measurement to base policy decisions on. Testing units should be prepared to encounter these fluctuations with a quickly adaptable structure.</p

Photocycle and Vectorial Proton Transfer in a Rhodopsin from the Eukaryote <i>Oxyrrhis marina</i>

Retinylidene photoreceptors are ubiquitously present in marine protists as first documented by the identification of green proteorhodopsin (GPR). We present a detailed investigation of a rhodopsin from the protist <i>Oxyrrhis marina</i> (OR1) with respect to its spectroscopic properties and to its vectorial proton transport. Despite its homology to GPR, OR1’s features differ markedly in its pH dependence. Protonation of the proton acceptor starts at pH below 4 and is sensitive to the ionic conditions. The mutation of a conserved histidine H62 did not influence the p<i>K</i>_a value in a similar manner as in other proteorhodopsins where the charged histidine interacts with the proton acceptor forming the so-called His-Asp cluster. Mutational and pH-induced effects were further reflected in the temporal behavior upon light excitation ranging from femtoseconds to seconds. The primary photodynamics exhibits a high sensitivity to the environment of the proton acceptor D100 that are correlated to the different initial states. The mutation of the H62 does not affect photoisomerization at neutral pH. This is in agreement with NMR data indicating the absence of the His-Asp cluster. The subsequent steps in the photocycle revealed protonation reactions at the Schiff base coupled to proton pumping even at low pH. The main electrogenic steps are associated with the reprotonation of the Schiff base and internal proton donor. Hence, OR1 shows a different theme of the His-Asp organization where the low p<i>K</i>_a of the proton acceptor is not dominated by this interaction, but by other electrostatic factors

Additional file 3 of The representative COVID-19 cohort Munich (KoCo19): from the beginning of the pandemic to the Delta virus variant

Additional file 3: Figure S3. Proximity cluster analysis at Follow-ups 2 to 4. The grey points and curves show the distribution of mean within-cluster variances for 10,000 random permutations of cluster assignments. The horizontal lines show the observed values. Cluster variables are households, buildings, and geospatial clusters of different sizes. Household membership was left invariant when considering buildings and geospatial clusters. p-values indicate the one-sided probability of observing smaller than observed values under random cluster assignments. Results indicate within-household clustering and suggest neighbourhood transmission only in the cluster with 500m

Additional file 2 of The representative COVID-19 cohort Munich (KoCo19): from the beginning of the pandemic to the Delta virus variant

Additional file 2: Figure S2. Cohort description based on current lab result (in contrast to ever-positivity as in Figure 2). Change of serological status of participants: only infected (anti-N positive and stated to be non-vaccinated in the questionnaire), naïve (anti-N and anti-S negative), vaccinated (only anti-S positive), infected & vaccinated (anti-N positive and in previous round only anti-S positive, or anti-N positive and stated to be vaccinated in the questionnaire), infected without information on vaccination status (infected, undefined vaccination) and non-responders/missing

Additional file 1 of The representative COVID-19 cohort Munich (KoCo19): from the beginning of the pandemic to the Delta virus variant

Additional file 1: Figure S1. Missing pattern in the baseline questionnaire. Bottom middle: variable analysed for missing information. Bottom left: bar chart depicting numbers of missing information for that variable. Bottom right: description of intersection pattern between variables (all possible combinations of the variables for which a missing information was given, from left to right e.g. only income information missing, income & living & household type information missing, all variables missing, etc.). Top: bar chart depicting the numbers of participants that did not give information for that intersection pattern

Additional file 4 of The representative COVID-19 cohort Munich (KoCo19): from the beginning of the pandemic to the Delta virus variant

Additional file 4: Table S1. Non-response mechanism at the different follow-ups using complete cases and indicator of missingness for income

DataSheet_1_Determinants of anti-S immune response at 6 months after COVID-19 vaccination in a multicentric European cohort of healthcare workers – ORCHESTRA project.pdf

BackgroundThe duration of immune response to COVID-19 vaccination is of major interest. Our aim was to analyze the determinants of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titer at 6 months after 2-dose vaccination in an international cohort of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs).MethodsWe analyzed data on levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibodies and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 6,327 vaccinated HCWs from 8 centers from Germany, Italy, Romania and Slovakia. Time between 1st dose and serology ranged 150-210 days. Serological levels were log-transformed to account for the skewness of the distribution and normalized by dividing them by center-specific standard errors, obtaining standardized values. We fitted center-specific multivariate regression models to estimate the cohort-specific relative risks (RR) of an increase of 1 standard deviation of log antibody level and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), and finally combined them in random-effects meta-analyses.ResultsA 6-month serological response was detected in 99.6% of HCWs. Female sex (RR 1.10, 95%CI 1.00-1.21), past infection (RR 2.26, 95%CI 1.73-2.95) and two vaccine doses (RR 1.50, 95%CI 1.22-1.84) predicted higher IgG titer, contrary to interval since last dose (RR for 10-day increase 0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.97) and age (RR for 10-year increase 0.87, 95%CI 0.83-0.92). M-RNA-based vaccines (pConclusionsFemale gender, young age, past infection, two vaccine doses, and m-RNA and heterologous vaccination predicted higher antibody level at 6 months. These results corroborate previous findings and offer valuable data for comparison with trends observed with longer follow-ups.</p