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Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a leading cause of death after heart transplantation (HT). We evaluated donor‐derived cell‐free DNA (dd‐cfDNA) as a noninvasive biomarker of CAV development after HT. The INSPIRE registry at the Intermountain Medical Center was queried for stored plasma samples from HT patients with and without CAV. At Stanford University, HT patients with CAV (cases) and without CAV (controls) were enrolled prospectively, and blood samples were collected. All the samples were analyzed for dd‐cfDNA using the AlloSure assay (CareDx, Inc.). CAV was defined per the ISHLT 2010 standardized classification system. Univariate associations between patient demographics and clinical characteristics and their CAV grade were tested using chi‐square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Associations between their dd‐cfDNA levels and CAV grades were examined using a nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test. A total of 69 pts were included, and 101 samples were analyzed for dd‐cfDNA. The mean age at sample collection was 58.6 ± 13.7 years; 66.7% of the patients were male, and 81% were White. CAV 0, 1, 2, and 3 were present in 37.6%, 22.8%, 22.8%, and 16.8% of included samples, respectively. The median dd‐cfDNA level was 0.13% (0.06, 0.33). The median dd‐cfDNA level was not significantly different between CAV (−) and CAV (+): 0.09% (0.05%–0.32%) and 0.15% (0.07%–0.33%), respectively, p = 0.25 and with similar results across all CAV grades. In our study, dd‐cfDNA levels did not correlate with the presence of CAV and did not differ across CAV grades. As such, dd‐cfDNA does not appear to be a reliable noninvasive biomarker for CAV surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2023, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended updated 2023-2024 (monovalent XBB.1.5) COVID-19 vaccination for all persons aged =6 months to prevent COVID-19, including severe disease. As with past COVID-19 vaccines, additional doses may be considered for persons with immunocompromising conditions, who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 and might have decreased response to vaccination. In this analysis, vaccine effectiveness (VE) of an updated COVID-19 vaccine dose against COVID-19-associated hospitalization was evaluated during September 2023-February 2024 using data from the VISION VE network. Among adults aged =18 years with immunocompromising conditions, VE against COVID-19-associated hospitalization was 38% in the 7-59 days after receipt of an updated vaccine dose and 34% in the 60-119 days after receipt of an updated dose. Few persons (18%) in this high-risk study population had received updated COVID-19 vaccine. All persons aged =6 months should receive updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccination; persons with immunocompromising conditions may get additional updated COVID-19 vaccine doses =2 months after the last recommended COVID-19 vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood trauma is associated with poor health outcomes in adulthood. Mechanisms for these associations are not well understood because past studies have focused predominantly on populations that have already developed physical and mental health problems. The present study examined the association between childhood trauma and stress‐related vulnerability factors in a healthy adult sample (n = 79; 68% female, mean age = 27.5, SD = 6.5). Emotion regulation difficulties were examined as a potential mediator. Participants completed baseline laboratory assessments of reported childhood trauma, emotion regulation difficulties, prior month sleep quality, baseline impedance cardiography and behavioural tests of executive functioning (EF) and a three‐day experience sampling assessment protocol that included sleep diary, reported and objective pre‐sleep arousal, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. Reported history of childhood abuse was significantly associated with difficulties in emotion regulation, self‐report and objective pre‐sleep arousal, diary‐assessed sleep quality, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. Reported history of childhood neglect was associated with greater pre‐sleep arousal and poorer EF‐behavioural control. Emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between childhood abuse and reported pre‐sleep arousal, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. In conclusion, history of childhood trauma is associated with a variety of stress‐related vulnerability factors in healthy adults that may be viable early intervention targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence that appreciation for and engagement with art, nature, and beauty are associated with positive mental and physical health outcomes, yet the emotional and physiological correlates of these individual differences have not been fully characterized. The associations among individual differences in aesthetic engagement, proneness to aesthetic chill, and the experience of awe were examined in two studies (total N = 1,340). In Study 1, psychometric properties and convergent/discriminant validity of a brief measure of proneness to aesthetic chill experiences across an expanded set of stimulus domains were examined in two samples. The association between reported proneness to aesthetic chill and the Openness to Aesthetics facet was confirmed in both studies. Factor analysis and item-total correlations provide preliminary evidence that proneness to aesthetic chill is not domain specific (i.e., individuals prone to aesthetic chill in one domain [e.g., music] are also prone in other domains [e.g., nature]). In a laboratory study, individual differences in awe response to an aesthetic film clip (vs. other emotion-inducing film clips) were examined. Results indicated that the Aesthetics facet and ratings of proneness to aesthetic chill were related to higher awe ratings and reported chill/goosebumps to the film clip, as well as dispositional awe. Agreeableness was also associated with experimentally induced awe, and extraversion had a modest association with dispositional awe ratings. Across both dispositional and experimental induction, however, individual differences in aesthetic engagement and reported proneness to aesthetic chill demonstrated the strongest, most consistent, and most specific associations with awe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 2023-2024 influenza season had predominant influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus activity, but A(H3N2) and B viruses co-circulated. Seasonal influenza vaccine strains were well-matched to these viruses., Methods: Using health care encounters data from health systems in 8 states, we evaluated influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against influenza-associated medical encounters from October 2023-April 2024. Using a test-negative design, we compared the odds of vaccination between patients with an acute respiratory illness (ARI) who tested positive (cases) versus negative (controls) for influenza by molecular assay, adjusting for confounders. VE was stratified by age group, influenza type (overall, influenza A, influenza B), and care setting (hospitalization, emergency department or urgent care [ED/UC] encounter)., Results: Overall, 74,000 encounters in children and adolescents aged 6 months - 17 years (3,479 hospitalizations, 70,521 ED/UC encounters) and 267,606 in adults aged ≥18 years (66,828 hospitalizations, 200,778 ED/UC encounters) were included. Across care settings, among children and adolescents 15% (2,758/17,833) of cases versus 32% (18,240/56,167) of controls had received vaccination. Among adults, 25% (11,632/46,614) of cases versus 44% (97,811/220,992) of controls across care settings had received vaccination. VE was 58% (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 44-69%) against hospitalization and 58% (95% CI: 56-60%) against ED/UC encounters for children and adolescents, and 39% (95% CI: 35-43) against hospitalization and 47% (95% CI: 46-49%) against ED/UC encounters for adults. Across age groups, VE was higher against influenza B than influenza A., Conclusions: Influenza vaccines provided protection against influenza-associated illness across health care settings and age groups during the 2023-2024 influenza season., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2024.)

In September 2023, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended updated 2023-2024 (monovalent XBB.1.5) COVID-19 vaccination for all persons aged ≥6 months to prevent COVID-19, including severe disease. However, few estimates of updated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against medically attended illness are available. This analysis evaluated VE of an updated COVID-19 vaccine dose against COVID-19-associated emergency department (ED) or urgent care (UC) encounters and hospitalization among immunocompetent adults aged ≥18 years during September 2023-January 2024 using a test-negative, case-control design with data from two CDC VE networks. VE against COVID-19-associated ED/UC encounters was 51% (95% CI = 47%-54%) during the first 7-59 days after an updated dose and 39% (95% CI = 33%-45%) during the 60-119 days after an updated dose. VE estimates against COVID-19-associated hospitalization from two CDC VE networks were 52% (95% CI = 47%-57%) and 43% (95% CI = 27%-56%), with a median interval from updated dose of 42 and 47 days, respectively. Updated COVID-19 vaccine provided increased protection against COVID-19-associated ED/UC encounters and hospitalization among immunocompetent adults. These results support CDC recommendations for updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccination. All persons aged ≥6 months should receive updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Steven Y. Chang reports consulting fees from PureTech Health and Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals, and participation on the data safety monitoring board for an unrelated, local study at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, outside the submitted work. Manjusha Gaglani reports serving as the Texas Pediatric Society, Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics co-chair of the ID and Immunization Committee, outside the submitted work. Adit A. Ginde reports support from Biomeme and Seastar, outside the submitted work. Carlos G. Grijalva reports other funding from Merck, contracts from Syneos Health and the Food and Drug Administration, and grants from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, outside the submitted work. Akram Khan reports grant funding from 4DMedical, Dompe Pharmaceuticals, Ely Lilly, and Roche Pharmaceuticals, outside the submitted work. Adam S. Lauring reports research support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Flu Lab, and consulting fees from Roche, outside the submitted work. Christopher Mallow reports medical legal consulting, outside the submitted work. Emily T. Martin reports research funding from Merck, outside the submitted work. Ithan D. Peltan reports grant support from NIH, Intermountain Research and Medical Foundation, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and funding to his institution from Bluejay Diagnostics and Regeneron, outside the submitted work. Karthik Natarajan reports institutional support from NIH, Office of the Director, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Brian E. Dixon reports Institutional support from NIH, National Library of Medicine in the form of a T15 training grant in biomedical informatics, salary support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, royalties from Elsevier, Inc. for a book on health information technology and from Springer Nature for a book on health information technology. Nicola P. Klein reports support from GSK, Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, and Seqirus for work unrelated to this report. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.