A Comparison of Germany and the United Kingdom Indicates That More SARS-CoV-2 Circulation and Less Restrictions in the Warm Season Might Reduce Overall COVID-19 Burden.

(1) Background: Between March 2020 and January 2022 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused five infection waves in Europe. The first and the second wave was caused by wildtype SARS-CoV-2, while the following waves were caused by the variants of concern Alpha, Delta, and Omicron respectively. (2) Methods: In the present analysis, the first four waves were compared in Germany and the UK, in order to examine the COVID-19 epidemiology and its modulation by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI).

Specific Risk Factors for Fatal Outcome in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients: Results from a European Multicenter Study.

(1) Background: The aim of our study was to identify specific risk factors for fatal outcome in critically ill COVID-19 patients. (2) Methods: Our data set consisted of 840 patients enclosed in the LEOSS registry. Using lasso regression for variable selection, a multifactorial logistic regression model was fitted to the response variable survival.

Nine Months of COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe: A Comparative Time Series Analysis of Cases and Fatalities in 35 Countries.

(1) Background: to describe the dynamic of the pandemic across 35 European countries over a period of 9 months. (2) Methods: a three-phase time series model was fitted for 35 European countries, predicting deaths based on SARS-CoV-2 incidences. Hierarchical clustering resulted in three clusters of countries.

Incidence and Death Rates from COVID-19 Are Not Always Coupled: An Analysis of Temporal Data on Local, Federal, and National Levels.

SARS-CoV-2 has caused a deadly pandemic worldwide, placing a burden on local health care systems and economies. Infection rates with SARS-CoV-2 and the related mortality of COVID-19 are not equal among countries or even neighboring regions. Based on data from official German health authorities since the beginning of the pandemic, we developed a case-fatality prediction model that correctly predicts COVID-19-related death rates based on local geographical developments of infection rates in Germany, Bavaria, and a local community district city within Upper Bavaria.

Long-Lasting Decrease of the Acquisition of and Gram-Negative Bacteria Producing Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) by Transient Application of Probiotics.

Previously it was shown that application of probiotics stopped the acquisition of vancomycin-resistant (VRE) by patients in an early rehabilitation ward. Once the application of probiotics ended, we examined whether acquisition of VRE reoccurred. Furthermore, we examined whether probiotics altered prevalence of vancomycin-susceptible (VSE) and Gram-negative bacteria, which produce extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL).

Gene expression associated with the onset of hearing detected by differential display in rat organ of Corti.

The exquisite performance of the mammalian hearing organ results from a finely orchestrated array of cell types, and their highly specialized functions are determined by their gene expression profile. In rodents, this profile is established mainly during the first 2 weeks of postnatal maturation. In this paper, we used the differential display technique on the rat organ of Corti to uncover transcripts upregulated in expression between postnatal stages P0 and P14.

A statistical model providing comprehensive predictions for the mRNA differential display.

Motivation: Differential display (DD) or arbitrarily primed fingerprinting serves to identify differentially expressed genes, but these techniques cannot determine how many of the theoretically available genes have been uncovered. Previous mathematical models are unsatisfying as they are not suitable to analyze experimental data.

Results: In the present study, we provide a statistical model based on the redundancy of cDNA fragments amplified during DD experiments.