Sloanlamm1365

Weighting overall estimates should be considered in VE studies in future.We evaluate whether randomly sampling and testing a set number of individuals for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while adjusting for misclassification error captures the true prevalence. We also quantify the impact of misclassification error bias on publicly reported case data in Maryland. Using a stratified random sampling approach, 50,000 individuals were selected from a simulated Maryland population to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19. We examined the situation when the true prevalence is low (0.07%-2%), medium (2%-5%) and high (6%-10%). Bayesian models informed by published validity estimates were used to account for misclassification error when estimating COVID-19 prevalence. Adjustment for misclassification error captured the true prevalence 100% of the time, irrespective of the true prevalence level. When adjustment for misclassification error was not done, the results highly varied depending on the population's underlying true prevalence and the type of diagnostic test used. Generally, the prevalence estimates without adjustment for misclassification error worsened as the true prevalence level increased. Adjustment for misclassification error for publicly reported Maryland data led to a minimal but not significant increase in the estimated average daily cases. Random sampling and testing of COVID-19 are needed with adjustment for misclassification error to improve COVID-19 prevalence estimates.The Society for Epidemiologic Research's (SER) annual meeting is a major forum for sharing new research and promoting participants' career development. As such, evaluating representation in key presentation formats is critical. For the 3,257 presentations identified at the 2015-2017 SER annual meetings, we evaluated presenter characteristics, including gender, affiliation, subject area and h-index, and representation in three highlighted presentation formats platform talks (n=382), invited symposium talks (n=273) and serving as a Concurrent Contributed Session or symposium chair (n=188). Data were abstracted from SER records, abstract booklets and programs. Gender was assessed using GenderChecker software and h-index using Scopus Application Programming Interface (API). Log-binomial models adjusted for participant characteristics and conference year. In adjusted models, women were less likely than men to present an invited symposium talk (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.45, 0.81) versus those with accepted abstracts. Researchers from U.S. public universities, U.S. government institutions and international institutions were less likely to present a symposium talk or chair a Concurrent Contributed Session or symposium than researchers from U.S. private institutions. Research areas most represented in platform talks were epidemiologic methods, social epidemiology and cardiovascular epidemiology. Findings suggest differences in representation by gender, affiliation and subject area after accounting for h-index.Biases and in-group preferences limit opportunities for persons of all identities to flourish in science. Decisions made by leading professional meetings about which presentations to feature prominently, and by academic journals about which articles to publish, reinforce these biases. The paper by Nobles and colleagues (Am J Epidemiol. XXXX;XXX(XX)XXXX-XXXX)), shows that women are less likely to be selected to be symposium presenters in the field's pre-eminent scientific meeting than men. The scientific and moral arguments for promoting diversity of engagement by persons of all identities in the field are abundantly clear, calling for efforts to mitigate the effect of these in-group biases. I offer three suggestions about how we can go about achieving better diversity in our field. 1. Increasing our discussions of the importance of diversity, raising consciousness about the issue consistently; 2. Ensuring that only blinded peer-reviewed presentations are advanced at professional meeting; 3. Publishing only blinded peer-reviewed papers in leading journals in the field. These steps-together with broader system-wide efforts to maximize diversity among trainees and faculty-can pave the way for any field to become welcoming to all, irrespective of any axes of identity.Commonly found flavonols in plants are synthesized from dihydroflavonols by flavonol synthase (FLS). The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana contains six FLS genes, among which FLS1 encodes a functional enzyme. Previous work has demonstrated that the R2R3-MYB subgroup 7 transcription factors MYB11, MYB12, and MYB111 redundantly regulate flavonol biosynthesis. However, flavonol accumulation in pollen grains was unaffected in the myb11myb12myb111 triple mutant. Here we show that MYB21 and its homologs MYB24 and MYB57, which belong to subgroup 19, promote flavonol biosynthesis through regulation of FLS1 gene expression. We used a combination of genetic and metabolite analysis to identify the role of MYB21 in regulating flavonol biosynthesis through direct binding to the GARE cis-element in the FLS1 promoter. Treatment with kaempferol or overexpression of FLS1 rescued stamen defects in the myb21 mutant. We also observed that excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated in the myb21 stamen, and that treatment with the ROS inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium chloride partly rescued the reduced fertility of the myb21 mutant. Furthermore, drought increased ROS abundance and impaired fertility in myb21, myb21myb24myb57, and chs, but not in the wild type or myb11myb12myb111, suggesting that pollen-specific flavonol accumulation contributes to drought-induced male fertility by ROS scavenging in Arabidopsis.Transcriptional deregulation is a central event in the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). selleck inhibitor To identify potential disturbances in gene regulation, we conducted an unbiased screen of allele-specific expression (ASE) in 209 AML cases. The gene encoding GATA binding protein 2 (GATA2) displayed ASE more often than any other myeloid or cancer-related gene. GATA2 ASE was strongly associated with CEBPA double mutations (CEBPA DM), with 95% of cases presenting GATA2 ASE. In CEBPA DM AML with GATA2 mutations, the mutated allele was preferentially expressed. We found that GATA2 ASE is a somatic event lost in complete remission, supporting the notion that it plays a role in CEBPA DM AML. Acquisition of GATA2 ASE involved silencing of one allele via promoter methylation and concurrent overactivation of the other allele, thereby preserving expression levels. Notably, promoter methylation was also lost in remission together with GATA2 ASE. In summary, we propose that GATA2 ASE is acquired by epigenetic mechanisms and is a prerequisite for the development of AML with CEBPA DM. This finding constitutes a novel example of an epigenetic hit cooperating with a genetic hit in the pathogenesis of AML.

In 2015, the American College of Surgeons began its Children's Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program, promulgating standards intended to promote regionalization and improve pediatric surgical care. It was hypothesized that pediatric surgical care was already highly regionalized and concentrated before implementation of the program. This study aimed to demonstrate this by describing the sites and volume of nonambulatory pediatric surgery.

A two-part, retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was performed. First, six all-encounter state inpatient data sets (Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, and New York from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and Massachusetts from the Center for Health Information) were used to evaluate all procedures performed within specific hospitals in 2014. Next, a national sample data set (2016 Kids' Inpatient Database) was used to determine the generalizability of the single state results. All acute care hospital admissions for patients less than 18 yr of ageriation.

Before the American College of Surgeons Children's Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program, the vast majority of pediatric nonambulatory surgeries were already confined to a small subset of high-capability and specialty centers.

In the article by Nobles et al (Am J Epidemiol. XXXX;XXX(XX)XXXX-XXXX), characteristics of those epidemiologists selected for various chair and presentation roles at the annual meetings of the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) from 2015 through 2017 were examined. Characteristics were compared, including inferred gender, institutional affiliation, subject area and h-index. Important disparities were observed between session chairs, speakers and poster presenters. SER leadership considers diversity and equity a priority and is committed to positive change. New programs and processes have been employed to broaden participation and improve diversity since 2018, but SER must continue its efforts to change processes and to monitor of the experiences of SER members. A diversity of perspectives within the SER membership and at its meetings will improve all aspects of our practice of epidemiology.Within long term symbioses animals integrate their physiology and development with their symbiont. In a model nutritional mutualism, aphids harbor the endosymbiont, Buchnera, within specialized bacteriocyte cells. Buchnera synthesizes essential amino acids (EAA) and vitamins for their host, which are lacking from the aphid's plant sap diet. It is unclear if the aphid host differentially expresses aphid EAA metabolism pathways and genes that collaborate with Buchnera for the production of EAA and vitamins throughout nymphal development when feeding on plants. It is also unclear if aphid bacteriocytes are differentially methylated throughout aphid development as DNA methylation may play a role in gene regulation. By analyzing aphid gene expression, we determined that the bacteriocyte is metabolically more active in metabolizing Buchnera's EAAs and vitamins early in nymphal development compared to intermediate or later immature and adult lifestages. The largest changes in aphid bacteriocyte gene expression, especially for aphid genes that collaborate with Buchnera, occurred during the 3rd to 4th instar transition. During this transition there is a huge shift in the bacteriocyte from a high energy 'nutrient-consuming state' to a 'recovery and growth state' where patterning and signaling genes and pathways are upregulated and differentially methylated, and de novo methylation is reduced as evidenced by homogenous DNA methylation profiles after the 2nd instar. Moreover, bacteriocyte number increased and Buchnera's titer decreased throughout aphid nymphal development. These data suggest in combination that bacteriocytes of older nymphal and adult lifestages depend less on the nutritional symbiosis compared to early nymphal lifestages.Estimates of the reproductive number for novel pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are essential for understanding the potential trajectory of the epidemic and the level of intervention that is needed to bring the epidemic under control. However, most methods for estimating the basic reproductive number (R0) and time-varying effective reproductive number (Rt) assume that the fraction of cases detected and reported is constant through time. We explore the impact of secular changes in diagnostic testing and reporting on estimates of R0 and Rt using simulated data. We then compare these patterns to data on reported cases of coronavirus disease and testing practices from different states in the United States from March 4 to August 30, 2020. We find that changes in testing practices and delays in reporting can result in biased estimates of R0 and Rt. Examination of changes in the daily number of tests conducted and the percent of patients testing positive may be helpful for identifying the potential direction of bias.