To investigate the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, their dynamics and their discriminatory power for the disease using longitudinally, prospectively collected information reported at the time of their occurrence. We have analysed data from a large phase 3 clinical UK COVID-19 vaccine trial. The alpha variant was the predominant strain. Participants were assessed for SARS-CoV-2 infection via nasal/throat PCR at recruitment, vaccination appointments, and when symptomatic. Statistical techniques were implemented to infer estimates representative of the UK population, accounting for multiple symptomatic episodes associated with one individual. An optimal diagnostic model for SARS-CoV-2 infection was derived. The 4-month prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 was 2.1%; increasing to 19.4% (16.0%–22.7%) in participants reporting loss of appetite and 31.9% (27.1%–36.8%) in those with anosmia/ageusia. The model identified anosmia and/or ageusia, fever, congestion, and cough to be significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Symptoms’ dynamics were vastly different in the two groups; after a slow start peaking later and lasting longer in PCR+ participants, whilst exhibiting a consistent decline in PCR- participants, with, on average, fewer than 3 days of symptoms reported. Anosmia/ageusia peaked late in confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (day 12), indicating a low discrimination power for early disease diagnosis.

The NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) was established to support translational research that spans the entire TS Continuum, with the goal of bridging the gap between preclinical biomedical research and real-world applications to advance treatments to patients more quickly. In 2018, the Translational Science Training (TST) TL1 Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio implemented new strategies to better include and encourage research more broadly across the TS Continuum, including the addition of postdoctoral scientists and a clinically trained Program Co-Director, expansion of team science and community engagement programming, and targeted trainee recruitment from schools of nursing, dentistry, and allied health, in addition to medicine. The objective of this bibliometric analysis was to determine if the program exhibited a more diverse mix of T-types after the adjustments made in 2018. The TST/TL1 Program experienced a shift in T-type, from mostly T0 (preclinical) to more T3/T4 (clinical implementation/public health) research, after new strategies were implemented. This supports the conclusion that strategic programmatic adjustments by an NCATS-funded predoctoral training program resulted in outcomes that better align with NCATS priorities to develop Trainees who contribute across the entire TS Continuum.

“Comprehensive Healthcare for America” is a largely single-payer reform proposal that, by applying the insights of behavioral economics, may be able to rally patients and clinicians sufficiently to overcome the opposition of politicians and vested interests to providing all Americans with less complicated and less costly access to needed healthcare.

Research education and training in Translational Science develops and sustains a workforce to efficiently advance studies designed to improve human health. We evaluated the effectiveness of a Translational Science Training (TST) TL1 Program. Participants had significantly better publications/year, citations/year, h-index, and m-quotient than nonparticipants. Female and male participants, and participants from underrepresented and well-represented backgrounds, performed similarly on all bibliometric assessments. Finally, TST/TL1 Program participants outperformed students from other PhD programs at our institution. This analysis suggests that the TST/TL1 Program has been effective for participants, including those who are female and from underrepresented backgrounds.

In this study, we evaluated the impact of a microbiology nudge on de-escalation to first-generation cephalosporins in hospitalized patients with urinary tract infections secondary to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Proteus mirabilis isolates with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) ≤ 16 µg/mL. De-escalation to first generation-cephalosporins was uncommon at MICs = 4–16 µg/mL.