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Intro: Since the declaration of the global pandemic in March 2020, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused dynamic pressures on healthcare systems worldwide. This study aims to compare the demographic and clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 at a single centre in Sydney, Australia. Methods: Using the clinical coding data, we identified all patients aged > 16 years admitted to our centre between February 1st, 2020, and March 31st, 2022. We categorised the time periods ‘pre-delta’ (February 1st, 2020 – June 15th, 2021), ‘delta’ (June 16th, 2021 – November 25th, 2021), and ‘omicron’ (November 26th, 2021 – March 31st, 2022). We retrospectively extracted the demographic, administrative, and clinical data from the electronic medical records and performed a descriptive analysis of the data. Findings: A total of 1842 patients were identified (pre-delta N=18; delta N=788; omicron N=1036). The percentage of male patients was 83%, 54%, and 56% and the median ages at admission were 55, 49, and 70 years during the pre-delta, delta, and omicron periods, respectively. The median length of hospital stay was the longest during the pre-delta period (8.5 days vs. 7 vs. 6). ICU admission rate was 39%, 21%, and 10% for each period and of the ICU-admitted patients 43%, 40%, and 36% respectively required mechanical ventilation. Inhospital mortality was the highest during the omicron period (pre-delta inhospital mortality 5.6%; delta 4.1%; omicron 7.3%). A total of 219 (28%) patients of delta and 185 (18%) of omicron periods received at least one dose of dexamethasone and 175 (22%) and 44 (4.2%) respectively received at least one dose of remdesivir. Conclusion: The demographic and clinical characteristics of admitted COVID-19 patients varied across the ‘pre-delta’, ‘delta’, and ‘omicron’ time periods. The median age at admission and in-hospital mortality was the highest during the omicron period.

Abstract Lyme disease is caused by an infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, and is the most common vector-borne disease in North America. B. burgdorferi isolates harbor extensive genomic and proteomic variability and further comparison of isolates is key to understanding the infectivity of the spirochetes and biological impacts of identified sequence variants. Here, we applied both transcriptome analysis and mass spectrometry-based proteomics to assemble peptide datasets of B. burgdorferi laboratory isolates B31, MM1, and the infective isolate B31-5A4, to provide a publicly available Borrelia PeptideAtlas. Included are total proteome, secretome, and membrane proteome identifications of the individual isolates. Proteomic data collected from 35 different experiment datasets, totaling 386 mass spectrometry runs, have identified 81,967 distinct peptides, which map to 1,113 proteins. The Borrelia PeptideAtlas covers 86% of the total B31 proteome of 1,291 protein sequences. The Borrelia PeptideAtlas is an extensible comprehensive peptide repository with proteomic information from B. burgdorferi isolates useful for Lyme disease research.

Abstract Aging manifests as progressive deteriorations in homeostasis, requiring systems-level perspectives to investigate the gradual molecular dysregulation of underlying biological processes. Here, we report systemic changes in the molecular regulation of biological processes under multiple lifespan-extending interventions. Differential Rank Conservation (DIRAC) analyses of mouse liver proteomics and transcriptomics data show that mechanistically distinct lifespan-extending interventions (acarbose, 17α-estradiol, rapamycin, and calorie restriction) generally tighten the regulation of biological modules. These tightening patterns are similar across the interventions, particularly in processes such as fatty acid oxidation, immune response, and stress response. Differences in DIRAC patterns between proteins and transcripts highlight specific modules which may be tightened via augmented cap-independent translation. Moreover, the systemic shifts in fatty acid metabolism are supported through integrated analysis of liver transcriptomics data with a mouse genome-scale metabolic model. Our findings highlight the power of systems-level approaches for identifying and characterizing the biological processes involved in aging and longevity.

ABSTRACT Radiotelemetry is a widely used and informative tool in studies of animal ecology, behavior, and conservation. Over the past 50 years, many different methods have been used to outfit animals with radiotransmitters. Radiotelemetry studies on snakes typically require anesthesia and surgery to internally implant transmitters; however, internal implantation methods can increase snake mortality and infection rates, and may alter natural behaviors, thereby reducing data validity. We qualitatively compared 3 methods of external transmitter attachment (i.e., glue‐only, tape‐and‐glue, and a subdermal stitch), and compared their utility for collection of spatial data from April to November 2012 and 2013 at Magnetawan First Nation near Britt, Ontario, Canada. Transmitters attached with glue‐only and tape‐and‐glue methods fell off shortly after deployment because of environmental factors and snake shedding. Both methods also resulted in skin irritation and slightly impeded snake movements. Conversely, the subdermal stitch method was long lasting in both the field and lab, and did not cause significant skin irritation. Also, the subdermal stitch method did not affect movement or the rattlesnake's ability to rattle. Additional quantitative research is required to determine if the subdermal stitch method triggers immune responses, infections, or negatively affects snake fitness. Our results suggest that the subdermal stitch method may be a viable external attachment method for use in radiotelemetry of snakes. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

The validation and analysis of X-ray crystallographic data is essential for reproducibility and the development of crystallographic methods. Here, the authors describe a repository for crystallographic datasets and demonstrate some of the ways it could serve the crystallographic community.