Maternal and neonatal data collection systems in low- and middle-income countries: Scoping review protocol

Background: Pregnant women and neonates represent one of the most vulnerable groups, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). A recent analysis reported that most vaccine pharmacovigilance systems in LMICs consist of spontaneous (passive) adverse event reporting. Thus, LMICs need effective active surveillance approaches, such as pregnancy registries. We intend to identify currently active maternal and neonatal data collection systems in LMICs, with the potential to inform active safety electronic surveillance for novel vaccines using standardized definitions. Methods: A scoping review will be conducted based on established methodology. Multiple databases of indexed and grey literature will be searched with a specific focus on existing electronic and paper-electronic systems in LMICs that collect continuous, prospective, and individual-level data from antenatal care, delivery, neonatal care (up to 28 days), and postpartum (up to 42 days) at the facility and community level, at the national and district level, and at large hospitals. Also, experts will be contacted to identify unpublished information on relevant data collection systems. General and specific descriptions of Health Information Systems (HIS) extracted from the different sources will be combined and duplicated HIS will be removed, producing a list of unique statements. We will present a final list of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health systems considered flexible enough to be updated with necessary improvements to detect, assess and respond to safety concerns during the introduction of vaccines and other maternal health interventions. Selected experts will participate in an in-person consultation meeting to select up to three systems to be further explored in situ. Results and knowledge gaps will be synthesized after expert consultation.Fil: Berrueta, Mabel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Ciapponi, Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Xiong, Xu. University of Tulane; Estados UnidosFil: Stergachis, Andy. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Zaraa, Sabra. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Buekens, Pierre. University of Tulane; Estados UnidosFil: Absalon, Judith. No especifíca;Fil: Anderson, Steve. No especifíca;Fil: Althabe, Fernando. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Madhi, Shabir A.. No especifíca;Fil: McClure, Elizabeth. No especifíca;Fil: Munoz, Flor M.. No especifíca;Fil: Mwamwitwa, Kissa W.. No especifíca;Fil: Nakimuli, Annettee. No especifíca;Fil: Clark Nelson, Jennifer. No especifíca;Fil: Noguchi, Lisa. No especifíca;Fil: Panagiotakopoulos, Lakshmi. No especifíca;Fil: Sevene, Esperanca. No especifíca;Fil: Zuber, Patrick. No especifíca;Fil: Belizan, Maria. No especifíca;Fil: Bergel, Eduardo. No especifíca;Fil: Rodriguez Cairoli, Federico. No especifíca;Fil: Castellanos, Fabricio. No especifíca;Fil: Ciganda, Alvaro. No especifíca;Fil: Comande, Daniel. No especifíca;Fil: Pingray, Veronica. No especifíca

Gene co-expression architecture in peripheral blood in a cohort of remitted first-episode schizophrenia patients

A better understanding of schizophrenia subtypes is necessary to stratify the patients according to clinical attributes. To explore the genomic architecture of schizophrenia symptomatology, we analyzed blood co-expression modules and their association with clinical data from patients in remission after a first episode of schizophrenia. In total, 91 participants of the 2EPS project were included. Gene expression was assessed using the Clariom S Human Array. Weighted-gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify modules of co-expressed genes and to test its correlation with global functioning, clinical symptomatology, and premorbid adjustment. Among the 25 modules identified, six modules were significantly correlated with clinical data. These modules could be clustered in two groups according to their correlation with clinical data. Hub genes in each group showing overlap with risk genes for schizophrenia were enriched in biological processes related to metabolic processes, regulation of gene expression, cellular localization and protein transport, immune processes, and neurotrophin pathways. Our results indicate that modules with significant associations with clinical data showed overlap with gene sets previously identified in differential gene-expression analysis in brain, indicating that peripheral tissues could reveal pathogenic mechanisms. Hub genes involved in these modules revealed multiple signaling pathways previously related to schizophrenia, which may represent the complex interplay in the pathological mechanisms behind the disease. These genes could represent potential targets for the development of peripheral biomarkers underlying illness traits in clinical remission stages after a first episode of schizophrenia

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

SCIPP: An Expanded Community of Practice - Community Publishing

SCIPP redefines and expands the existing notions about what makes for a vibrant and robust community of practice by partnering CSUSB students and professors with K-12 students, parents, and educators, along with committed community partners. SCIPP encourages curiosity in ways that leads to critical thinking, exploration, risk taking , confidence building, open-mindedness, and other personal traits that equip them with the softskills to be active, critical, and creative contributors to our communities. SCIPP pedagogy embraces our students\u27 collective wisdom and focuses on relational building where multi-directional communication is promoted and students are viewed as equal stakeholders in their own educations. SCIPP puts collaboration into action which in turn fosters community-based lifelong learning. SCIPP provides the open intellectual space for future university students (our K-12 students) to engage with existing university students in meaningful ways so as to sustain interconnected partnerships facilitating community engagement. It supports parents as experts in the education of their children and acknowledges parents as the first conduits to spark their children’s imagination while they actively participate in education enriching activities and programs. Everyone involved is committed to creating a secure and open atmosphere for dreaming, sharing, and learning. Together we explore the aspects of community publishing through collaborative learning in formal and informal settings relating to digital and printed medias

Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

The Gravity Collective: A Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Neutron Star-Black Hole Merger GW190814

We present optical follow-up imaging obtained with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Nickel Telescope, Swope Telescope, and Thacher Telescope of the LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave (GW) signal from the neutron star-black hole (NSBH) merger GW190814. We searched the GW190814 localization region (19 deg$^{2}$ for the 90th percentile best localization), covering a total of 51 deg$^{2}$ and 94.6% of the two-dimensional localization region. Analyzing the properties of 189 transients that we consider as candidate counterparts to the NSBH merger, including their localizations, discovery times from merger, optical spectra, likely host-galaxy redshifts, and photometric evolution, we conclude that none of these objects are likely to be associated with GW190814. Based on this finding, we consider the likely optical properties of an electromagnetic counterpart to GW190814, including possible kilonovae and short gamma-ray burst afterglows. Using the joint limits from our follow-up imaging, we conclude that a counterpart with an $r$-band decline rate of 0.68 mag day$^{-1}$, similar to the kilonova AT 2017gfo, could peak at an absolute magnitude of at most $-17.8$ mag (50% confidence). Our data are not constraining for ''red'' kilonovae and rule out ''blue'' kilonovae with $M>0.5 M_{\odot}$ (30% confidence). We strongly rule out all known types of short gamma-ray burst afterglows with viewing angles $<$17$^{\circ}$ assuming an initial jet opening angle of $\sim$$5.2^{\circ}$ and explosion energies and circumburst densities similar to afterglows explored in the literature. Finally, we explore the possibility that GW190814 merged in the disk of an active galactic nucleus, of which we find four in the localization region, but we do not find any candidate counterparts among these sources.Comment: 86 pages, 9 figure

Safety of COVID-19 vaccines, their components or their platforms for pregnant women: A rapid review.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness as well as adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Many countries are vaccinating or considering vaccinating pregnant women with limited available data about the safety of this strategy. Early identification of safety concerns of COVID-19 vaccines, including their components, or their technological platforms is therefore urgently needed. METHODS: We conducted a rapid systematic review, as the first phase of an ongoing full systematic review, to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, including their components, and their technological platforms (whole virus, protein, viral vector or nucleic acid) used in other vaccines, following the Cochrane methods and the PRISMA statement for reporting (PROSPERO-CRD42021234185).We searched literature databases, COVID-19 and pregnancy registries from inception February 2021 without time or language restriction and explored the reference lists of relevant systematic reviews retrieved. We selected studies of any methodological design that included at least 50 pregnant women or pregnant animals exposed to the vaccines that were selected for review by the COVAX MIWG in August 2020 or their components or platforms included in the COVID-19 vaccines, and evaluated adverse events during pregnancy and the neonatal period.Pairs of reviewers independently selected studies through the COVIDENCE web software and performed the data extraction through a previously piloted online extraction form. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. RESULTS: We identified 6768 records, 256 potentially eligible studies were assessed by full-text, and 37 clinical and non-clinical studies (38 reports, involving 2,397,715 pregnant women and 56 pregnant animals) and 12 pregnancy registries were included.Most studies (89%) were conducted in high-income countries. The most frequent study design was cohort studies (n=21), followed by surveillance studies, randomized controlled trials, and registry analyses. Most studies (76%) allowed comparisons between vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women (n=25) or animals (n=3) and reported exposures during the three trimesters of pregnancy.The most frequent exposure was to AS03 adjuvant in the context of A/H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccines (n=24), followed by aluminum-based adjuvants (n=11). Aluminum phosphate was used in Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion candidate vaccines (n=3) and Tdap vaccines (n=3). Different aluminum-based adjuvants were used in hepatitis vaccines. The replication-deficient simian adenovirus ChAdOx1 was used for a Rift Valley fever vaccine. Only one study reported exposure to messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines that also used lipid nanoparticles. Except for one preliminary report about A/H1N1 influenza vaccination (adjuvant AS03) - corrected by the authors in a more thorough analysis, all studies concluded that there were no safety concerns. CONCLUSION: This rapid review found no evidence of pregnancy-associated safety concerns of COVID-19 vaccines that were selected for review by the COVAX MIWG or of their components or platforms when used in other vaccines. However, the need for further data on several vaccine platforms and components is warranted given their novelty. Our findings support current WHO guidelines recommending that pregnant women may consider receiving COVID-19 vaccines, particularly if they are at high risk of exposure or have comorbidities that enhance the risk of severe disease

Multi-ancestry GWAS reveals excitotoxicity associated with outcome after ischaemic stroke

During the first hours after stroke onset, neurological deficits can be highly unstable: some patients rapidly improve, while others deteriorate. This early neurological instability has a major impact on long-term outcome. Here, we aimed to determine the genetic architecture of early neurological instability measured by the difference between the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) within 6 h of stroke onset and NIHSS at 24 h. A total of 5876 individuals from seven countries (Spain, Finland, Poland, USA, Costa Rica, Mexico and Korea) were studied using a multi-ancestry meta-analyses. We found that 8.7% of NIHSS at 24 h of variance was explained by common genetic variations, and also that early neurological instability has a different genetic architecture from that of stroke risk. Eight loci (1p21.1, 1q42.2, 2p25.1, 2q31.2, 2q33.3, 5q33.2, 7p21.2 and 13q31.1) were genome-wide significant and explained 1.8% of the variability suggesting that additional variants influence early change in neurological deficits. We used functional genomics and bioinformatic annotation to identify the genes driving the association from each locus. Expression quantitative trait loci mapping and summary data-based Mendelian randomization indicate that ADAM23 (log Bayes factor = 5.41) was driving the association for 2q33.3. Gene-based analyses suggested that GRIA1 (log Bayes factor = 5.19), which is predominantly expressed in the brain, is the gene driving the association for the 5q33.2 locus. These analyses also nominated GNPAT (log Bayes factor = 7.64) ABCB5 (log Bayes factor = 5.97) for the 1p21.1 and 7p21.1 loci. Human brain single-nuclei RNA-sequencing indicates that the gene expression of ADAM23 and GRIA1 is enriched in neurons. ADAM23, a presynaptic protein and GRIA1, a protein subunit of the AMPA receptor, are part of a synaptic protein complex that modulates neuronal excitability. These data provide the first genetic evidence in humans that excitotoxicity may contribute to early neurological instability after acute ischaemic stroke. Ibanez et al. perform a multi-ancestry meta-analysis to investigate the genetic architecture of early stroke outcomes. Two of the eight genome-wide significant loci identified-ADAM23 and GRIA1-are involved in synaptic excitability, suggesting that excitotoxicity contributes to neurological instability after ischaemic stroke.Peer reviewe

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Association of Candidate Gene Polymorphisms With Chronic Kidney Disease: Results of a Case-Control Analysis in the Nefrona Cohort

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major risk factor for end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease and premature death. Despite classical clinical risk factors for CKD and some genetic risk factors have been identified, the residual risk observed in prediction models is still high. Therefore, new risk factors need to be identified in order to better predict the risk of CKD in the population. Here, we analyzed the genetic association of 79 SNPs of proteins associated with mineral metabolism disturbances with CKD in a cohort that includes 2, 445 CKD cases and 559 controls. Genotyping was performed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionizationtime of flight mass spectrometry. We used logistic regression models considering different genetic inheritance models to assess the association of the SNPs with the prevalence of CKD, adjusting for known risk factors. Eight SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs2238135, rs1800247, rs385564, rs4236, rs2248359, and rs1564858) were associated with CKD even after adjusting by sex, age and race. A model containing five of these SNPs (rs1126616, rs35068180, rs1800247, rs4236, and rs2248359), diabetes and hypertension showed better performance than models considering only clinical risk factors, significantly increasing the area under the curve of the model without polymorphisms. Furthermore, one of the SNPs (the rs2248359) showed an interaction with hypertension, being the risk genotype affecting only hypertensive patients. We conclude that 5 SNPs related to proteins implicated in mineral metabolism disturbances (Osteopontin, osteocalcin, matrix gla protein, matrix metalloprotease 3 and 24 hydroxylase) are associated to an increased risk of suffering CKD