Continuous population-level monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in a large European metropolitan region.

Effective public health measures against SARS-CoV-2 require granular knowledge of population-level immune responses. We developed a Tripartite Automated Blood Immunoassay (TRABI) to assess the IgG response against three SARS-CoV-2 proteins. We used TRABI for continuous seromonitoring of hospital patients and blood donors (n = 72'250) in the canton of Zurich from December 2019 to December 2020 (pre-vaccine period). We found that antibodies waned with a half-life of 75 days, whereas the cumulative incidence rose from 2.3% in June 2020 to 12.2% in mid-December 2020. A follow-up health survey indicated that about 10% of patients infected with wildtype SARS-CoV-2 sustained some symptoms at least twelve months post COVID-19. Crucially, we found no evidence of a difference in long-term complications between those whose infection was symptomatic and those with asymptomatic acute infection. The cohort of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected subjects represents a resource for the study of chronic and possibly unexpected sequelae

AD51B in Familial Breast Cancer

Common variation on 14q24.1, close to RAD51B, has been associated with breast cancer: rs999737 and rs2588809 with the risk of female breast cancer and rs1314913 with the risk of male breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of RAD51B variants in breast cancer predisposition, particularly in the context of familial breast cancer in Finland. We sequenced the coding region of RAD51B in 168 Finnish breast cancer patients from the Helsinki region for identification of possible recurrent founder mutations. In addition, we studied the known rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 SNPs and RAD51B haplotypes in 44,791 breast cancer cases and 43,583 controls from 40 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) that were genotyped on a custom chip (iCOGS). We identified one putatively pathogenic missense mutation c.541C>T among the Finnish cancer patients and subsequently genotyped the mutation in additional breast cancer cases (n = 5259) and population controls (n = 3586) from Finland and Belarus. No significant association with breast cancer risk was seen in the meta-analysis of the Finnish datasets or in the large BCAC dataset. The association with previously identified risk variants rs999737, rs2588809, and rs1314913 was replicated among all breast cancer cases and also among familial cases in the BCAC dataset. The most significant association was observed for the haplotype carrying the risk-alleles of all the three SNPs both among all cases (odds ratio (OR): 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11–1.19, P = 8.88 x 10−16) and among familial cases (OR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.16–1.32, P = 6.19 x 10−11), compared to the haplotype with the respective protective alleles. Our results suggest that loss-of-function mutations in RAD51B are rare, but common variation at the RAD51B region is significantly associated with familial breast cancer risk

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society

Risk-factors for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy

Cross-sectional study analyzed as case-control to identify risk factors for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy. We studied 412 out-clinics HIV infected subjects of three public hospitals of Recife, Pernambuco. The objective was to examine the association between non-adherence to the antiretroviral therapy and biological, social-behavior and demographics and economic factors, factors related to the disease and/or treatment, factors related to life habits and depression symptoms. Variables significantly associated with non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy were: time elapsed since HIV diagnosis (p = 0.002), daily dose (p = 0.046), use of alcohol (p = 0.030) and past drug use (p = 0.048), and borderline p-values were found for educational level (p = 0.093) and family monthly income (p = 0.08). In the multivariable analysis, the factors that remained in the final model were family monthly income, time period with HIV infection and use of alcohol. No association was observed between non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy and gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, educational level and place of residence. Based on our results and the local situation we suggest: assessment of social needs; training of partners and/or families on supporting adherence, creation of "adherence groups" to motivate and to reassure patients on the benefits of treatment; counseling and/or psychotherapy for alcohol drinkers

All-sky search for long-duration gravitational wave transients with initial LIGO

We present the results of a search for long-duration gravitational wave transients in two sets of data collected by the LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston detectors between November 5, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and July 7, 2009 and October 20, 2010, with a total observational time of 283.0 days and 132.9 days, respectively. The search targets gravitational wave transients of duration 10-500 s in a frequency band of 40-1000 Hz, with minimal assumptions about the signal waveform, polarization, source direction, or time of occurrence. All candidate triggers were consistent with the expected background; as a result we set 90% confidence upper limits on the rate of long-duration gravitational wave transients for different types of gravitational wave signals. For signals from black hole accretion disk instabilities, we set upper limits on the source rate density between 3.4×10-5 and 9.4×10-4 Mpc-3 yr-1 at 90% confidence. These are the first results from an all-sky search for unmodeled long-duration transient gravitational waves. © 2016 American Physical Society

The artificial intelligence-based model ANORAK improves histopathological grading of lung adenocarcinoma

The introduction of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer grading system has furthered interest in histopathological grading for risk stratification in lung adenocarcinoma. Complex morphology and high intratumoral heterogeneity present challenges to pathologists, prompting the development of artificial intelligence (AI) methods. Here we developed ANORAK (pyrAmid pooliNg crOss stReam Attention networK), encoding multiresolution inputs with an attention mechanism, to delineate growth patterns from hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides. In 1,372 lung adenocarcinomas across four independent cohorts, AI-based grading was prognostic of disease-free survival, and further assisted pathologists by consistently improving prognostication in stage I tumors. Tumors with discrepant patterns between AI and pathologists had notably higher intratumoral heterogeneity. Furthermore, ANORAK facilitates the morphological and spatial assessment of the acinar pattern, capturing acinus variations with pattern transition. Collectively, our AI method enabled the precision quantification and morphology investigation of growth patterns, reflecting intratumoral histological transitions in lung adenocarcinoma

Drug And Alochol Use: Main Findings Of A National Survey, Brazil 2005 [consumo De álcool E Drogas: Principais Achados De Pesquisa De âmbito Nacional, Brasil 2005]

Objective: To assess alcohol and drug use in a representative sample of the urban Brazilian population and their correlation with sexual and reproductive health. Methods: Data from a national population-based survey with a complex sampling, performed in 2005 was used. A total of 5,040 individuals from both genders, in the age group from 16 to 65 years old, were interviewed. Issues regarding drug and alcohol use and sexual behavior were assessed. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used. Results: Alcohol was the most frequently used substance, with reports of regular use in the lives of 18% of interviewees. Use of illegal drugs was mentioned by 9% of the interviewees especially marijuana and snorted cocaine; injected drugs use was not frequent. There was a decrease in snorted cocaine use and an increase in marijuana use (in the last 12 months), compared to results of a similar survey conducted in 1998. History of sexual abuse was a risk factor for drug use and regular alcohol use. Interviewees mentioning the role of religion in their background, being White, and female were less likely to use alcohol in a regular way, which is especially prevalent among elderly males.Leisure activities and absence of current religious practice were associated with drug use. Conclusions: The regular or irregular alcohol use is prevalent in the urban Brazilian population, whereas injected drug use is rare. Over the last decade there was a decline in cocaine use. A history of sexual abuse was central to later use of alcohol and drugs.42SUPPL. 1109117Bastos, F.I., Bertoni, N., Hacker, M.A., Grupo de Estudos em População, Sexualidade e Aids. Consumo de álcool e drogas: Principais achados de pesquisa de âmbito nacional, Brasil 2005. (2008) Rev Saude Publica, 42 (SUPL 1), pp. 109-117Bastos, F.I., Caiaffa, W., Rossi, D., Vila, M., Malta, M., The children of Mama Coca: Coca, cocaine and the fate of harm reduction in South America (2007) Int J Drug Policy, 18 (2), pp. 99-106Bussab W de O, Grupo de Estudos em População, Sexualidade e Aids. Plano amostral da Pesquisa Nacional sobre Comportamento Sexual e Percepções sobre HIV/Aids, 2005. Rev Saude Publica. 2008;42(Supl 1):12-20Colliver, J.D., Compton, W.M., Gfroerer, J.C., Condon, T., Projecting drug use among aging baby boomers in 2020 (2006) Ann Epidemiol, 16 (4), pp. 257-265Galduróz, J.C., Noto, A.R., Nappo, S.A., Carlini, E.A., Household survey on drug abuse in Brazil: Study involving the 107 major cities of the country-2001 (2005) Addict Behav, 30 (3), pp. 545-556Galduróz, J.C., Noto, A.R., Nappo, S.A., Carlini, E.L., First household survey on drug abuse in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1999: Principal findings (2003) Rev Paul Med, 121 (6), pp. 231-237Galvan, F.H., Caetano, R., Alcohol use and related problems among ethnic minorities in the United States (2003) Alcohol Res Health, 27 (1), pp. 87-94Mahalik, J.R., Burns, S.M., Syzdek, M., Masculinity and perceived normative health behaviors as predictors of men's health behaviors (2007) Soc Sci Med, 64 (11), pp. 2201-2209Markos, A.R., Alcohol and sexual behaviour (2005) Int J STD AIDS, 16 (2), pp. 123-127Michalak, L., Trocki, K., Bond, J., Religion and alcohol in the U.S. National Alcohol Survey: How important is religion for abstention and drinking? (2007) Drug Alcohol Depend, 87 (2-3), pp. 268-280Miller M. The dynamics of substance use and sex networks in HIV transmission. J Urban Health. 2003;80(4 Suppl 3):iii88-96Simoes, A.A., Bastos, F.I., Moreira, R.I., Lynch, K.G., Metzger, D.S., A randomized trial of audio computer and inperson interview to assess HIV risk among drug and alcohol users in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2006) J Subst Abuse Treat, 30 (3), pp. 237-243Strathdee, A.S., Bastos, F.I., (2002) Intertwining epidemics: Injection drug use and HIV infection, pp. 636-639. , Breslow L, editors. Encyclopedia of public health. Nova York: Macmillan;Widom, C.S., Marmorstein, N.R., White, H.R., Childhood victimization and illicit drug use in middle adulthood (2006) Psychol Addict Behav, 20 (4), pp. 394-403Zinberg, N.E., (1984) Drug, set and setting: The basis for controlled intoxicant use, , New Haven: Yale University Press;Zlotnick, C., Johnson, D.M., Stout, R.L., Zywiak, W.H., Johnson, J.E., Schneider, R.J., Childhood abuse and intake severity in alcohol disorder patients (2006) J Trauma Stress, 19 (6), pp. 949-95