The concordance of the limiting antigen and the Bio-Rad avidity assays in persons from Estonia infected mainly with HIV-1 CRF06_cpx

BACKGROUND: Serological assays to determine HIV incidence have contributed to estimates of HIV incidence, monitoring of HIV spread, and evaluation of prevention strategies. Two frequently used incidence assays are the Sedia HIV-1 LAg-Avidity EIA (LAg) and the Bio-Rad avidity incidence (BRAI) assays with a mean duration of recent infection (MDRI) of 130 and 240 days for subtype B infections, respectively. Little is known about how these assays perform with recombinant HIV-1 strains. We evaluated the concordance of these assays in a population infected mainly with HIV-1 CRF06_cpx. MATERIAL/METHODS: Remnant serum samples (n = 288) collected from confirmed, newly-diagnosed HIV-positive persons from Estonia in 2013 were tested. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from clinical databases. LAg was performed according to the manufacturer’s protocol and BRAI testing was done using a validated protocol. Samples with LAg-pending or BRAI-invalid results were reclassified as recent if they were from persons with viral loads <1000 copies/mL or were reclassified as long-term if presenting with AIDS. RESULTS: In total 325 new HIV infections were diagnosed in 2013 in Estonia. Of those 276 persons were tested with both LAg and BRAI. Using assay results only, the recency rate was 44% and 70% by LAg and BRAI, respectively. The majority of samples (92%) recent by LAg were recent by BRAI. Similarly, 89% of samples long-term by BRAI were long-term by LAg. After clinical information was included in the analysis, the recency rate was 44% and 62% for LAg and BRAI, respectively. The majority of samples (86%) recent by LAg were recent by BRAI and 91% of long-term infections by BRAI were long-term by LAg. CONCLUSIONS: Comparison of LAg and BRAI results in this mostly CRF06_cpx-infected population showed good concordance for incidence classification. Our finding of a higher recency rate with BRAI in this population is likely related to the longer MDRI for this assay

HIV incidence in the Estonian population in 2013 determined using the HIV-1 limiting antigen avidity assay

Estonia has one the highest number of new HIV diagnoses in the European Union, mainly among injecting drug users and heterosexuals. Little is known of HIV incidence, which is crucial for limiting the epidemic. Using a recent HIV infection testing algorithm (RITA) assay, we aimed to estimate HIV incidence in 2013. All individuals aged ≥18 years newly-diagnosed with HIV in Estonia January- December 2013, except blood donors and those undergoing antenatal screening, were included. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from the Estonian Health Board and the Estonian HIV-positive patient database. Serum samples were tested for recent infection using the LAg-avidity EIA assay. HIV incidence was estimated based on previously published methods. Of 69,115 tested subjects, 286 (0.41%) were newly-diagnosed with HIV with median age of 33 years (IQR: 28-42) and 65% male. Self-reported routes of HIV transmission were mostly heterosexual contact (n = 157, 53%) and injecting drug use (n = 62, 21%); 64 (22%) were with unknown risk group. Eighty two (36%) were assigned recent, resulting in estimated HIV incidence of 0.06%, corresponding to 642 new infections in 2013 among the non-screened population. Incidence was highest (1.48%) among people who inject drugs. These high HIV incidence estimates in Estonia call for urgent action of renewed targeted public health promotion and HIV testing campaign

Tartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike plaanid (kvartalid nr 200-293)

PlaanidTartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike takseerkirjeldused aastatest 1922, 1923. Kvartalite nr 200-293 käsikirjalised originaalplaanid on mõõtkavas 1:2500. Koloreeritud plaanid sisaldavad kvartalite numbreid, leppemärkide seletusi, ilmakaari, graafilist mõõtkava, autorite nimesid. Autorite nimedes võib esineda eksimusi. Loetamatud nimed puuduvad autorite loendis

SCGB1D2 inhibits growth of Borrelia burgdorferi and affects susceptibility to Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. The host factors that modulate susceptibility for Lyme disease have remained mostly unknown. Using epidemiological and genetic data from FinnGen and Estonian Biobank, we identify two previously known variants and an unknown common missense variant at the gene encoding for Secretoglobin family 1D member 2 (SCGB1D2) protein that increases the susceptibility for Lyme disease. Using live Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) we find that recombinant reference SCGB1D2 protein inhibits the growth of Bb in vitro more efficiently than the recombinant protein with SCGB1D2 P53L deleterious missense variant. Finally, using an in vivo murine infection model we show that recombinant SCGB1D2 prevents infection by Borrelia in vivo. Together, these data suggest that SCGB1D2 is a host defense factor present in the skin, sweat, and other secretions which protects against Bb infection and opens an exciting therapeutic avenue for Lyme disease.Peer reviewe

Tartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike plaanid (kvartalid nr 101-199)

PlaanidTartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike takseerkirjeldused aastatest 1922, 1923, 1924. Kvartalite nr 101-199 käsikirjalised originaalplaanid on mõõtkavas 1:2500. Koloreeritud plaanid sisaldavad kvartalite numbreid, leppemärkide seletusi, ilmakaari, graafilist mõõtkava, autorite nimesid. Autorite nimedes võib esineda eksimusi. Loetamatud nimed puuduvad autorite loendis

Tartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike plaanid (kvartalid nr 1-100)

PlaanidTartu Ülikooli Õppe- ja Katsemetskonna Kastre Peravalla metsandike takseerkirjeldused aastatest 1922, 1923, 1924, 1927. Kvartalite nr 1-100 käsikirjalised originaalplaanid on mõõtkavas 1:2500. Koloreeritud plaanid sisaldavad kvartalite numbreid, leppemärkide seletusi, ilmakaari, graafilist mõõtkava, autorite nimesid. Autorite nimedes võib esineda eksimusi. Loetamatud nimed puuduvad autorite loendis.Kaardid digitaliseeriti Keskkonnainvesteeringute Keskuse projekti raame

The Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations Project. I. USNO Objects Missing in Modern Sky Surveys and Follow-up Observations of a “Missing Star”

In this paper we report the current status of a new research program. The primary goal of the "Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations" project is to search for vanishing and appearing sources using existing survey data to find examples of exceptional astrophysical transients. The implications of finding such objects extend from traditional astrophysics fields to the more exotic searches for evidence of technologically advanced civilizations. In this first paper we present new, deeper observations of the tentative candidate discovered by Villarroel et al. in 2016. We then perform the first searches for vanishing objects throughout the sky by comparing 600 million objects from the US Naval Observatory Catalogue (USNO) B1.0 down to a limiting magnitude of ~20–21 with the recent Pan-STARRS Data Release-1 (DR1) with a limiting magnitude of ~23.4. We find about 150,000 preliminary candidates that do not have any Pan-STARRS counterpart within a 30'' radius. We show that these objects are redder and have larger proper motions than typical USNO objects. We visually examine the images for a subset of about 24,000 candidates, superseding the 2016 study with a sample 10 times larger. We find about 100 point sources visible in only one epoch in the red band of the USNO, which may be of interest in searches for strong M-dwarf flares, high-redshift supernovae, or other categories of unidentified red transients