Article
Infectious Diseases
Maria Pinana, Alejandra Gonzalez-Sanchez, Cristina Andres, Michel Abanto, Jorgina Vila, Juliana Esperalba, Noelia Moral, Elena Espartosa, Narcis Saubi, Anna Creus, Maria Gema Codina, Dolores Folgueira, Jaime Martinez-Urtaza, Tomas Pumarola, Andres Anton
Summary: This study aimed to describe the prevalence, genetic diversity, and evolutionary dynamics of HMPV. The findings showed that HMPV had a prevalence of 2.5% and peaked in February-April, circulating alternately between HMPV-A and -B until the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. HMPV re-emerged in summer and autumn 2021 with a higher prevalence and the almost exclusive circulation of A2c111dup. The F protein exhibited a highly conserved nature, supporting the need for steric shielding. The mutation rate of the HMPV genome was 6.95 x 10-4 substitutions/site/year. The study highlights the importance of effective viral surveillance and maintenance of viral epidemiological characteristics.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
P. J. Ruess, M. Konar, N. Wanders, M. Bierkens
Summary: This study aims to estimate the irrigation water use (IWU) of different crops in the United States. By utilizing the PCR-GLOBWB 2 global hydrology model and incorporating data on agricultural production and climate, the study provides crop-specific estimates of irrigation water use for surface water withdrawals (SWW), total groundwater withdrawals (GWW), and nonrenewable groundwater depletion (GWD) from 2008 to 2020 at county spatial resolution. The results indicate that surface water withdrawals decreased by 20% over the study period, while both groundwater withdrawals and nonrenewable groundwater depletion increased by 3%.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Madeleine Baker-Goering, Kakoli Roy, Chris Edens, Sarah Collier
Summary: Based on estimates of medical costs and productivity losses, the lifetime economic burden of 2014 Legionnaires' disease cases in the United States is estimated to be around $835 million, including $21 million due to absenteeism and $412 million due to premature deaths.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Pediatrics
Anne Kimball, Virginia B. Bowen, Kathryn Miele, Hillard Weinstock, Phoebe Thorpe, Laura Bachmann, Robert McDonald, Aliza Machefsky, Elizabeth Torrone
Summary: The number of reported congenital syphilis cases in the United States increased significantly during 2014-2018, with many cases being diagnosed later than ideal. There were several missed opportunities for early diagnosis in infants, indicating a need for more early screening and monitoring initiatives.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Alexandria B. Boehm, Bridgette Hughes, Dorothea Duong, Vikram Chan-Herur, Anna Buchman, Marlene K. Wolfe, Bradley J. White
Summary: This study utilized wastewater-based epidemiology to investigate viral respiratory infections in the community. Results showed the presence of various viral RNA in wastewater samples, with rhinovirus and seasonal coronaviruses being the most abundant. The concentrations of viral RNA in wastewater correlated positively with the positivity rates of viral infections in clinical specimens, indicating the potential of wastewater as a real-time surveillance tool for public health responses.
Article
Immunology
Melisa M. Shah, Amber Winn, Rebecca M. Dahl, Krista L. Kniss, Benjamin J. Silk, Marie E. Killerby
Summary: This study defined the seasonality of human coronaviruses in the United States by analyzing the data from the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System. The findings showed a regular pattern of season onset, peak, and offset for human coronaviruses in the previous seasons. However, the onset of the 2020-21 season was delayed by 11 weeks, possibly due to the mitigation efforts for COVID-19.
EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Reprint
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Rachel K. Jones, Jenna Jerman.
Summary: This study assessed the prevalence of abortion among population groups and examined the changes in rates between 2008 and 2014. The results showed that the abortion rate declined overall, but the decrease varied among different population groups.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Namrata Prasad, Julia Rhodes, Li Deng, Natalie L. McCarthy, Heidi L. Moline, James Baggs, Sujan C. Reddy, John A. Jernigan, Fiona P. Havers, Daniel M. Sosin, Ann Thomas, Ruth Lynfield, William Schaffner, Arthur Reingold, Kari Burzlaff, Lee H. Harrison, Susan Petit, Monica M. Farley, Rachel Herlihy, Srinivas Nanduri, Tamara Pilishvili, Lucy A. McNamara, Stephanie J. Schrag, Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, Miwako Kobayashi, Melissa Arvay
Summary: The incidence of invasive bacterial diseases (IBD) such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, group A Streptococcus (GAS), and group B Streptococcus (GBS) significantly declined in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The decline was likely due to COVID-19-related nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), and not driven by reductions in testing. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture testing rates during the pandemic remained comparable to previous years.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yizhou Zhuang, Rong Fu, Benjamin D. Santer, Robert E. Dickinson, Alex Hall
Summary: Recent studies have shown that the increase in wildfire activity in the western United States in recent years is likely attributed to both natural weather pattern changes and anthropogenic warming, with approximately 68% of the observed trend in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) being due to human influence. Climate models indicate that anthropogenic forcing explains an even larger fraction (88%) of the VPD trend, providing a lower and upper bound on the true impact of anthropogenic warming on VPD trends in the region. In August 2020, during the occurrence of the August Complex Gigafire, it is estimated that anthropogenic warming explained 50% of the exceptionally high VPD anomalies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jian Cao, Xuanqiang Lian, Min Cao, Bin Wang, Hao Wang, Xiaowei Zhu, Haikun Zhaoa
Summary: The causes of historical changes in the Southern Hemisphere monsoon are less understood compared to the Northern Hemisphere. This study finds that, unlike the decline in the Northern Hemisphere monsoon, the precipitation of the Southern Hemisphere land monsoon significantly increased during 1901-2014. The increase is mainly attributed to the strengthening of monsoon circulation, influenced by the sea surface temperature gradient. The results provide valuable insights for future projections of the Southern Hemisphere monsoon and understanding the long-term changes in Hadley circulation.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Annelies Van Den Bergh, Benjamin Bailly, Patrice Guillon, Mark von Itzstein, Larissa Dirr
Summary: Human metapneumoviruses (HMPV) have emerged as an important global pathogen, causing severe respiratory infections in young children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. Despite the lack of available vaccines and drugs, the fusion protein of HMPV is considered a promising target for antiviral treatment.
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Qianlai Luo, Anna Satcher Johnson, H. Irene Hall, Elizabeth K. Cahoon, Meredith Shiels
Summary: Between 2008 and 2016, the incidence of Kaposi sarcoma among people living with HIV decreased nationally, but nondecreasing trends were observed in some states and among younger and black PLWH.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
R. Paul McClung, Alexandra M. Oster, M. Cheryl Banez Ocfemia, Neeraja Saduvala, Walid Heneine, Jeffrey A. Johnson, Angela L. Hernandez
Summary: This analysis found that there was no overall increase in transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance in 28 US jurisdictions during 2014-2018, including by drug class. However, continued monitoring is necessary due to the expanding use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and integrase-strand transfer inhibitors.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Julia W. Gargano, Nancy McClung, Rayleen M. Lewis, Ina U. Park, Erin Whitney, Jessica L. Castilho, Manideepthi Pemmaraju, Linda M. Niccolai, Monica Brackney, Emilio DeBess, Sara Ehlers, Nancy M. Bennett, Mary Scahill, Angela A. Cleveland, Troy D. Querec, Elizabeth R. Unger, Lauri E. Markowitz
Summary: The study suggests that HPV vaccination has an impact on the decline of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 to 3 and adenocarcinoma in situ (CIN2+) among young women. The decline is observed in HPV16/18-CIN2+ in the 20-24 age group, while no significant trend is observed for non-HPV16/18-CIN2+. The impact of HPV vaccination varies with age, as evidenced by the decline in HPV16-CIN2+ in the 25-29 age group.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Cathy Y. Yu, Timothy Blaine, Peter D. Panagos, Akash P. Kansagra
Summary: This study highlighted the demographic disparities in proximity to certified stroke care, with greater disparities observed in nonurban areas compared to urban areas. Higher proportions of elderly, American Indian, uninsured, or low-income populations in nonurban census tracts were found to be more distant from certified stroke care facilities.