Featured
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Article
| Open Access
Dermatologist-like explainable AI enhances trust and confidence in diagnosing melanoma
Artificial intelligence has become popular as a cancer classification tool, but there is distrust of such systems due to their lack of transparency. Here, the authors develop an explainable AI system which produces text- and region-based explanations alongside its classifications which was assessed using clinicians’ diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic confidence, and their trust in the system.
- Tirtha Chanda
- , Katja Hauser
- & Titus J. Brinker
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Article
| Open Access
BCG vaccination-induced acquired control of mycobacterial growth differs from growth control preexisting to BCG vaccination
Bacillus Calmette-Guèrin vaccination prevents tuberculosis but some individuals control infection without immunization. Here the authors employ functional assessment of effector responses against mycobacteria to find that distinct gene expression profiles for pre-existing capacity to control and control induced by BCG vaccination.
- Krista E. van Meijgaarden
- , Wenchao Li
- & Simone A. Joosten
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Article
| Open Access
Effects of accelerometer-based sedentary time and physical activity on DEXA-measured fat mass in 6059 children
Childhood obesity remains a global epidemic. Here, using objective measurements, the authors show that sedentary time increased from 6 h/day in childhood to 9 h/day in young adulthood, and was cumulatively associated with increased total and trunk fat mass. Both light or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity similarly partly reversed risk.
- Andrew O. Agbaje
- , Wei Perng
- & Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen
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Article
| Open Access
Long COVID risk and pre-COVID vaccination in an EHR-based cohort study from the RECOVER program
The extent to which COVID-19 vaccination protects against long COVID is not well understood. Here, the authors use electronic health record data from the United States and find that, for people who received their vaccination prior to infection, vaccination was associated with lower incidence of long COVID.
- M. Daniel Brannock
- , Robert F. Chew
- & Stuart Katz
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Article
| Open Access
The impact of introduction of the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on pneumococcal carriage in Nigeria
Nigeria has the highest incidence of pneumococcal disease in Africa and introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal vaccine for infants between 2014 and 2016. Here, the authors conduct repeated cross-sectional surveys to analyse the impact of the vaccination campaign on pneumococcal carriage and serotype distribution.
- Aishatu L. Adamu
- , J. Ojal
- & Ifedayo M. O. Adetifa
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Article
| Open Access
Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster doses against Omicron severe outcomes
This study investigates the protection provided by mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster doses against Omicron-associated severe disease in adults aged 50 and older. The authors use data from Ontario, Canada, and find that booster doses provide strong protection but that it declined during the period of BA.4/BA.5 predominance.
- Ramandip Grewal
- , Lena Nguyen
- & Jeffrey C. Kwong
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Comment
| Open AccessA call for immediate action to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake to prepare for the third pandemic winter
This Comment piece summarises current challenges regarding routine vaccine uptake in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and provides recommendations on how to increase uptake. To implement these recommendations, the article points to evidence-based resources that can support health-care workers, policy makers and communicators.
- Cornelia Betsch
- , Philipp Schmid
- & Amanda Garrison
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Article
| Open Access
Levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among fully vaccinated individuals with Delta or Omicron variant breakthrough infections
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is associated with high rates of vaccine breakthrough infections, but the immunological basis for this is not well characterised. Here, the authors show that increased anti-Spike IgG antibody levels are associated with a reduced risk of infection with the Delta variant, but not with Omicron.
- Nina Breinholt Stærke
- , Joanne Reekie
- & Ole Schmeltz Søgaard
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Comment
| Open Access
Analysing the relationship between the fields of thermo- and electrocatalysis taking hydrogen peroxide as a case study
Research in thermo- and electrocatalysis have often preceded in isolation, even for similar reactions. Here, the authors compare current trends in both fields and elaborate on the commonalities and differences with a specific focus on the production of hydrogen peroxide.
- Guilherme V. Fortunato
- , Enrico Pizzutilo
- & Marc Ledendecker
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Article
| Open Access
Impact of COVID-19 outbreaks and interventions on influenza in China and the United States
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to interrupt COVID-19 transmission may also impact the spread of other infectious diseases. Here, the authors estimate that influenza activity in China and the United States reduced by up to 80% when NPIs were in place in the 2019–2020 season.
- Luzhao Feng
- , Ting Zhang
- & George F. Gao
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Article
| Open Access
Health improvement framework for actionable treatment planning using a surrogate Bayesian model
Clinical decision-making regarding treatments based on personal characteristics leads to effective health improvements. Here, the authors introduce a modeling framework to evaluate the actionability of treatment pathways.
- Kazuki Nakamura
- , Ryosuke Kojima
- & Yasushi Okuno
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Article
| Open Access
Infectivity, susceptibility, and risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission under intensive contact tracing in Hunan, China
Detailed knowledge of COVID-19 epidemiology is needed to inform public health responses. Here, the authors use large-scale contact tracing data to provide empirical estimates of key parameters, and show that susceptibility increases with age but transmissibility does not vary significantly.
- Shixiong Hu
- , Wei Wang
- & Hongjie Yu
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Article
| Open Access
Data linkage to evaluate the long-term risk of HIV infection in individuals seeking post-exposure prophylaxis
Individuals seeking post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV may represent an important risk group for future HIV infection. Here the authors find HIV infections at long-term follow-up in 22 of 348 men who have sex with men, and 0 of 623 other PEP seekers.
- Frédérique Hovaguimian
- , Huldrych F. Günthard
- & S. Yerly
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Article
| Open Access
A game theoretic approach reveals that discretizing clinical information can reduce antibiotic misuse
Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern, exacerbated by antibiotic over-prescription. Here we show, using game theory, that reduction of over-prescription can be achieved by discretizing the clinical information given to physician, e.g., by decision support systems.
- Maya Diamant
- , Shoham Baruch
- & Uri Obolski
Uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations amongst 3,433,483 children and young people: meta-analysis of UK prospective cohorts