Increased risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron compared to Delta in vaccinated and previously infected individuals, the Netherlands, 22 November to 19 December 2021

Infections by the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant are rapidly increasing worldwide. Among 70,983 infected individuals (age ≥ 12 years), we observed an increased risk of S-gene target failure, predictive of the Omicron variant, in fully vaccinated (odds ratio: 5.0; 95% confidence interval: 4.0-6.1) and previously infected individuals (OR: 4.9: 95% CI: 3.1-7.7) compared with infected naive individuals. This suggests a substantial decrease in protection from vaccine- or infection-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infections caused by the Omicron variant compared with the Delta variant.

Decomposing Employment Trends of Disabled Workers

This paper estimates Age–Period–Cohort models on employment rates of Dutch Disability Insurance (DI) applicants. We find that the substantial decrease in employment between 1999 and 2013 is explained by year-of-application cohort effects and that period effects are negligible. In turn, application cohort effects partly stem from increasing shares of applicants without permanent contracts. Changes in application cohort effects are largely confined to the years following two DI reforms that increased self-screening among workers. We next analyze changes in employment rates of awarded and rejected applicants and follow a Difference-in-Differences approach. Assuming common compositional cohort effects, we infer negligible effects of changes in benefit conditions.

Chemical Disinfection of Potato Cutting Machinery to Avoid Dissemination of Clavibacter sepedonicus

A potential cause of the dissemination of the potato ring rot bacterium Clavibacter sepedonicus (Cs) is the use of automated seed potato cutters. The present study focuses on the question of whether disinfection practices are sufficient to prevent the transmission of Cs from contaminated machine parts to a new tuber lot. The disinfection efficacy was determined by establishing the culturability of Cs that remained after spray application of sodium-p-toluenesulfochloramide solution on clean and fouled specimens of machinery material that had been provided with an imprint of Cs biofilm. Although conventional spraying, with the authorized concentration of sodium-p-toluenesulfochloramide, of inoculated rubber, PVC and lacquered steel led to a substantial decrease of colony forming units, the treatment was insufficient for complete eradication of Cs. The presence of dirt negatively affected the efficacy of the disinfectant.

Trends in Serum Lipid Profiles and Lifestyle Factors Among Korean Adolescents, 2007–2018

Objectives: Trends in serum lipids among teenagers would be crucial predictors of potential cardiovascular disease in adults. We aimed to investigate the trends in lipid profiles and related factors, including obesity, smoking, exercise, alcohol use, and total fat intakes in Korean adolescents from 2007 to 2018. Methods: We analyzed 5,967 participants aged 12–19 yrs from the Korea NHANES 2007–2018. Fasting total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) levels were measured. Results: All kinds of lipid profiles, except TG, showed increasing trends from 2007 to 2018 (P<0.01). Nevertheless, the prevalence of dyslipidemia showed a trend of decreasing in boys (from 33.3 to 26.6%; P=0.002) and maintained in girls (from 28.4 to 30.2%; P=0.465), mainly due to a substantial decrease in hypo-HDL-cholesterolemia (9% reduction in boys, 5% reduction in girls). This occurred amid an increasing trend of central obesity in boys (P<0.001). In lifestyle factors, there were no significant changes in alcohol use and muscle-strengthening exercise, while a substantial decrease in smoking rate was observed. A favorable effect of muscle-strengthening exercise on both TG and HDL-C and an unfavorable impact of smoking on HDL-C were observed. Alcohol use was associated with higher HDL-C in both genders, but it showed opposite associations with TG between boys (unfavorable) and girls (favorable). Regarding dietary factors, there were increasing trends in total fat intakes and the percentage of energy supply from total dietary fat (〔total fat (%E)〕 in both genders. In boys, an increase in total fat (%E) was related to the higher HDL-C in normal-weight subjects (P<0.01 in both genders); however, it was associated with higher LDL-C in overweight girls (P=0.001). Conclusions: Increases in fat intakes and a decline in smoking rates appeared to have positively impacted HDL-C in Korean adolescents over the past 12 years. We confirmed a rise in fat intakes was linked with the increase in LDL-C among overweight adolescents. Therefore, close monitoring for the dyslipidemia prevalence is essential in Korean adolescents whose obesity prevalence is on the rise.

Substantial decline in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) during COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong

Compared to other countries, a more substantial decrease of invasive pneumococcal disease incidence was observed in Hong Kong, which is most likely attributable to the proactive mass adoption of face masks by the public. Human behavioral changes, particularly mask-wearing, should be considered as an additional prevention strategy against IPD.

Impact of a nighttime curfew on overnight mobility

Background: Among non-pharmaceutical interventions, individual movement restrictions have been among the most impactful methods for controlling COVID-19 case growth. While nighttime curfews to control COVID-19 case growth have been implemented in certain regions and cities, few studies have examined their impacts on mobility or COVID-19 incidence. In the second wave of COVID-19, Canada's two largest and adjacent provinces implemented lockdown restrictions with (Quebec) and without (Ontario) a nighttime curfew, providing a natural experiment to study the association between curfews and mobility. Methods: This study spanned from December 1, 2020 to January 23, 2021 and included the populations of Ontario (including Toronto) and Quebec (including Montreal). The intervention of interest was a nighttime curfew implemented across Quebec on January 9, 2021. Unadjusted and adjusted difference-in-differences models (DID) were used to measure the incremental impact of the curfew on nighttime mobility in Quebec as compared to Ontario. Results: The implementation of the curfew was associated with an immediate reduction in nighttime mobility. The adjusted DID analysis indicated that Quebec experienced a 31% relative reduction in nighttime mobility (95%CI: -36% to -25%) compared to Ontario, and that Montreal experienced a 39% relative reduction compared to Toronto (95%CI: -43, -34). Discussion: However, this natural experiment among two neighbouring provinces provides useful evidence that curfews lead to an immediate and substantial decrease nighttime mobility, particularly in these provinces' largest urban areas hardest hit by COVID-19.

Macromolecular Crowding as a Tool to Screen Anti-fibrotic Drugs: The Scar-in-a-Jar System Revisited

An unsolved therapeutic problem in fibrosis is the overproduction of collagen. In order to screen the effect of anti-fibrotic drugs on collagen deposition, the Scar-in-a-Jar approach has been introduced about a decade ago. With macromolecular crowding a rapid deposition of collagen is seen, resulting in a substantial decrease in culture time, but the system has never been tested in an adequate way. We therefore have compared six different macromolecular crowders [Ficoll PM 70 (Fc70), Ficoll PM 400 (Fc400), a mixture of Ficoll 70 and 400 (Fc70/400), polyvinylpyrrolidone 40 (PVP40), polyvinylpyrrolidone 360 (PVP360), neutral dextran 670 (ND670), dextran sulfate 500 (DxS500), and carrageenan (CR)] under profibrotic conditions (addition of TGFβ1) with primary human adult dermal fibroblasts in the presence of 0.5 and 10% FBS. We found that (1) collagen deposition and myofibroblast formation was superior with 0.5% FBS, (2) DxS500 and CR results in an aberrant collagen deposition pattern, (3) ND670 does not increase collagen deposition, and (4) CR, DxS500, and Fc40/700 affected important phenotypical properties of the cells when cultured under pro-fibrotic conditions, whereas PVP40 and PVP360 did less or not. Because of viscosity problems with PVP360, we conclude that PVP40 is the most optimal crowder for the screening of anti-fibrotic drugs. Finally, the effect of various concentrations of Imatinib, Galunisertib, Omipalisib or Nintedanib on collagen deposition and myofibroblast formation was tested with PVP40 as the crowder.

Primary shock calibration with fast linear motor drive

This paper describes the implementation of a new, fast and precise linear motor drive for PTB’s primary shock calibration device. This device is used for monopole shock calibrations of accelerometers using the “hammer-anvil” principle according to ISO 16063-13:2001 and operates in a peak acceleration range from 50 m/s² to 5000 m/s². <br />The main challenge of implementing this kind of shock generator is accelerating a hammer to velocities up to 5 m/s within distances of less than 70 mm. <br />In this paper, a few helpful improvements are described which lead to an enhanced repeatability of pulse generation over the full shock intensity range as well as a substantial decrease of harmonic disturbing signals.